Dataset Information

The provision of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathic services within the Australian private health-care system: a report of recent trends.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chiropractors, physiotherapists, and osteopaths receive training in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions. As a result there is considerable overlap in the types of conditions that are encountered clinically by these practitioners. In Australia, the majority of benefits paid for these services come from the private sector. The purpose of this article is to quantify and describe the development in service utilization and the cost of benefits paid to users of these healthcare services by private health insurers. An exploration of the factors that may have influenced the observed trends is also presented.

Methods

A review of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, and the Australian Government Private Health Insurance Administration Council was conducted. An analysis of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathic service utilisation and cost of service utilisation trend was performed along with the level of benefits and services over time.

Results

In 2012, the number of physiotherapists working in the private sector was 2.9 times larger than that of chiropractic, and 7.8 times that of the osteopathic profession. The total number of services provided by chiropractors, physiotherapists, and osteopaths increased steadily over the past 15 years. For the majority of this period, chiropractors provided more services than the other two professions. The average number of services provided by chiropractors was approximately two and a half times that of physiotherapists and four and a half times that of osteopaths.

Conclusions

This study highlights a clear disparity in the average number of services provided by chiropractors, physiotherapists, and osteopaths in the private sector in Australia over the last 15 years. Further research is required to explain these observed differences and to determine whether a similar trend exists in patients who do not have private health insurance cover.

SUBMITTER: Engel RM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3896731 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The provision of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathic services within the Australian private health-care system: a report of recent trends.

Engel Roger M RM Brown Benjamin T BT Swain Michael S MS Lystad Reidar P RP

Chiropractic & manual therapies 20140115 1

<h4>Background</h4>Chiropractors, physiotherapists, and osteopaths receive training in the diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions. As a result there is considerable overlap in the types of conditions that are encountered clinically by these practitioners. In Australia, the majority of benefits paid for these services come from the private sector. The purpose of this article is to quantify and describe the development in service utilization and the cost of benefits paid to users o ...[more]

PMID: 24428934

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundNo documented standard or core competencies exist for paediatric curriculum in entry-level physiotherapy programs in Australia. Consequently, extensive variability is thought to exist amongst Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs for preparing physiotherapists to work safely and effectively with children. The purpose of this study was to explore the landscape of paediatric curriculum in Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs and identify the paediatric content being covered, its perceived importance according to university academics who teach paediatrics, the mode of delivery and assessment, and the strengths, weaknesses, barriers and facilitators to implementing paediatric curriculum.MethodsA web-based desktop audit and an online cross-sectional survey using closed and open-ended questions was administered to all Australian universities offering entry-level physiotherapy programs in November 2017. Content coverage and perceived level of importance for paediatric content areas were determined using Likert scale responses. Open-ended responses were thematically analysed to identify key themes for strengths, weaknesses and facilitators to implementation of paediatric curriculum.ResultsAll (n = 20, 100%) entry-level programs used the terms lifespan, child and/or paediatrics somewhere in at least one subject descriptor. Forty-five percent (n = 9) of universities did not use the terms lifespan, child or paediatric in their published learning objectives. Eight (40%) universities offered a paediatric stand-alone course. Sixty-five (13/20) percent of universities invited, responded to the survey. For paediatric conditions the perceived level of importance was predominately higher than its course content coverage for 19 of the 31 conditions surveyed. Key barriers to implementating paediatric curriculum were: crowded curriculum, limited financial resources resulting in a lack of qualified staff, lack of prioritisation of paediatric curriculum and inadequate paediatric placement availability. Facilitators for effective implementation of paediatric content were stand-alone paediatric subjects, demonstrated dedication to paediatric curriculum and having suitably qualified faculty members.ConclusionThe results of this survey provide the physiotherapy community with the views of paediatric physiotherapy academic educators regarding the content, perceived need to expand content delivery in identified clinical areas, and the barriers and facilitators to implementing paediatric content in Australian entry-level physiotherapy programs. Further research exploring similar questions with paediatric physiotherapy clinicians would complement the findings of this study.

Dataset Information

The provision of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathic services within the Australian private health-care system: a report of recent trends.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The provision of chiropractic, physiotherapy and osteopathic services within the Australian private health-care system: a report of recent trends.

Similar Datasets

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