Create Account

Why BJC Connect?

People with chronic rheumatic diseases are affected physically, mentally and emotionally. They want less pain and fatigue. There is fear about their future and confusion as to what they can do to help themselves.
There is therefore a need for rheumatologists and GPs to work with a range of allied health professionals (AHPs), people who can act as expert, empathic guides who listen to patients’ individual circumstances and then work with them to implement personalised approaches.
For most AHPs and GPs, undergraduate and postgraduate training in rheumatology is very limited, so there is also a clear need for these groups to learn more about the management of rheumatic disease.
Ultimately, BJC Connect is here to support all groups in better understanding each other and then in helping our shared patients transform from being anxious, feeling isolated and scared to feeling more connected and empowered with greater control of their lives.

About BJC Health

BJC Health is the largest multidisciplinary rheumatology practice in Australia and has developed unmatched experience in trying to guide patients in a holistic way over 18 years. BJC Health consists of rheumatologists, physiotherapists, dietitians, patient educators, massage therapists and exercise physiologists.
The rheumatology team is experienced in working with allied health professionals, helping them understand the peculiarities of rheumatology. We have been involved in the AS You See It and Don’t Turn Your Back on It campaigns, training over 500 physiotherapists around Australia on inflammatory arthritis and spondyloarthritis. BJC Health provides e-newsletters to a range of non-rheumatologist health professionals to educate them on rheumatic disease and hosts the biannual BJC Health JAM symposium, a fixture on the GP education calendar bjchealth.com.au/jam.
BJC Health’s allied health professionals are key members of the Rheumatology Health Professionals group of the ARA, and are involved in the key bodies of their respective associations (APA, ESSA). They regularly produce educational videos and blogs for patients, and have been training rheumatologists and rheumatology registrars around Australia for the last 5 years in Biomechanics and Movement, to help them understand these key concepts and to understand the role engaged physiotherapists and exercise physiologists can play.