The Economist Impact - Musculoskeletal Injuries in Australia Report outlines the growing number of meniscal injury (MI) and rotator cuff (RC) injuries in Australia. It seeks to find solutions to ensure patients in Australia access better care for acute soft tissue injuries, and that a multi-party solution is adopted to address risks and gaps in current practices care looking at diagnostic techniques, referral mechanisms, and cost considerations of different reimbursement and/or compensation schemes.

Smith+Nephew Senior Director, Sports Medicine, Ella Post says that these injuries impact individuals, the health system and workplaces and that patient pathways need to be simplified and streamlined to ensure best-practice diagnosis and treatment.

“Our health system is experiencing heightened demand for surgical interventions for meniscal and rotator cuff injuries related services causing what we believe is a concerning and growing public health challenge in Australia. We know that access to care is dwindling, as elective surgery queues are getting bigger, and pathways are inconsistent between different clinicians and providers.

We believe it will take an all-of-system approach to ensure that Australians experiencing these injuries get the care they need, when they need it and at the quality they deserve.”

Key recommendations of the report include:

• Increase awareness of the burden of MI and RC injuries
• Simplify and streamline patient pathways
• Recognise and provide support for the different roles played by healthcare professionals, especially GPs, along the patient pathway
• Improve elements of the health system, including better access to and use of clinical data
• Review costs and existing compensation/reimbursement schemes for MI and RC injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders are the biggest contributor to years lived with disability worldwide (approximately 17%)¹. If left unresolved, MI and RC injuries can lead to severe difficulties in performing activities of daily living, work-related disruption, social withdrawal, and emotional distress.

While it is recognised that the impact of musculoskeletal injuries is vast, and serious work-related claims for these injuries are on the rise, the report outlines the lack of data available to inform and guide clinical decisions and referral patterns.

“Many of these recommendations hinge on knowing more through better communications and data sharing. Setting up a centralised registry for MI and RC injuries would help to quantify the cost of lost productivity and reduced physical function and better inform and guide clinical decisions and referral patterns, improving the quality and timeliness of care delivered,” says Post.

The report suggests that the Australian Government does not recognise these injuries as a health priority and says that critical policy changes are needed to minimise morbidities caused by untreated meniscal and rotator cuff injuries.

Kieran Fallon, Professor, Musculoskeletal, Sport and Exercise Medicine, Australia National University Medical School says that report also found that GPs and allied health services play a critical role in ensuring an outcomes-focused patient journey with the patient pathway for these injuries varying significantly depending on GPs’ referral decisions.

“What I really like to see in terms of pathways is much better education of our GPs in two things. One is in clinical orthopaedic examinations. And second, in their access to the new and enormous amounts of data that’s coming out in this area.”