PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE REPORTED CHRONIC HEALTH CONDITIONS AND HEALTH PROMOTION AMONG THE KEY REASONS FOR CLIENTS SEEKING NATURAL MEDICINE CARE.( 10, 11) IN THIS SURVEY, RESPONDENTS MOST OFTEN REPORTED THAT THEIR CLIENTS PRESENTED WITH CONCERNS RELATED TO WOMEN’ S HEALTH( E. G., MENOPAUSE, HORMONE ISSUES, FERTILITY, ENDOMETRIOSIS), GUT HEALTH( E. G., MICROBIOME RESTORATION, WHOLE BODY NUTRITION), AND MENTAL HEALTH( E. G., STRESS AND ANXIETY).
also similar. However, respondents of the current survey had been in clinical practice longer than respondents in the previous survey, with 49.2 % and 31.3 % respectively being in practice more than 20 years.
Fees for natural medicine consultations are generally paid out-of-pocket by clients because Medicare benefits do not usually cover these services.( 6) The exception is the Medicare rebate available for chiropractic and osteopathic services under the Australian Government’ s Complex Care Plan for managing chronic health conditions.( 7) To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the first to provide insights into the fee setting practices of Australian natural medicine practitioners. Respondents set their fees based on qualifications and experience( 60 %), session duration / complexity( 47 %), and client demographics and location( 38 %). Business overheads( 23 %) and market benchmarking( 23 %) were considered by only about a quarter of respondents. Natural medicine practitioners’ fee setting is governed by Australian Consumer Law and competition regulations, which prohibit collusion on fees and misleading conduct.( 8) Australian medical practitioners receive the following advice about fee setting from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners( RACGP):( 9) medical practitioners should consider practice viability, including practice running costs( e. g. staff wages, insurances,), their specialisation and their patients’ capacity to pay for services when setting their fees. They cautioned that setting fees too low could risk increased pressure on GPs to work faster and longer.( 9) Such advice may form part of final year students’ education and has been provided to ATMS members via‘ transition to practice’ webinars.
Previous studies have reported chronic health conditions and health promotion among the key reasons for clients seeking natural medicine care.( 10, 11)
In this survey, respondents most often reported that their clients presented with concerns related to women’ s health( e. g., menopause, hormone issues, fertility, endometriosis), gut health( e. g., microbiome restoration, whole body nutrition), and mental health( e. g., stress and anxiety). The prominence of mental health concerns aligns with the Australian Government’ s recent focus on improving the mental health and wellbeing of Australians, given the high prevalence of people with mental health concerns in Australia.( 12)
The aim of this survey was to inform advocacy efforts for private health fund item codes and support the development of practical and equitable funding models for natural therapies. Results highlighted strong practitioner preference for simple, flexible item codes. There was an overwhelming opposition to GP referral requirements for clients’ receiving health fund rebates for natural medicine services. Natural medicine practitioners
134 | vol31 | no3 | JATMS