Osteopathy Awareness Week

This week is Osteopathic Awareness Week for 2014. Together with our professional organisation Osteopathy Australia (formerly Australian Osteopathic Association), all the osteopaths at Inlign Osteopathy are enthusiastic about spreading the word about osteopathy and its benefits.

So why have osteopathy awareness week? As a profession, we are striving to give you the best care we can. However, as we are still a relatively smaller voice in the physical therapy space, sometimes osteopaths are not heard.

By making the public more aware of who we are, osteopaths can have a bigger, louder voice when asking for government and private health insurance assistance. And this ultimately benefits you as a patient.

Some of the improvements, among others, that Osteopaths are striving for are:

• Better Access to Diagnostic Imaging
  Did you know that even though osteopaths assess and treat all areas of the body and most musculoskeletal disorders, we aren’t able to order imaging of extremities or ultrasound imaging that is rebatable by medicare? 

• The Ability to Refer to Surgeons
  Did you know that in order to refer you to for example an orthopaedic surgeon, we would need you to go through your GP? This is despite the high level knowledge osteopaths have of bones, joints and muscle systems. 

• Better Private Health Insurance Rebates
  Some insurers give osteopathic treatments lower benefits than other similar treatments. This is a continuing frustration for both patients and practitioners.

Without these improvements, osteopathic practitioners are restricted in the immediate care that we can provide for you.

So what can you do? Every day this week, tell one friend or family member what Osteopathy is and what it has done for you. By just telling one person a day, you can help us as a profession to help you.

For more information on Osteopathy, visit Inlign Osteopathy or Osteopathy Australia.