Arthritis Australia (AA) is calling on the federal government to expand access to physios, dietitians and other multidisciplinary health services for people living with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
They say doing so would allow millions of arthritis sufferers to avoid painful and costly knee and hip replacement surgery and reduce the enormous strain on communities, hospitals and health budget.
AA says much of the time, arthritis sufferers undergo surgery as it is the only treatment option available to them – despite non-surgical options being available. AA says this is because non-surgical arthritis treatment is not well-funded.
Jonathan Smithers, AA CEO, says current arthritis funding has not been updated and ignores the latest care recommendations.
“There’s a significant gap between the care standard and what is accessible to people with osteoarthritis under current funding models,” he says.
“Consumers lack affordable access to necessary care and are left with few alternatives to surgery. Hands-on support from allied health professionals for pain management, physical activity, and weight loss is crucial to control the rising number of surgeries.
“If properly funded it will alleviate pressure on the hospital system and most importantly improve people’s health, quality of life and keep many in the workforce and actively contributing,” he adds.
Pouring money down the drain
According to AA’s stats, more than a third of Australians are living with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions, including back pain. Musculoskeletal conditions are our most costly disease group with an annual burden of $15 billion.
A large part of this is the propensity for doctors to default to surgery, with hip and knee replacements for osteoarthritis now reaching a record high, averaging over 370 procedures per day and projected to more than double by 2030.
But AA’s research shows expanded support for exercise, weight loss, and pain management through allied health professionals can reduce costly hip and knee replacements by a third – saving $1.01 billion annually.
An Australian National University survey found that nearly half (44 per cent) of arthritis sufferers are spending more than $100 out of pocket each month on treatments related to their arthritis.
Forty-eight per cent of respondents said they had begun cutting back on this spending as a result of rising cost-of-living pressures and 43 per cent said that reducing their spending resulted in a direct increase in their pain levels.
Professor David Hunter, osteoarthritis expert and consultant rheumatologist at Royal North Shore Hospital, says the way the system is set up now perversely incentivises surgery at the expense of other methods.
“Over half of Australians living with osteoarthritis are not receiving care according to clinical guidelines,” he says.
Our healthcare system incentivises high-cost, late-stage procedures, while failing to fund earlier lifestyle behavioural interventions. By providing better clinical care at an earlier stage, we can help individuals manage their arthritis more effectively and avoid or delay invasive surgeries to alleviate pain.”
What is AA actually asking for?
AA says four key areas need to be addressed: aligning funding with the latest treatment guidelines, reducing out-of-pocket costs for these treatments, improve staffing levels and fund more research into non-surgical arthritis options.
Any proposed funding models should be written up in accordance with clinically recommended guidelines to improve patients’ quality of life, shorten surgical waiting lists and save money for the health system.
Do you suffer from arthritis? Do you often have to pay out of pocket for treatment? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: Existing drug found to help people with hand osteoarthritis
