Strengthening engagement and support for Allied Health
Our PHN identified an opportunity for PHNs to play a key role in supporting the Allied Health sector as an important part of an integrated health system. This includes having an increased focus towards wellbeing and prevention within the health system. In addressing this priority, the PHN has supported Allied Health through initiatives including the development of the Allied Health Engagement Framework, education and business skills workshops.
Allied Health data and quality improvement (BEAP) project findings published
Allied health professionals make significant contributions in the care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the value of this care is not well known due to limited access to collective data sets.
While allied health is a growing professional group, and as the population and rates of chronic disease increase in Australia, it is likely the demand for allied health services will continue to increase, especially in regional, rural and remote areas. Solutions to meet this demand will increasingly require evidence-based information to plan for delivery of equitable and accessible value-based care.
The PHN developed a quality improvement pilot project aiming to demonstrate the value of allied health care to patients with a chronic disease (T2DM).
The pilot tested the concept that current software technology can be used to aggregate allied health clinician and patient-reported disease measures from various sources.
The pilot was conducted with five allied health practices from various professions (physiotherapist, podiatrist, exercise physiologist, dietitian and accredited diabetes educator) and locations, including regional and rural practices.
A technical and process workflow was developed to collect clinician-reported clinical measures (CM), patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) and patient-reported experience measures (PREM) from T2DM patients. The PROMIS Scale v1.2 Global Health measures were collected via a digital patient survey. Both the CM and the PROM were collected at the initial and final stages of client intervention. The data was de-identified and aggregated for reporting from a central data repository (PHN Insights).
It was shown that existing software could be used to collect and store de-identified, aggregated allied health data from various practices and professions in a central data repository, from which evidence-based reports could be developed.
Business Skills Workshops for Allied Health professionals a huge success
The PHN recently completed a series of Business Workshops for Allied Health professionals which were held across our PHN region in the Central Coast, Taree, Hunter Valley and Inverell.
Participants were promised to walk away from the workshop with a range of tools ready to apply to their business including:
- A one-page “Vision Map” providing clarity for the next 5 years.
- A one-page Business Improvement Plan, that lays out strategies to save time and increase profit.
- A simple dashboard structure to measure and monitor performance to ensure business goals are met
- A 90 Day Action Plan which identifies key actions to apply in the next quarter.
The workshops were a huge success with some of the best feedback and evaluation results for education that the PHN has seen. The overall rating from participants was 5/5 with some of key learnings outlined as defining business purpose, values and written goals, building team culture, and developing confidence in leadership.
Allied Health in Primary Care Engagement Framework
A framework developed to strengthen engagement between the Primary Health Networks and the Allied Health sector has been launched by the National PHN Cooperative. The National PHN Allied Health in Primary Care Engagement Framework (The Framework) will serve as a roadmap for increased and collaborative ways of working.
Allied Health Peak Bodies and practitioners, State/Territory and Federal governments and PHNs have all played a crucial role in shaping the development of the Framework over the past year. This input has been invaluable in informing future engagement strategies to support allied health contributions to consumer and community outcomes.
The Vision for Change
The Framework has been developed with the intention of strengthening engagement between PHNs and the Allied Health sector, and serving as a roadmap for increased and collaborative ways of working.
There is an opportunity for PHNs to play a key role in supporting the Allied Health sector as an important part of an integrated health system. This includes having an increased focus towards wellbeing and prevention within the health system. The newly adopted Australia's Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022-2032 provides the potential for a wider dialogue between PHNs and the Allied Health sector in these areas.
The Framework was developed to harness the opportunity, in response to increased engagement with the Allied Health sector, that arose during COVID-19 when the need for engagement guidelines became evident. In the context of unprecedented workforce challenges, this Framework offers a key opportunity to work together to optimise utilisation of the existing workforce.
The Purpose
The purpose of the Framework is to set out a roadmap to encourage a consistent approach to support efficient and effective primary health Allied Health service delivery to communities, define roles and approaches for engaging with the Allied Health sector, and drive change to increase collaboration between the Allied Health sector and PHNs.
The Framework provides a description of the intentions behind the development of the Framework, the core recommendations underpinning it, roles of PHNs in supporting Allied Health and six key priority areas.
The six identified key priority areas for increasing collaboration between PHNs and the Allied Health sector include:
- Nationally-led collaboration
- Governance and culture
- Practice engagement
- Data quality, and digital maturity
- Workforce and access to allied health care
- Integration, models of care and funding
The Framework is designed primarily for use by PHNs, with implementation at PHN level to be guided by the Allied Health sector and other stakeholders. It is intended to support an ongoing process of strengthening PHN engagement with the Allied Health sector.
The Framework was developed following broad stakeholder engagement through focus groups, roundtable discussions and a survey administered between March – June 2022.
Allied Health Reconnection Grants seek to enhance multidisciplinary care
Among the many health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disruption of access to healthcare was significant for many patients, particularly those with chronic conditions. In recognition of this, the PHN launched the Allied Health Reconnection Grants in March 2023 seeking to enhance opportunities for clinicians to work together in a multidisciplinary patient-centred approach. The grants aimed to encourage primary care Allied Health providers to implement ideas to re-engage or enhance care whilst promoting collaboration with other health providers.
The grants were in the amount of $20,000 to $50,000 and specified activities that placed the patient at the centre of Allied Health care. They required the grant recipient to work collectively with at least one other organisation and with a mix of health or social service providers, or allied health colleagues from different professions. Grant applications that focused on patients whose care was impacted by the pandemic were prioritised.
Emphasising the inherent value of Allied Health as a component of a multi-disciplinary team, the grants sought applications that included activities such as the implementation of new or enhanced models of care, team-based rehabilitation programs, social prescribing programs at a community level and place-based approaches that addressed the needs of priority population groups.
$100 000 was the total funding which was allocated to two recipients – Recovery Station and Early Start Speech Pathology.