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Podiatry EPC item blowout

by Michael Woodhead  

Claims for podiatry services have shown a massive increase since the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) program was extended in 2004, a new study shows.  

Podiatry services accounted for a third of all allied health services under the EPC program, even though there is only a tiny workforce of less than 2000 podiatrists compared to 14,000 psychologists and a similar number of physiotherapists, a study in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research shows.  

Medicare figures show that since 2004 there have been almost 1.4 million EPC consultations provided by podiatrists at a cost of $63 million. More than 75% of  consultations were provided to women over 65.  

The study, conducted by the Musculoskeletal Research Centre at Melbourne’s La Trobe University, also found that provision of podiatrist services was uneven between states, with high levels of servicing in areas with more podiatrists.  

The study authors say the striking high level of podiatrist consultations may not be sustainable, given the much higher levels of EPC item usage than predicted.  

“Podiatry is a very significant component of the EPC program, and subsidizing podiatry services represents a major funding commitment by the Commonwealth government,” the authors write.  

They also note that podiatrists appear to be charging above the maximum rebate of $48.95 to cover their costs.


4 November 2009
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Latest Comments

  • Surprise surprise. I wonder what percentage of referrals are not clinically needed and made only to tick the "2 allied health providers" box to claim the TCA. Shouldn't be a problem when TCAs are completly removed to reign in the budget blowout.

    Posted by brad 4/11/2009 4:28:16 PM

  • As the author of this paper, I have some concern about the uptake of podiatry EPC items being described as a "blow-out". Although 1.4M consultations sounds like a large number for such a small profession, the analysis was undertaken over a 5 year period. If we assume that there are 1,500 podiatrists in private practice in Australia working 48 weeks per year, the average number of EPC-funded consultations is less than 4 per week. Relative to the typical caseload of a podiatrist, this figure is actually quite small.

    Also, the statement in the paper regarding sustainability related to the EPC program as a whole - not specifically to podiatry consultations.

    Posted by Hylton Menz 5/11/2009 4:02:04 AM

  • Superclinics sounds great. So I suppose it will mean the end of your family GP around the corner or a few streets away who looks after the family and does house calls when the baby or very old lady is sick. Now it will be like going to the shopping centre which might be a few kilometers away.And what if your husband takes the only car to work? Wait for the bus with the other 2 kids, etc etc,

    Posted by Isaac Brajtma 5/11/2009 4:41:24 PM

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