Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; and South West Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW 2170, Australia; and Corresponding author. Email:
Menzies Health Institute - Centre for Health Practice Innovation, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Qld 4222, Australia.
Aust J Prim Health. 2021 Dec;27(6):437-441. doi: 10.1071/PY21076.
The global burden of chronic disease has forced health systems to focus on improved care. This has led to improved health outcomes for some populations, but not for all people or for all conditions. The rising prevalence of chronic disease has also significantly increased demands on healthcare systems, with unsustainable costs to funders. To improve health and social outcomes for all people with chronic disease, it is critical to embrace allied health professionals as key members of primary healthcare teams. The recognised efficacy and cost-effectiveness of many allied health interventions suggest that implementation into usual care would result in enhanced outcomes for people accessing healthcare, their families and communities, and for health systems. Our aim is to highlight the current unacceptable lack of allied health integration into primary healthcare teams, and illustrate the potential value of improved and equitable access to allied health professionals for managing chronic conditions and multimorbidity.
全球慢性病负担迫使卫生系统专注于改善护理。这为一些人群带来了更好的健康结果，但并非所有人或所有疾病都如此。慢性病患病率的上升也极大地增加了医疗保健系统的需求，给供资方带来了不可持续的成本。为了改善所有慢性病患者的健康和社会结果，至关重要的是将辅助医疗专业人员作为初级医疗保健团队的关键成员。许多辅助医疗干预措施的公认疗效和成本效益表明，将其纳入常规护理将提高接受医疗保健服务者、其家庭和社区以及卫生系统的治疗效果。我们的目的是强调当前初级医疗保健团队中辅助医疗专业人员整合严重不足的现状，并说明改善和公平地获得辅助医疗专业人员以管理慢性病和多种疾病的潜在价值。
