Progressing Implementation of the National Strategy for Australia’s Rare Metabolic Disease Workforce: Exciting Developments for Metabolic Medicine

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), together with the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA) and metabolic specialists, have been reviewing the clinical genetics curriculum, which encompasses metabolic genetics and cancer genetics. Recent consensus suggests the clinical genetics curriculum should be considered separate to metabolic genetics, due to differences in the skills required for complex management of metabolic patients.

This new development from RACP and HGSA presents an exciting opportunity for metabolic medicine in Australia. Currently, the RACP and HGSA are considering a viable path forward.

Commissioned by Rare Voices Australia (RVA) and guided by Australian metabolic experts and the broader sector, Goal 4 of the National Strategy for Australia’s Rare Metabolic Diseases Workforce¹ (the Strategy), calls for ‘Recognition of the metabolic specialty and best practice criteria’.

As highlighted in the Strategy, “the metabolic specialty in Australia remains unrecognised and under-resourced, which limits opportunities for knowledge sharing, specialist professional education and pathways to innovative new treatments.”²

While the RACP noted concerns regarding cost and time constraints for specialty recognition, the Strategy stressed that:

“Formal recognition of metabolic medicine as a specialty, by the RACP, is an essential first step to advocate for the development and resourcing of multidisciplinary and highly specialised rare metabolic services.”

This step would enable a pipeline of suitably trained and experienced metabolic physicians, dietitians, genetic counsellors and nurses minimally required for best practice in a specialist metabolic service.

As the national peak body for Australians living with a rare disease leading the collaborative implementation of the Australian Government’s National Strategic Action Plan for Rare Diseases, which calls for a national rare disease workforce strategy that responds to current and future demands, RVA welcomes this progress and encourages the RACP and HGSA to consider the goals and recommendations identified in the Strategy.

References

1. Equity Economics and Rare Voices Australia (2022), Rare Metabolic Disease Workforce White Paper: Towards a Strengthened Rare Disease Workforce for Australia, February 2022.
2. Commonwealth of Australia. Department of Health. National Strategic Action Plan for Rare Diseases. Canberra; 2020. 63 p. Available from: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/03/ national-strategic-action-plan-for-rare-diseases.pdf