title: Screening of athletes: Australian experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present an overview of medical screening of athletes in Australia
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was obtained from Australian sports physicians involved in elite national and professional programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The status in Australia of medical screening and in particular the Pre-participation Examination (PPE) was reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PPE as practised in North America is not performed in Australia. However medical screening of elite national level and professional athletes is widely practised. A variety of screening methods is used. The medical screening protocol recently developed on behalf of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians (ACSP) is presented.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical screening of high performance athletes takes place regularly in Australia. Valuable information may be obtained from this process. The extent of the screening is limited by financial and time constraints. The proposed protocol is a basis for a comprehensive medical screening, but can be adapted depending on the individual and the sport played.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health, Exercise and Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. p.brukner@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brukner
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Anik
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shawdon
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Holzer
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008487:Medical History Taking; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013178:Sports Medicine