In the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
Others have stated their priorities directly with Federal Government. Through these interviews, AHJ gives a final opportunity to communicate to all health stakeholders, the funding needs for a range of priorities. These range from new models of care to pilots and wholesale, system improvements to building more sustainable workforces to help grow certain sectors of the health system
The CEO of Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), Bronwyn Morris-Donovan spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
- The structure and priorities for AHPA
- The setting and disciplines in Allied Health
- Allied Health representation in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force
- Importance of a data strategy and interoperability in delivery of allied health services
Lastly Bronwyn talks about the allied health priorities she hopes are included in the Federal Budget.
The first is the funding to support the delivery and implementation of the allied workforce strategy across the various settings where allied health is delivered. This includes health, disability, aged care and education settings. This should “genuinely look at issues of supply and distribution across multiple setting.”, says Bronwyn.
The second key priority is further work and investment with the Australian Digital Health Agency to build the interoperability needed for allied health to be able to upload to My Health Record. This access is an enabler to multidisciplinary team care and is a core recommendation of the Strengthening Medicare Task Force report; to enhance, build and foster multidisciplinary team care. Bronwyn states this is only possible by bringing allied health into the digital ecosystem through better digital interoperability.
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Emerging researcher appointed to James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW
The UNSW Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health is widely renowned as the pre-eminent psychiatry research department in the country and one of the leading university psychiatry research groups internationally. In 2023 it celebrated 60 Years of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kimberlie Dean, Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney, about the recent appointment of mental health disorders expert and clinician researcher Dr Aswin Ratheesh to lead the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW Sydney. -
Handling modern day diets and misinformation as a HCP
Laureate Professor Clare Collins AO in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Newcastle, emphasises the need for accurate and reliable nutrition information to reach the public. Prof Collins believes that it is vital for clinicians to stay up-to-date with cutting-edge nutrition science and work with communication organisations to disseminate information to the general public. This is particularly important as social media is full of both reliable and unreliable information on dietary patterns, such as veganism.
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Enhancing occupational therapy service provision with military veterans
Almost half a million Australians have served with the Australian Defence Force. Given the high prevalence of physical and mental health conditions and complexity of civilian life adjustment after military service, high-quality occupational therapy services are critical. However, there is limited description of occupational therapy service provision to individuals funded by the Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs to inform government policy.
A cross-sectional study, led by Professor Carol McKinstry, Professor of Occupational Therapy and Deputy Dean with La Trobe University’s Rural Health School at the Bendigo campus has used an online survey to collect information from occupational therapists providing services to Department of Veterans’ Affairs clients.
