Management of musculoskeletal foot and ankle conditions prior to public-sector orthopaedic referral in South Australia.

Background: Foot and ankle pain is common in the Australian adult population. People with musculoskeletal foot and ankle conditions are often referred for surgical opinion, yet how patients are managed prior to referral is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics and management of patients with musculoskeletal foot and ankle complaints prior to public-sector orthopaedic referral in South Australia.

The integration of a Podiatrist into an orthopaedic department: a cost-consequences analysis.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-consequences of a podiatry-led triage clinic provided in an orthopaedic department relative to usual care for non-urgent foot and ankle complaints in an Australian tertiary care hospital.

Methods: All new, non-urgent foot and ankle patients seen in an outpatient orthopaedic department were included in this study. The patients seen between 2014 and 2015 by Orthopaedic Surgeons were considered 'usual care', the patients seen between 2015 and 2016 by a Podiatrist were considered the 'Podiatry Triage Clinic'.

Diabetic ankle fractures: a review of the literature and an introduction to the Adelaide fracture in the diabetic ankle algorithm and score.

Diabetics who have acquired an ankle fracture may be easily missed given their atypical presentation. As such, it is not infrequently seen that these patients are either initially misdiagnosed or ineffectively managed resulting in unnecessary hospital length of stay and procedures. Multiple review articles and retrospective studies have been previously published in the literature, but complete guidelines to assist in accurate diagnosis and cost-effective management for this complex problem do not currently exist.

Impact of health care reform on the cancer patient: a view from cancer executives.

Cancer leaders assess the impact on the cancer patient of the historic passage of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) (PPACA). The Association of Cancer Executives, a national organization for leadership development of oncology executives and improvements in patient care delivery, and the Association of Community Cancer Centers, a leading education and advocacy organization for the cancer team, weigh in on the impact of PPACA. Oncology leaders assess the impact of PPACA on cancer patients and families, cancer programs in the United States, and provider relations.

Anatomical study of the ankle with view to the anterior arthroscopic portals.

This article evaluates the risk of interference with the neurovascular structures in the four anterior ankle arthroscopic portals, described on each side of the extensor tendons: anteromedial, medial midline, anterocentral and anterolateral. Complications after ankle arthroscopies have been described in up to 17%, most being neurovascular. To quantify the neurovascular risks we dissected 68 cadaveric feet and evaluated the correlations between tendons, vessels and nerves.

Guidelines for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis for general practitioners.

Background: Osteoporosis Australia has been committed to the education of general practitioners and the community with a series of updated guidelines on the management of osteoporosis. Since the last series was published in Australian Family Physician (August 2000), there have been further advances in our understanding of the treatments involved in both prevention of bone loss and the management of established osteoporosis.

Objective: This article represents updated guidelines for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis to assist GPs identify those women at risk and to review current treatment strategies.