Reintroduction of part charges for ACC physiotherapy could mean delays in treatment as district health board physiotherapy services around the country come under pressure, dean of the University of Otago's physiotherapy school Prof John Baxter says.
From mid-November, part charges are expected to be reintroduced with the expiry of the Endorsed Provider Network contract between ACC and physiotherapists, under which free physiotherapy was provided.
At this stage, it is not known how much the charges will be.
Prof Baxter said thought needed to be given to the effect the reintroduction of charges would have on the health system.
In recent years, physiotherapy services had been increasingly provided by private practitioners and at this stage public hospitals' services would not have the capacity to replace the service they provided if people were unwilling or unable to pay.
He said he was most concerned about those who would not be able to afford the charges.
"Who's going to pick up the pieces?"
At the moment, injured people had access to immediate, direct and timely care and "one plank of that is about to disappear".
Prof Baxter said little research had been done on the economics of physiotherapy services, and work needed to be done to ensure decisions made about funding were evidence-based and not likely to lead to higher costs in the long run.
Prof Baxter said another result of the expected part charges could be the support physiotherapists had been able to offer sports teams and clubs would no longer be financially viable, reducing the ability of sports people to get prompt attention for injuries.
In the case of the school's clinic, which operated on a non-profit basis, the department would be working closely with Student Health Services to see how it could continue to offer services to students at no cost.
Students were one group which would be particularly hard hit by any surcharge.
Also, planning was difficult when it was not known what the funding would be, he said.
The expected changes to the ACC funding were like a "double whammy" for the school, which had long been concerned about disparity in funding for its students and those in some other areas of study, including physical education, podiatry, and osteopathy, a situation Prof Baxter described as a "national disgrace".