title: Allied health growth: what we do not measure we cannot manage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data describing the Australian allied health workforce is inadequate and so insufficient for workforce planning. National health policy reform requires that health-care models take into account future workforce requirements, the distribution and work contexts of existing practitioners, training needs, workforce roles and scope of practice. Good information on this workforce is essential for managing services as demands increase, accountability of practitioners, measurement of outcomes and benchmarking against other jurisdictions. A comprehensive data set is essential to underpin policy and planning to meet future health workforce needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some data on allied health professions is managed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency; however, there is limited information regarding several core allied health professions. A global registration and accreditation scheme recognizing all allied health professions might provide safeguards and credibility for professionals and their clients. Arguments are presented about inconsistencies and voids in the available information about allied health services. Remedying these information deficits is essential to underpin policy and planning for future health workforce needs. We make the case for a comprehensive national data set based on a broad and inclusive sampling process across the allied health population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Ave. Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, 4059, Australia. daniela.solomon@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Ave. Kelvin Grove, Brisbane, 4059, Australia. n.graves@qut.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Dr. James Mayne Building, Bowen Bridge Rd., Herston, QLD, 4029, Australia. judith_catherwood@health.qld.gov.au.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Catherwood
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D066264:Datasets as Topic; D006291:Health Policy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D012042:Registries; D019035:Rural Health Services