Podiatry in 5 years....

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Hi, Just wondering how podiatry industry will be in 5 years time.

1. Like the demand will increase or decrease.
2. Will more scope will be added.
3. Will goverment likely to increase the number of visit for diabetic patients.

All in general how the future will be for podiatry industry in Australia.

Thanks in advance.

 

That depends upon whether you follow the evidence; if you go where the evidence takes you - you will do well and have an increased scope of practice. On the other hand, if we still live in a land where "you have not prescribed enough orthoses this week" then the future is bleak. We write our own future - it is up to us, not some random thought process. Rob

 

There are plenty of factors that will increase demand:
-aging population
-increased diabetes population
-increased scope
-etc

There are factors that will decrease demand:
-third party funding cuts
-minimalist/barefoot running fad is all but over --> less injuries now
-etc

What actually happens will be the result of the balance between the two.

 

Agree with that - although I'm not sure what impact barefoot anything has had on the overall demand for podiatry care - even in the most specialist of clinics. The greatest threat is to third party funding - i.e. government or state funding. The greatest challenge to podiatry organisations is how to secure alternate funding arrangements - both for funding podiatry education and training - and assisted funding for patient fees.

 

I was being facetious! = just had another online stoush with an evangelist before typing the above -- they just do not seem to realize just how much barefoot/minimalism was as an economic stimulus package for podiatry. Now so few are doing it, that stimulus is over.

 

What are you going to do with all the spare time you will have on your hands when these guys discover the new fad of the year? Maybe we should have been encouraging minimalism all along!

 

Surely we will be using 3D printers in our clinics to produce our prescribed orthotics??

 

I was reflecting the other day. I've been in podiatry for 30 years this years (if you count my initial training) and in terms of conditions we see things have changed a lot. In my college days there was a smattering of Polio patients, Hansens Disease and until recently many Rheumatoid patients with horrible foot deformation.

I rarely see a dorsal corn these days (apart from 5th toes). People now have at least 10 pairs of shoes instead of a pair for best and an everyday pair. The footcare section in supermarkets and pharmacies have extended massively, the dreaded Ped-egg and other such home-pedicure gadgets has definitely had an impact and of course not forgetting the proliferation of FHP colleges creating added competition. I'm not whinging the fact there is good access to home care and competition is not a bad thing, it means that we have step up to the challenge and strive to set a benchmark of professionalism.

Due moving around a lot I've set up 4 practices in my career and I've noticed that it's a lot more difficult to get established these days. I refuse to 'be cheap' to attract more patients, I am very proud of our profession and it saddens me that we in the UK are perceived as somehow inferior to Dentists, Vets etc. I for one am doing my bit to raise our profile by keeping up to date, expanding my scope etc.

I think the future could be very bright for the profession if we all strive to the best that we can be.

 

This is the key - this, and not buying that the future is automatically rosy once we qualify (then find two years down the line that it isn't).

Enjoy your work and keep pushing the boundaries.

 

I would think that the health of the podiatry industry will demonstrate a reciprocal relationship to the health of the podiatry profession.

Bill