Aim:To describe the characteristics of people in Central and Eastern Sydney (CES), NSW, who had a General Practice Management Plan (GPMP) and claimed for at least one private allied health service item; and to examine if allied health service use results in less hospitalisations over a five-year period.Background:The number of people living with chronic health conditions is increasing in Australia. The Chronic Disease Management programme was introduced to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to provide a more structured approach to managing patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs. The programme supports general practitioners claiming up to one GPMP and one Team Care Arrangement every year, and the patient additionally claiming for up to five private allied health services visits.Methods:A prospective longitudinal study was conducted. The sample consisted of 5771 participants in CES who had a GPMP within a two-year health service utilisation baseline period (2007–2009). The analysis used the 45 and Up Study questionnaire data linked to the MBS, hospitalisation, death and emergency department data for the period 2006–2014.Findings:Of the eligible participants, 43% (2460) had at least one allied health service item claim in the subsequent 12 months. Allied health services were reported as physiotherapy, podiatry and other allied health services. The highest rates of allied health service use were among participants aged 85 years and over (49%). After controlling for confounding factors, a significant difference was found between having claimed for five or more physiotherapy services and emergency admissions (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.72–0.95) and potentially preventable hospitalisations (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.64–0.96) in the subsequent five years. Use of allied health service items was well targeted towards those with chronic and complex care needs, and use of physiotherapy services was associated with less avoidable hospitalisations.
The economy suffered a major loss when COVID-19 hit due to business shutdowns. Repercussions from economic downfall due to closed businesses from social distance policies has made many small businesses lose operation mechanisms and see a decrease in profit and sales. Many people lost their jobs due to businesses losses a record 22 million employees have filed for unemployment. In this paper, how the COVID-19 epidemic has changed people's behaviors and changed the way people shop. As more people are shopping online to avoid at risk situations at busy stores, small businesses are seeing losses in sales and customers. Also we studied when they rely on small profits margins, how the small businesses have suffered the worst losses, seeing a decrease in business sales and a lower revenue margin. This research shows how social distance policy has especially affected businesses vulnerable to COVID-19 risks. This often includes businesses that have large groups of people in close quarters or highly susceptible relationships that increase the risks of spreading the illness, such as restaurants or retail stores. Government help has been recommended especially for small businesses and workers who are most vulnerable to economic losses.
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