Back pain: a National Health Priority Area in Australia?

In reply: The two preceding letters highlight that there are many stakeholders with an interest in back pain in Australia. Many craft groups are involved with the provision of postgraduate education and have contributed to the musculoskeletal core competencies initiative. Vaughan and colleagues describe promising results from using a clinical decision tool for acute back pain in an emergency department. On a national scale, implementation of such a tool in all emergency departments may significantly improve outcomes and reduce costs. Making back pain a national priority would provide unique opportunities to rigorously study these types of approaches.