Question: What is randomisation?
RAd Health is a randomised controlled trial, but what does that actually mean?
There are two groups (intervention and control). While both groups have access to our training resources, only the intervention group is able to claim a rebate for doing the young person’s health assessments; the rebate payment is the intervention. The control group practices are encouraged to do young people’s health assessments but will not receive the rebate during the trial. Both groups receive the same honorarium payment for participating in the trial.
(Sadly!) we can’t influence the randomisation, which is done using a program set up by statisticians. This process reduces the likelihood of bias in our data, ensures a fair process and will give us the most robust evidence possible.
Being in the control group is just as important as being in the intervention group! We need data from both intervention and control groups to properly compare health outcomes – we want to determine whether our intervention, a rebate payment, improves patient outcomes compared with usual care in the control practices. We are very grateful for the enthusiasm and participation of all practices and acknowledge the busy-ness of general practice.
We hope in the future that ALL GPs will be able to claim rebates for these health assessments, more adequately funding clinicians for their time and resulting in better health outcomes for young people.
GPs in intervention clinics: don’t forget to submit your invoices! RAd Health rebates can be claimed for every young person’s (aged 14-24) health assessment conducted during the two year trial, starting from the date your practice is randomised. Please contact us at rad-health@unimelb.edu.au if you have any questions about this.