APA welcomes latest General Practice activity reports

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) welcomes the release of the latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) regarding the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) study into General Practice.

'The data shows that over a quarter of all Allied Health referrals in Australia by GPs are to physiotherapists. The links have never been stronger and reflect the long standing collaborative partnership between the two professions that has existed for many decades,' stated APA President Melissa Locke.

The latest yearly report for 2010-2011 as well as the Decade of General Practice activity report for 2001-11 highlights that physiotherapists are the health professional of choice for General Practitioners when it comes to the treating of a range of physical ailments such as the management of chronic pain.

'We are particularly pleased that the rate of referrals to Allied Health professionals continues to increase with an estimated 230,000 more referrals to physiotherapists in 2010-11 compared to 2001-02. This equates to a 63% increase in activity over the past decade,' Ms Locke said.

Australian's clearly require strong communication between GPs and physiotherapists to address their health care needs. The introduction of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) in just over six months will be a critical enabler to this communication and therefore it is vital that health professionals such as physiotherapists are included as part of the new scheme from the start.

Further Information
BEACH is a continuous cross-sectional national study of general practice activity that began in April 1998. Every year approximately 1 000 randomly selected GPs participate. Each GP records details of 100 consecutive patient encounters on structured paper recording forms, and provides information about themselves and their practice. The age-sex distribution of patients at the weighted encounters has excellent precision with that of patients' at all Medicare GP-claimed encounters. General practice activity in Australia 2009-10

Contact
Kate Price, General Manager, Marketing and Communications
Australian Physiotherapy Association
M (+61) 412 793 736
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About the APA and its members

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is the peak body representing the interests of over 12 000 physiotherapists and their patients. APA members are registered with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia, must act in accordance with the APA Code of Conduct, are expected to use the latest research in practice and often have further and/or specialist qualifications. As first contact practitioners, a doctor's referral is not necessary to see a physiotherapist. Physiotherapists work with, educate and customise exercise programs for people affected by a wide range of conditions and symptoms.

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