Healthcare reform

A crowd of people fills the screen
INMOTION 03 Oct, 2022

Strength in numbers

The past year has provided so many opportunities for the APA to engage with, influence and lead the health sector, internationally as well as here in Australia. 

This has become more possible as our membership numbers have risen—now at a record 31,000 members. 

A group of gowned university graduates look at the camera and smile.
INMOTION 03 Oct, 2022

Registering as a physiotherapist in Australia

Are you about to graduate, about to start practising or returning to practice? Here are some tips for ensuring that the registration process goes smoothly.

Before you start practising and using the title of physiotherapist, you must be registered with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia via Ahpra.

An illustration of a peg person with a thought buddle above their head.
INMOTION 03 Oct, 2022

Healthcare advertising guidelines

Advertising is a useful way for you, as a provider of regulated health services, to communicate your services to assist consumers to make informed choices. However, in providing and advertising a regulated health service, you have obligations to the public to ensure that your advertisements are legally compliant.

White pills spill from a medicine bottle on to a bench top.
INMOTION 03 Oct, 2022

Change has been an easy pill to swallow

A select team of advanced scope physiotherapists at Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s emergency department have begun administering paracetamol and ibuprofen to patients following a successful three-month audit period. Here, those who advocated for the change discuss the implications for the profession.

Two half full bowls of water sitting side by side.
INMOTION 03 Oct, 2022

Terminology and health literacy

APA General Manager, Policy and Government Relations Simon Tatz considers what ‘allied health’ means to consumers struggling to navigate our complex health system.

Semantics is the scientific study of meaning as expressed in language. It describes how language is used, often in advertising and politics, to have a desired effect on an audience.

More commonly, when we hear someone say, ‘Oh, that’s just being semantic’, what they’re implying is that there’s a trivial debate about word use, that someone is ‘splitting hairs’ or nitpicking.

A silver pen lies next to a stack of different coloured folders.
INMOTION 01 Sep, 2022

White paper lays out transformative reform path

APA National President Scott Willis considers the APA’s upcoming white paper, Future of Physiotherapy in Australia, which calls for comprehensive reform and outlines seven detailed actions to bring it about.

Where to for reform?

The past decade of policy drift has meant there’s been little to no progress towards creating the value-based healthcare system we need.

Cartoon of a man in a red armchair reading an extremely long white paper extending out of a red laptop.
INMOTION 01 Sep, 2022

The origin of the white paper

As the APA releases a significant white paper on physiotherapy’s future, APA General Manager, Policy and Government Relations Simon Tatz considers the history and purpose of white papers.

The APA will soon be releasing a white paper, Future of Physiotherapy in Australia—a 10-year vision policy paper.

Man surfing a wave
INMOTION 01 Sep, 2022

Riding the wave

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, we are still experiencing the effects and after-effects of COVID-19 in the clinic and beyond.

Private practices are reporting the financial burden of patients cancelling due to sickness (including COVID-19), being close contacts or family care priorities.

This is compounded when clinical and administrative staff are unable to work for the same reasons.

Monique Ryan on stage celebrating her election win, with teal balloons behind her.
INMOTION 19 Aug, 2022

Taking a turn for the better

APA General Manager, Policy and Government Relations Simon Tatz reflects on the opportunities for healthcare reform presented by a diverse and progressive new Parliament.

Politics in Australia changed dramatically on 21 May this year.

The election of a Labor Government led by Prime Minister Albanese was predicted by all polling organisations; however, few so-called expert commentators and well-known political analysts foresaw the election of so many independents and Greens.

A physiotherapist assisting a patient with low back pain
INMOTION 18 Aug, 2022

Backing out of an emergency

Low back pain is the fifth most common reason for emergency department (ED) presentations in Australia.

As cases continue to grow, the condition is placing ED staff and resources under mounting pressure at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has already brought many hospitals to a point of crisis.

We know, however, that most people presenting with low back pain in ED are triaged as non-serious/non-urgent and many could be managed by a physiotherapist.