Rachelle Buchbinder

Rachelle Buchbinder is an Australian NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. She has been the Director of the Monash Department of Clinical Epidemiology since its inception in 2001 and a Professor in the Monash University Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine since 2007. She is a rheumatologist and clinical epidemiologist who combines clinical practice with research in a wide range of multidisciplinary projects relating to arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.

Other roles include Coordinating Editor of Cochrane Musculoskeletal; Chair, Australian Rheumatology Association Database (ARAD) Management Committee; founding member and Chair Executive Committee, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence for the Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network. 

Most recently she chaired the steering group for The Lancet Low Back Pain Series, a series of three papers published in March 2018 that drew attention to the urgent need for action to reduce the current and projected disease burden from low back pain. In particular it outlined the epidemic of low value care for low back pain across the world and identified promising solutions.

Her current broad program of work, funded through various NHMRC schemes including a program grant, partnership centre, CRE and project grants include

- reducing inappropriate overdiagnosis and overtesting across musculoskeletal conditions

- reducing waste in the health care system and identifying more efficient alternative service delivery models 

- strengthening the recently established ANZMUSC clinical trial network 

- living reviews and living guidelines

- implementation of the Australian Clinical Care Standard for osteoarthritis of the knee

- Development of a decision aid for knee arthroscopy

- Investigating ways of improving imaging reports to reduce overtesting, overdiagnosis and overtreatment

- Development of a core set of outcome measures for trials of shoulder disorders

- Development of the Back Pain Burden Questionnaire and the Back Pain Misconceptions Questionnaire

- Identifying ways of suppoting people with suboptimal health literacy

- Long term outcome of inflammatory arthritis in Australia