In our survey , working in group practices was reported by 26.1 %, with 1.6 % of those being in group practices with GPs . The disciplines most likely to work in group settings were Physical Therapists and Registered Practitioners . A total of 43.2 % of respondents reported practising online , a trend that was bolstered during the COVID-19 lockdowns . Ingestive Medicine practitioners had the highest percentage of online consultations , with 82.6 % reporting using online consultations . More than half of respondents ( 57.1 %) used digital technologies to operate or manage their practices . Ingestive medicine practitioners were the highest users , with 66.7 % reporting digitising their practices .
iii ) Health fund rebates for natural medicine A total of 62.4 % of survey respondents reported that some of their clients claimed part of the fee for their services with their private health insurers .
In 2019 the Australian Government removed subsidies for health fund rebates for 16 natural therapies ( Australian Government Department of Health , 2020 ). The impact of this action on natural medicine businesses was reported by 40.2 % of respondents , including a drop in client numbers . A Natural Therapies Review Expert Advisory Panel is currently reviewing the evidence for the natural therapies in question , which it is hoped will lead to reinstatement of some of these subsidies .
iv ) Collaboration Just over half ( 55.4 %) of natural medicine respondents reported collaborating with other health practitioners . This mostly involved referring clients to GPs for medical diagnostic tests like blood tests or X-rays . Ingestive Medicine practitioners and Registered Practitioners referred most frequently . Referral for functional pathology testing such as
hair or saliva analysis , stool testing or gene mapping was occasionally used by 23.9 % of respondents , but predominantly by Ingestive Medicine practitioners , with 31 % referring frequently or very frequently for functional pathology tests . A total of 70.9 % reported receiving referrals from other health practitioners occasionally , frequently or very frequently . Such figures suggest an encouraging degree of collaboration among health practitioners . In terms of clinical reasoning , 61.7 % of respondents reported using medical diagnostic tests to inform their assessment of their clients occasionally , frequently or very frequently . Almost 60 % of respondents said they discussed their treatment options with other health practitioners occasionally ( 47 %), frequently ( 11 %) or very frequently ( 1.7 %), further confirming the extent of collaboration among natural medicine and other health practitioners .
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SFI Health is a global natural healthcare company specialising in women ’ s health , cognitive health , and the microbiome . Connecting practitioners with research , innovation , and education , we are proud to bring to life solutions that give people the confidence to strive for better wellbeing .
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