Healthcare reform

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INMOTION 01 May, 2024

Advocacy Tetris

From member priorities to political attacks on the profession, juggling advocacy issues is a complex game.

The APA, like all professional associations, surveys its members to learn more about your issues and concerns and the priorities you want us to pursue.

Through a yearly member census, regular quick polls and other health metrics, we analyse information on member views.

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INMOTION 01 May, 2024

Equal voices for a sustainable future

The APA’s National Advisory Council (NAC) had a great start to the year with its first face-to-face meeting in Melbourne.

It is always so encouraging to hear what our national groups, advisory councils and branches are working on to advance physiotherapy.

It is also a pleasure to see the different groups connecting with each other and assessing how they can better work together and share advocacy and professional development.

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INMOTION 02 Apr, 2024

Funding what matters

Australians deserve access to funded physiotherapy at the top of physiotherapists’ scope of practice, argues APA General Manager, Policy and Government Relations Simon Tatz.

Every year, the federal government calls for submissions on Budget priorities. 

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INMOTION 02 Apr, 2024

Remove the barriers

Like many other engaged members around the country, I had the pleasure of representing the APA and the physiotherapy profession at the federal scope of practice review.

This review is one of the most important events happening in healthcare reform right now. 

Its purpose is to assess the opportunities that could be realised if all professions, including physiotherapy, could work to full scope of practice. 

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INMOTION 04 Mar, 2024

Strength in alignment

University educators and clinicians Jacqueline North, Associate Professor Michael Lee and Dr Roma Forbes reflect on industry partnerships with physiotherapy education providers and urge the profession to consider the mutual benefits of a co-design model.

Universities that provide physiotherapy education and the broader physiotherapy profession should seek to develop sustainable and mutually beneficial educational partnerships. 

An artist's impression of an advocacy journey as if cutting a way through a maze.
INMOTION 01 Mar, 2024

Direct referrals are a no-brainer reform

Direct physiotherapy referrals are an obvious reform that’s long overdue, explains APA General Manager, Policy and Government Relations Simon Tatz.

The role of the APA Policy and Government Relations team is to advocate for change. 

We always strive for ‘better’—better access to care, a better patient journey, better health outcomes, better use of the physiotherapy workforce and better use of physiotherapists’ skills and scope of practice.

Australia’s health system is overly complex and weighed down by an overlapping and competing federal–state divide. 

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INMOTION 01 Feb, 2024

Navigating preferred provider schemes

OVERVIEW Melissa Mitchell delves into the world of preferred provider schemes, aiming to unravel the opportunities, benefits, challenges and potential pitfalls associated with this model.

Preferred provider schemes (PPS), often synonymous with increased patient referrals and streamlined administrative processes, have become a cornerstone of modern healthcare delivery. 

The image shows the curve of the globe against a cloudy sky. Australia is at the top of the globe and New Zealand is on the bottom right.
INMOTION 01 Feb, 2024

New physiotherapy practice thresholds

PHYSIOTHERAPY BOARD OF AUSTRALIA The Physiotherapy Board of Australia and the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand have jointly updated the physiotherapy practice thresholds. Here’s what you need to know.

The Physiotherapy Board of Australia has released updated physiotherapy practice thresholds for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

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INMOTION 01 Feb, 2024

Optimism and other disorders

ADVOCACY As the government appears to make a genuine commitment to healthcare reform, we wrestle with the burden of hope.

A decade ago, the former CEO of Mental Health Australia, John Mendoza, produced a massive three-volume reflection on 30 years of mental health reform in Australia and visions for the future.

He titled this landmark collection of essays and articles Obsessive Hope Disorder.

The heading reflected an obsessive optimism that, any day now, reforms will be delivered to improve healthcare.

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INMOTION 01 Feb, 2024

5 Facts about physiotherapy for the LGBTQIA+ community

Dr Megan Ross presents five discussion points about the challenges members of the LGBTQIA+ community face in accessing physiotherapy and how physiotherapists can provide care that is inclusive and affirming.