‘Unleashing the Potential of Our Health Workforce’ final report released
6 Nov 2024
The independent Scope of Practice Review has now been released, offering a high-level approach to unlocking the full potential of our health workforce.
The review involved four progressive phases over 12 months of consultation and research, examining issues that limit primary care professionals’ ability to work to full scope, challenges facing care teams across settings, and potential mechanisms to overcome these barriers.
The review produced two issues papers. Issues paper 1 explored the available evidence about the benefits, risks, barriers and enablers to health practitioners working to their full scope of practice. Issues paper 2 moved from identifying and clarifying problems and issues to proposing policy reform options for further consideration and development through consultation.
The final report, 'Unleashing the Potential of Our Health Workforce', outlines targeted reforms aimed at strengthening care delivery and tackling workforce challenges, proposing 18 recommendations across four themes:
- Workforce design, development, education and planning
- Legislation and regulation
- Funding and payment policy
- Enablers and other key considerations
Final report highlights specific to podiatry
- Direct referral pathways: Empowering podiatrists to refer directly to specialists, like vascular surgeons for diabetic foot disease, supported by advanced technology.
- Prescribing consistency: Working to resolve inconsistencies in prescribing rights across states and territories, establishing a unified framework.
- Digital health: The need for robust digital health systems—particularly to support podiatrists in rural and remote areas.
While these recommendations set a high-level agenda, the APodA looks forward to unpacking the potential opportunities and advocating for a strengthened podiatry profession in Australia.
We await further government review and details on next steps in the coming months.
To read the full 'Unleashing the Potential of Our Health Workforce' final report, please click here >>
A heartfelt thank you to all our members who shared insights throughout this review. Your dedication to advancing our profession is inspiring!