The Australian Pituitary Foundation’s activities include:

Healthcare Professionals

The APF is supported by Australia’s leading endocrinologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists and endocrine nurses - who provide articles for our newsletters and contribute to our patient information seminars. The Foundation takes the opportunity to present at health professionals conferences and symposiums on the patient perspective of living with pituitary disease.  In turn, the APF supports medical education and research – but we do not provide specific medical advice. Patients should always consult the appropriate medical professionals.

Support Groups

The APF has developed extensive links with Australian and overseas endocrine patient support groups. This allows rapid access to the latest knowledge about disorders and treatments. It also creates a strong and united political position to inform governments about the requirements of patients with pituitary disorders. Recently the APF joined forces with the Children’s Growth Foundation of Australia to support the families of children with growth hormone deficiency.

Lobbying

The APF has successfully lobbied to increase the availability of pituitary medications – in particular, to include Sandostatin LAR on the list of medications funded through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from 1998.  More recently, the APF has campaigned for PBS funding of Growth Hormone (GH) for severely GH-deficient adults.  The Foundation continues to advocate for adults who are GH deficient - today's GH deficient children, who are presently subsidised for the cost, are tomorrow's GH deficient adults where no subsidy is available.

Pituitary Awareness

The APF stages the annual Pituitary Awareness Week during which a seminar day is run in all states to promote public and media awareness of the needs of pituitary patients and we intend to increase our educational resources available to pituitary patients, their families and carers.

Funding of the APF

The APF is funded by annual membership fees, donations, fundraising and sponsorship.