Decade of Medicare : The contribution of private practice dietitians to chronic disease management and diabetes group services
- Authors: Cant, Robyn , Ball, Lauren
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nutrition and Dietetics Vol. 72, no. 3 (2015), p. 284-290
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Aim: To review changes in utilisation of dietetics services through the Medicare Chronic Disease Management program over the last decade and describe patient uptake in 2013. Methods: Dietetics service data were extracted from published Medicare statistics for the periods (i) January 2004 to December 2013 and (ii) January to December 2013. Data comprised individual dietetics services by state and patient demography, and group services data for provider professions regarding type 2 diabetes: dietitians, diabetes educators and exercise physiologists. t-test was used to investigate the association of dietetics' individual service utilisation and workforce statistics. Results: Individual dietetics Chronic Disease Management consultations in private practice have increased annually since 2004. Dietetics has remained the third largest provider. In 2013, a total of 302910 individual consultations were conducted; 7% of allied health consultations. Likewise, individual services for Indigenous Australians increased since 2008. Utilisation of group services for type 2 diabetes comprised <2% of dietetics services. Dietitians provided more group services than diabetes educators but considerably fewer than exercise physiologists. Middle-aged and older patients were common, with highest uptake by those aged 55-74 years. Overall, total and per capita utilisation rates were considerably higher in NSW, Victoria and Queensland compared to less populous states, although this disparity has reduced since 2010. Conclusions: As 10 years has elapsed since the program's inception, further evaluation of the policy is needed to examine large variations in dietetics' Chronic Disease Management uptake by state and territory in both individual and group services. © 2015 Dietitians Association of Australia.
Facilitating patients' dietary change : A review of dietitians' correspondence practices with general practitioners
- Authors: Cant, Robyn , Pomeroy, Sylvia
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Nutrition and Dietetics Vol. 68, no. 2 (2011), p. 140-148
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Aim: Dietitian and general practitioner collaboration in the nutrition care of a patient is important to assist patients to achieve their nutrition goals. This paper aims to review the published literature on dietitians' correspondence practices with recipient general practitioners regarding nutrition interventions recommended to patients. Methods: A literature search was conducted of publications from 1995 to December 2009. Key words were used to search the electronic databases Medline, CINAHL Plus, ProQuest, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. Twenty papers that addressed this topic were selected by two authors for inclusion in the review. Results: There is evidence that dietitians often fail to provide general practitioners with formalised correspondence that describes dietitians' nutrition interventions with patients. Doctors report they lack patient information via dietitians' correspondence. Information about nutrition care of hospital patients often remains within hospital records. Doctors prefer standardised letter formats with content presented succinctly. The letter should include a nutrition diagnosis, agreed goals, a plan for ongoing dietetic visits and instructions for a general practitioner's supportive actions. Conclusion: Dietitians need skill in drafting reports or letters useful for general practitioners by selecting content of value to doctors and using a suitable style. Implementation of shared electronic records in Australia will facilitate information transfer to help realise collaborative patient care. Further investigations of dietitian-general practitioner correspondence are warranted to determine best practice. © 2011 The Authors. Nutrition & Dietetics © 2011 Dietitians Association of Australia.