Yes but Dentistry now get $4500 per patient per year - with similar operating costs, equipment and not too dis-similar procedures in terms of skillset and technicality, it makes me question of the current health scheme and the people who are in charge of it!
Watch that same graph in 2009 - Dentistry will make us look like Aboriginal Health worker service.
Part of me also thinks that graph is either wrong or their data collection is skew-wiff - are we really meant to believe that there was only 51 occasions of service in Aboriginal Health in this country?
And a mere 2400 in Mental Health?
Either the data is wrong or we are not utilising the health system to its fullest - but we already knew that didn't we!
It's an "allied health" graph - dentistry has its own separate table. We are in there probably because we have been stupid enough to allow ourselves to be lumped in with the "allied health" crew in this country. US podiatry were smart enough to get a separate identity, rather than get lost in the mysterious void of music therapists and touchy-feely non-clinical 'professions'.
I would be surprised if the data wasn't accurate. There would be very few quasi-private billing aboriginal health workers in the country - they usually get direct funding. The new mental health initiative is again a separate item now.
Yeh I understand - but that was partly my point that we are lumped with allied health - I know your thoughts on the issue and I am in agreement, our costs and overheads (not to mention other things) far exceed most other "Allied" health workers on a per practitioner basis.
But we are still "Allied Health".
I was also inferring that that stats maybe incorrect due to the billing issues (such as you mentioned) - but if in fact those stats are extremely accurate, then we as a country need to look long and hard at the current state of health care provision.