Attention:  Tanysha B

I am writing to notify you that the Department of Health (department) has
received your request for access to documents under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) as follows:

1. The minutes of the meetings that took place on

13-14 February - ESC meeting

2-3 April - MSAC meeting

16-17 April - PICO meeting

2. Any documentation relied upon, or otherwise referenced in these
meetings

Request for extension of time

The department is actively processing your request and is aiming to
finalise it as quickly as possible. However, the department is currently
experiencing an increased workload to manage and respond to the
coronavirus pandemic, with a large amount of resources being diverted to
do so. The content of your request means that any documents that exist
would sit with the line area who has responsibility for the department’s
continued response to the coronavirus.

On this basis, the department is seeking an extension of 30 calendar days,
with a decision to be provided to you no later than COB 20 June 2020.

Next Steps

Could you please advise the department by COB Thursday, 23 April 2020 if
you agree to the request for extension of time?

Kind regards

FOI Team Leader
FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section

[1]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666  | E: [2][email address] 

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

show quoted sections

Dear Tanysha

I refer to your request of 21 April 2020 to the Department of Health
(department) seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act) to the following documents:

1. The minutes of the meetings that took place on

 13-14 February - ESC meeting

                2-3 April - MSAC meeting

               16-17 April - PICO meeting

2. Any documentation relied upon, or otherwise referenced in these
meetings

Scope of request

We note that the scope of your request is relatively broad and, as such,
we would like to discuss whether there is anything you are looking for in
particular and if you would consider narrowing the scope of your request. 

In particular, we understand that there are a substantial number of
applications considered at each meeting and there is generally a large
number of documents which inform the committees on each consideration. We
understand that this is likely to make your current request quite
voluminous.

For your awareness, the recorded outcomes of the type of meetings you have
asked about are, as a matter of course, published on the Department’s
website, usually 8-10 weeks after the meetings. For MSAC and ESC the
recorded outcomes are the Public Summary Documents, and for PICO (PASC)
meetings the outcomes are the PICO confirmation documents.

In light of the above, if you consider the Public Summary Documents (which
will be publically available) may not provide the information you are
seeking, we would appreciate if you would consider limiting your request
so that it may be more likely to be able to be processed under the FOI
Act. In particular, you may want to consider limiting the scope by
identifying a particular application(s) you are interested in or a
particular document/type of document which you are seeking. To assist in
your consideration, below is an outline of the applications considered the
dates you have referred to in your request:

13-14 February ESC Meeting

[1]Application 1192.3 - Reduction of mitral regurgitation through tissue
approximation, using transvenous/transeptal techniques - Resubmission
[2]Application 1344.2 - Assessment of foot and ankle services by podiatric
surgeons – Resubmission
[3]Application 1420.1 - Extracorporeal photopheresis for treatment of
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - Resubmission
[4]Application 1429.1 - Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (T-IORT) for
early-stage breast cancer - Resubmission
[5]Application 1466 – Vertebroplasty for severely painful osteoporotic
vertebral fractures
[6]Application 1485.1 – Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for intermediate
thickness melanoma - Resubmission
[7]Application 1553 –Transmural fixation of aortic endograft adjunct to
endovascular aneurysm repair using helical anchors
[8]Application 1559 –- Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) to differentiate
colon polyp from colorectal cancer
[9]Application 1564 - Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
(CIDP)
[10]Application 1566 – Myasthenia Gravis
[11]Application 1570 - PD-L1 (Programmed death ligand 1)
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing for access to atezolizumab as
first-line therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic
triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
[12]Application 1572 - Diagnosis of hypertension using ambulatory blood
pressure monitoring in patients with clinic blood pressure ≥ 140/90mmHg
and ≤ 180/110mmHg

3 April MSAC Meeting

[13]Application 1192.3 - Reduction of mitral regurgitation through tissue
approximation, using transvenous/transeptal techniques - Resubmission
[14]Application 1344.2 - Assessment of foot and ankle services by
podiatric surgeons – Resubmission
[15]Application 1420.1 - Extracorporeal photopheresis for treatment of
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - Resubmission
[16]Application 1429.1 - Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (T-IORT) for
early-stage breast cancer - Resubmission
[17]Application 1466 – Vertebroplasty for severely painful osteoporotic
vertebral fractures
[18]Application 1485.1 – Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for intermediate
thickness melanoma - Resubmission
[19]Application 1553 –Transmural fixation of aortic endograft adjunct to
endovascular aneurysm repair using helical anchors
[20]Application 1564 – Immunoglobulin for Chronic Inflammatory
Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
[21]Application 1566 – Immunoglobulin for Myasthenia Gravis
[22]Application 1570 - PD-L1 (Programmed death ligand 1)
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing for access to atezolizumab as
first-line therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic
triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
[23]Application 1572 - Diagnosis of hypertension using ambulatory blood
pressure monitoring in patients with clinic blood pressure ≥ 140/90mmHg
and ≤ 180/110mmHg
[24]Application 1607 – 17p deletion testing for access to acalabrutinib in
patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
[25]Application 1621 – Amendment to MBS Item 73344 for c-ROS
proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) testing
to identify ROSI to determine patient eligibility for entrectinib under
the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

17 April PASC meeting

[26]1522 – PDL1 immunohistochemistry testing for access to pembrolizumab
as first-line therapy for patients with recurrent (not amenable to local
treatment) or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

[27]1585 – Genetic testing for the diagnosis of early-onset or familial
neuromuscular disorders

[28]1600 – Genetic testing for inherited kidney disease (other than Alport
syndrome)

[29]1608 – Human tissue (amnion membrane) for topical treatment of
ophthalmic disorders, and wound

[30]1613 – Permanent acute coronary syndrome event detector (insertion,
removal or replacement of) for monitoring of the heart's electrical
activity

[31]1614 – Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for patients with
essential tremor

[32]1615 – Transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage for patients
with non-valvular atrial fibrillation

[33]1617 – BRAF V600 mutation testing to determine eligibility for PBS
access to Braftovi® (encorafenib) in patients with metastatic colorectal
cancer (stage IV)

[34]1618 – Testing of tumour prostate tissue to detect BRCA1/2 or ATM gene
mutations in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer to
determine eligibility for PBS olaparib

[35]1619 – Testing of blood to detect germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene
mutations in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer to determine
eligibility for PBS olaparib

[36]1620 – Magnetic resonance image guided radiation therapy

Next steps

We would appreciate if you could please advise if you are willing to
narrow the scope of your request, and if so, the new scope of your
request, by COB 4 April 2020.

Kind regards

FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section

[37]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666  | E: [38][email address]  

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

show quoted sections

Dear Tanysha

I refer to the below email sent to you on 1 May 2020 regarding the scope
of your FOI request and note that you have not yet provided a response to
this email.

As such, I ask that you please advise if you are willing to narrow the
scope of your request, and if so, the new scope of your request. If a
response is not received from you by COB 11 May 2020, I will take this to
mean that you have withdrawn your FOI request.

Kind regards

FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section

[1]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666  | E: [2][email address]  

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 1 May 2020 1:41 PM
To: 'Tanysha B' <[FOI #6298 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: FOI Request 1655 - scope of request [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Dear Tanysha

I refer to your request of 21 April 2020 to the Department of Health
(department) seeking access under the Freedom of Information Act 1982
(Cth) (FOI Act) to the following documents:

1. The minutes of the meetings that took place on

 13-14 February - ESC meeting

                2-3 April - MSAC meeting

               16-17 April - PICO meeting

2. Any documentation relied upon, or otherwise referenced in these
meetings

Scope of request

We note that the scope of your request is relatively broad and, as such,
we would like to discuss whether there is anything you are looking for in
particular and if you would consider narrowing the scope of your request. 

In particular, we understand that there are a substantial number of
applications considered at each meeting and there is generally a large
number of documents which inform the committees on each consideration. We
understand that this is likely to make your current request quite
voluminous.

For your awareness, the recorded outcomes of the type of meetings you have
asked about are, as a matter of course, published on the Department’s
website, usually 8-10 weeks after the meetings. For MSAC and ESC the
recorded outcomes are the Public Summary Documents, and for PICO (PASC)
meetings the outcomes are the PICO confirmation documents.

In light of the above, if you consider the Public Summary Documents (which
will be publically available) may not provide the information you are
seeking, we would appreciate if you would consider limiting your request
so that it may be more likely to be able to be processed under the FOI
Act. In particular, you may want to consider limiting the scope by
identifying a particular application(s) you are interested in or a
particular document/type of document which you are seeking. To assist in
your consideration, below is an outline of the applications considered the
dates you have referred to in your request:

13-14 February ESC Meeting

[3]Application 1192.3 - Reduction of mitral regurgitation through tissue
approximation, using transvenous/transeptal techniques - Resubmission
[4]Application 1344.2 - Assessment of foot and ankle services by podiatric
surgeons – Resubmission
[5]Application 1420.1 - Extracorporeal photopheresis for treatment of
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - Resubmission
[6]Application 1429.1 - Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (T-IORT) for
early-stage breast cancer - Resubmission
[7]Application 1466 – Vertebroplasty for severely painful osteoporotic
vertebral fractures
[8]Application 1485.1 – Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for intermediate
thickness melanoma - Resubmission
[9]Application 1553 –Transmural fixation of aortic endograft adjunct to
endovascular aneurysm repair using helical anchors
[10]Application 1559 –- Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR) to
differentiate colon polyp from colorectal cancer
[11]Application 1564 - Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
(CIDP)
[12]Application 1566 – Myasthenia Gravis
[13]Application 1570 - PD-L1 (Programmed death ligand 1)
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing for access to atezolizumab as
first-line therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic
triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
[14]Application 1572 - Diagnosis of hypertension using ambulatory blood
pressure monitoring in patients with clinic blood pressure ≥ 140/90mmHg
and ≤ 180/110mmHg

3 April MSAC Meeting

[15]Application 1192.3 - Reduction of mitral regurgitation through tissue
approximation, using transvenous/transeptal techniques - Resubmission
[16]Application 1344.2 - Assessment of foot and ankle services by
podiatric surgeons – Resubmission
[17]Application 1420.1 - Extracorporeal photopheresis for treatment of
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma - Resubmission
[18]Application 1429.1 - Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy (T-IORT) for
early-stage breast cancer - Resubmission
[19]Application 1466 – Vertebroplasty for severely painful osteoporotic
vertebral fractures
[20]Application 1485.1 – Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for intermediate
thickness melanoma - Resubmission
[21]Application 1553 –Transmural fixation of aortic endograft adjunct to
endovascular aneurysm repair using helical anchors
[22]Application 1564 – Immunoglobulin for Chronic Inflammatory
Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP)
[23]Application 1566 – Immunoglobulin for Myasthenia Gravis
[24]Application 1570 - PD-L1 (Programmed death ligand 1)
immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing for access to atezolizumab as
first-line therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic
triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
[25]Application 1572 - Diagnosis of hypertension using ambulatory blood
pressure monitoring in patients with clinic blood pressure ≥ 140/90mmHg
and ≤ 180/110mmHg
[26]Application 1607 – 17p deletion testing for access to acalabrutinib in
patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
[27]Application 1621 – Amendment to MBS Item 73344 for c-ROS
proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) testing
to identify ROSI to determine patient eligibility for entrectinib under
the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)

17 April PASC meeting

[28]1522 – PDL1 immunohistochemistry testing for access to pembrolizumab
as first-line therapy for patients with recurrent (not amenable to local
treatment) or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

[29]1585 – Genetic testing for the diagnosis of early-onset or familial
neuromuscular disorders

[30]1600 – Genetic testing for inherited kidney disease (other than Alport
syndrome)

[31]1608 – Human tissue (amnion membrane) for topical treatment of
ophthalmic disorders, and wound

[32]1613 – Permanent acute coronary syndrome event detector (insertion,
removal or replacement of) for monitoring of the heart's electrical
activity

[33]1614 – Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound for patients with
essential tremor

[34]1615 – Transcatheter occlusion of left atrial appendage for patients
with non-valvular atrial fibrillation

[35]1617 – BRAF V600 mutation testing to determine eligibility for PBS
access to Braftovi® (encorafenib) in patients with metastatic colorectal
cancer (stage IV)

[36]1618 – Testing of tumour prostate tissue to detect BRCA1/2 or ATM gene
mutations in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer to
determine eligibility for PBS olaparib

[37]1619 – Testing of blood to detect germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene
mutations in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer to determine
eligibility for PBS olaparib

[38]1620 – Magnetic resonance image guided radiation therapy

Next steps

We would appreciate if you could please advise if you are willing to
narrow the scope of your request, and if so, the new scope of your
request, by COB 4 April 2020.

Kind regards

FOI Team - FOI and Legislation Support Section

[39]cid:image003.png@01D51610.1D98D220

Legal & Assurance Division |  Corporate Operations Group

Legal Advice & Legislation Branch

Australian Government Department of Health

T: 02 6289 1666  | E: [40][email address]  

GPO Box 9848, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

The Department of Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of
Australia and their continued connection to land, sea and community. We
pay our respects to all Elders past and present. 

If you receive this email in error, please delete it and contact the
sender immediately.

show quoted sections