Archive for category: General News

It was a pleasure to be in attendance with Professor Lorimer Moseley and Reality Health at the Self Insurers of South Australia Forum, held in Adelaide on February 10. Professor Moseley gave valuable insight into the current research surrounding pain treatment, and the areas where improvements can be made.

We also heard from Reality Health’s Ben Sheat, who took us through the Reality Health Program. Ben was supported by IPAR’s South Australian pain coaches, Alice Gerlach and Kirsti Haupt, who gave demonstrations and discussions on IPAR’s national Re-thinking Recovery service which utilises the Reality Health platform.

Thank you to Lawson Risk, the event sponsor. As always, it was a pleasure to come together with Professor Moseley and Reality Health to share our mutual passion for supporting individuals impacted by persistent pain.

Current and former servicemen and women face untold challenges, from combat exposure to difficulties transitioning from military to civilian life. IPAR is proud to offer tailored services to support the health and wellbeing of Australia’s 580,000+ veterans and their families. However, with 6,000 veterans transitioning out of the Australian Defence Force every year, it is vital that we continue to develop our offering.

We are proud to announce our new partnership with Invictus Australia, which will provide more support to our veterans and their families.

Invictus Australia is operated by the organisers of the Invictus Games, the multi-sport spectacle that inspires recovery, rehabilitation and understanding of the wounded. Invictus Australia carries the legacy of the Games in local communities, making sure all veterans and their families can benefit from involvement with sporting communities.

We will be working closely with Invictus Australia to increase awareness, understanding and appreciation of the Australian veterans and families that they exist to serve. The partnership will see more sport and recreational opportunities, events and resources available for the Defence community.

Invictus Australia will bring their sporting expertise and connections to the partnership, to help facilitate local initiatives, through its extensive network of sporting partners. IPAR will provide support for local activations around the country, helping to facilitate and communicate sport and recreational opportunities to their audience of veterans.

Jo Broomhall, Executive General Manager of IPAR said:

“Our partnership with Invictus Australia is all about supporting veterans and their families in practical ways that truly make a difference, whether it’s through improved access to local sporting activity and the many physical and mental health benefits that flow from it, or by creating meaningful connections to the local Invictus community. We will leverage this partnership to help veterans find or reignite their passion for sport and integrate this into their unique rehabilitation and reintegration journey for themselves and their family.”

Michael Hartung, Chief Executive Officer of Invictus Australia said:

“We are delighted to partner with IPAR to share our expertise in the sporting arena, and together show real collaboration in action to deliver better outcomes for veterans and their families. We know the powerful role sport can play in the recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration of our veterans and their families, and look forward to working with the extensive IPAR network across Australia to deliver upon our shared passion and purpose to support all those who have, and continue to serve our country.”

View the media release here.

With persistently high numbers of new COVID infections across Australia, the Actuaries Institute of Australia has warned the disability insurance and healthcare sectors should be bracing for a wave of Long COVID and with it, rising claims costs and premiums.

Thus far, Australia’s Long COVID claims experience has been fairly minimal. In the first two years of the pandemic, border closures, lockdowns and other measures reduced spread of COVID-19. However, in 2022 Australia’s COVID-19 landscape has changed, with 90% of the total COVID infections occurring in just the past few months.

Notwithstanding the beneficial impact of vaccination on lowering rates of Long COVID, a paper released by the Actuaries Institute earlier this month, “How Covid-19 has affected Mortality and Morbidity in 2020 and 2021”, predicts that the number of Long COVID cases on the horizon will be significant, potentially up to hundreds of thousands.

Impact on disability insurance sector

Long COVID is a poorly understood condition with a complex and diverse set of symptoms affecting physical, psychological, and neurological body systems. There are no routine tests or imaging to confirm diagnosis, no clear durations, and no effective treatment.

The paper notes that what is known is that Long COVID symptoms, particularly fatigue, can limit activity and an individual’s ability to work. As a result, the Actuaries Institute anticipates increased Long COVID related insurance claims across workers compensation and disability insurance including group salary continuance and income protection.

They advise that workplaces will need tailored support to enable workers to return to or remain at work while experiencing Long COVID symptoms, and that better healthcare for long term illness is essential to manage this approaching challenge.

Our response

IPAR has teamed with Monash University to develop a series of COVID support services. This includes a Long COVID screening tool to help with early intervention, plus a tailored health coaching program to support RTW for people who are impacted by COVID diagnosis or Long COVID.

What more information? Please contact IPAR on 03 8648 0900  or email rehab@ipar.com.au

Individuals, employers and insurers are grappling with emerging cases and risk of Long COVID. Not all COVID claims will develop Long COVID, but for those that do, it is important to be able to accurately capture and triage the individuals, in order to deliver needs-based services and support people back to work and function.

In response, IPAR has adapted the award-winning Positivum™ biopsychosocial assessment and health coaching program specifically to the needs of individuals with Long COVID.

Positivum™ COVID Asssessment

This assessment measures a variety of psychosocial factors that may increase the risk of Post Acute COVID Syndrome (PACS). It obtains a measure of baseline function, informs the level and type of ongoing engagement, and identifies key psychosocial barriers to participating in relevant interventions and services. The assessment measures:

• Recovery expectations
• Health and work beliefs
• Employer perceptions
• Illness perceptions
• Fatigue
• Daily functioning
• Barriers to daily activities
• Coping skills

Low scores in the assessment signify a ‘yellow flag’ for that particular psychosocial domain and are indicative that extra support may be needed to improve prognosis. Importantly, the assessment can be easily repeated at key rehabilitation stages to provide an indication of progress and change.

Positivum™ COVID Health Coaching

This evidence-based online health coaching program has been specifically designed by MedHealth and Monash University to support people post COVID diagnosis. Integrated into rehabilitation services and delivered by IPAR Allied Health professionals, the program content is continually reviewed and updated with emerging COVID literature and evidence.

Created with behavioural insights and adult learning principles, health coaching modules are tailored to the individual client’s needs. Content includes:

• Tackling unhelpful illness beliefs and perceptions
• Work and functional goal setting
• Living with a COVID diagnosis
• Fatigue and pain management
• Worker and employer perceptions

For further information on IPAR’s Positivum™ COVID Support program, please contact your nearest IPAR office or email rehab@ipar.com.au.

The latest edition of our COVID Matters newsletter sees IPAR once again partner with MedHealth and mlcoa to bring you ‘bite size’ summaries of some of the most pertinent research in the medical industry, and in particular what the experts are saying about COVID-19 and its ongoing impact in, and on, the workplaces of Australia.

In this latest edition, we look into the complexity of long COVID in the workplace. While COVID-19 symptoms may fade relatively quickly for most, some people are suffering long-term effects. The time it takes to get well from COVID-19 is different for each person, and it can also depend on whether they have any other existing health conditions.

It’s difficult to accurately predict the long-term outcomes for people with long COVID as much is still unknown. People may experience symptoms for many weeks, months or even years. Instances of long COVID are increasing and causing some employees to suffer from long-term side effects that impact them at work.

In this issue, we look at four interesting papers about long COVID, drawing out some of the research and information, and its workplace implications.

Please view COVID Matters edition 04 here.

Your COVID coverage

As medical, allied health and occupational health and rehabilitation specialists, the teams at IPAR and mlcoa already provide the types of services that support Australian businesses to make informed decisions and reduce risks, all while improving health and employment outcomes for people.

Please talk with us about the issues you are managing. We’ll either have a service that can support you and your people; or we’ll draw on our diverse capabilities to help you solve any issues and create better outcomes.