Online Consultations Less than half ( 43.2 %, 619 out of 1,433 ) of respondents said they consulted clients online . The discipline categories that used online consultations the most were Mind-body Medicine ( 95 %, 19 out of 20 ), followed by 82.6 % ( 436 out of 528 )
Percentage
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Physical Medicine
Physical Medicine
Ingestive Medicine
Ingestive Medicine
Energetic Medicine
Registered Profession
Discipline Area
Energetic Medicine
Registered Profession
Mind-body Medicine
Figure 3.10 Percentage of Respondents who Used Digital Technologies
Percentage
No
Yes Figure 3.11 Use of Online Consultations by Discipline Category
No
Ingestive Medicine , 58.3 % ( 14 out of 24 ) Energetic Medicine , 12.3 % ( 81 out of 660 ) Physical Medicine , 29.6 % ( 45 out of 152 ) Registered Profession , and 49.0 % ( 24 out of 49 ) of practitioners who categorised themselves as ‘ Other ’ ( see Figure 3.11 ).
Yes
Mind-body Medicine
Other
Other
Health Fund Claims Many practitioners ( 37.6 %, 583 out of 1551 ) stated that 0 % of their clients claimed health funds for their services , followed by 15.7 % ( 244 out of 1551 ) who said 0-25 % of their clients claimed health funds , 12.5 % ( 194 out of 1551 ) reported 26-50 % of their clients claimed health funds , 17.5 % ( 272 out of 1551 ) reported 51-75 % clients claimed health funds and 16.6 % ( 258 out of 1551 ) of practitioners stated that 76-100 % of their clients claimed health funds ( see Figure 3.12 ).
Impact of Fund Removal Just over half ( 59.8 %, 917 out of 1534 ) of participants said they were not affected by the removal of natural therapies health fund rebates , while 40.2 % ( 617 out of 1534 ) said they were affected ( see Figure 3.13 ).
A total of 416 short open-ended responses described how respondents ’ practices had been affected by removal of health funds therapies . Most respondents said they experienced a drop in clients , with estimated declines of between 20 % - 80 %. Some stated that while there was an initial drop in clients , the number of clients gradually returned to their usual client load . A few stated that the removal of health funds meant less paperwork , but the majority said their clients were not able to afford their services , supplements or treatments after the health fund rebates were removed from their discipline . Consequently , their clients either stopped coming to the practice or came less frequently .
Figure 3.12 Percentage of Clients who Claim Health Funds for all Natural Therapies
Figure 3.13 Impact on Practice of Removal of Health Fund Rebates
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