Diverse and vulnerable: experiences of private allied health practices managing through the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications for the financial viability of Australian primary care
John Petrozzi1, Michael Wright2, Rebekah Hoffman3, Brendan Goodger4, Sarah Wise2 1University Of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, 2Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia, 3Graduate Medicine General Practice Academic Unit, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 4Central and Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network, 5Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia
Abstract
Background: The majority of allied health services are delivered by small, private practices in the primary care setting with limited government funding. During the COVID-19 lockdowns these practices were subject to the same health orders as any other private business with only ‘essential services’ permitted to remain open.
Research aim: To understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated public health measures, on the financial viability of private allied health practices.
Methods: Thirteen semi-structured interviews with allied health practice owners and managers in Sydney. Data were analysed thematically.
Findings: All of the interviewees reported experiencing the stress of balancing precarious finances caused by reduced and/or fluctuating patient demand. Patients’ reluctance to seek care was compounded by ambiguity around whether allied health services were ‘essential’. Manual therapies were particularly vulnerable to financial stress because their capacity to transition to telehealth and access to government funding were limited. Conversely, psychologists reported demand for their services exceeded what they could provide.
Study implications: The findings are indicative of allied health’s peripheral status in Australia’s primary care landscape. Greater priority to the funding and integration of allied health is needed in primary care policy.
Biography
John is a clinician researcher who completed a back pain focused PhD at The University of Sydney in 2021. He has been a practicing chiropractor in full-time practice since 1998 in Sydney Australia and continues to practice alongside his research roles.
During his PhD John co-designed and lead an Australia-wide randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of combined physical treatments with an internet-delivered psychological intervention for the management of chronic back pain. Several quantitative and qualitative journal articles were published from this work.