The online tool, MyJointPain, is set to help people with osteoarthritis (OA) reduce pain and lower their risk for total joint replacement.
This interactive web-based tool, developed in collaboration between the Bupa Health Foundation and Arthritis Australia, is designed to help people with joint pain due to OA take a greater role in managing their condition, in consultation with their doctor and healthcare team.
The web program is based on research that indicates that some relatively simple approaches to exercise and movement, pain-reduction techniques, medication compliance and weight loss, are collectively able to reduce symptoms. This approach can help change the likelihood of a patient needing to have a joint replaced, or if they do, increase the potential for a better outcome from surgery.
MyJointPain combines the collective insights of experts across a range of disciplines, including surgery, allied health, and consumer advocacy, to give patients a comprehensive set of screening, planning and monitoring tools, as well as the basis for some useful self-management approaches tailored to an OA Action Plan they can follow in the comfort of their own home.
Bupa’s Head of Clinical Advisory, Dr Stan Goldstein, explains, “We hope that this online tool will help people avoid pain, avoid the limitations of living with osteoarthritis, and in some cases avoid surgery.”
“This collaboration furthers Bupa’s commitment as an advocate for effective pain management, prevention of disease and improving the health of all Australians,” says Dr Goldstein.
Bupa customers already have access to an Integrated Osteoarthritis Management™ program, run by the Healthy Weight For Life™ team, that is delivering extraordinary results for Bupa members experiencing, or who had experienced, joint pain. MyJointPain extends Bupa’s reach, allowing the best in clinical practice to reach the broader community of people living with the condition.
Designed to be used in consultation with the patient’s care team as part of a comprehensive management plan, a link to the website has been included in the AMA GP Desktop Practice Support Toolkit for AMA members.
| Go to myjointpain.org.au to see the range of online tools and in-depth information that it offers. |
Up to 80% of people living with chronic pain are missing out on the kind of treatment most likely to improve their symptoms and quality of life.
Following on from its work with the Pain Management Research Institute (NSW) to establish the first National Pain Summit and develop a template for a National Pain Strategy, the Bupa Health Foundation worked in partnership with the RACGP, and the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, to develop a training program called Online Education for Pain Management in Primary Care.
Developed to assists GPs identify appropriate diagnostic tests and effective pain-management strategies for their patients, the web-based education program supports primary healthcare professionals working with patients managing chronic pain. It covers the latest available evidence and tools in effective and more holistic pain management.
This has been of special value for the geographic challenges of regional and rural doctors. The RACGP-accredited program is accessible from the RACGP online education site, www.gplearning.com.
| “One in five Australians, including children and adolescents, will suffer chronic pain in their lifetime.” |
