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 EPC/CDM |
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The item numbers have been introduced to support general practitioners and practice nurses to undertake a health check for a patient who is receiving or has received their four year old immunisation.
The child must be given the government's publication on developing healthy habits for kids (the 'Guide')
The purpose of the Healthy Kids Check is to ensure that every four year old child in Australia has a basic health check to see if they are healthy, fit and ready to learn when they start school. The Healthy Kids Check will promote early detection of lifestyle risk factors, delayed development and illness, and introduce guidance for healthy lifestyles and early intervention strategies. The Check will provide an opportunity to:
The NEVDGP has produced:
DoHA has advised that the Medicare dental items for people with chronic conditions and complex care needs (Items 85011-87777), introduced by the previous Government in November 2007, were to be withdrawn from the Medicare Benefits Schedule by June 30. 2008. This affects referrals by GPs, and services by dentists, dental specialists and dental prosthetists.
The opposition has blocked changes to the legislation so the "old" system will continue until further notice. This means patients are still eligible for $4,250 of dental services where the dental "problem" impacts on the patient's chronic disease conditions.
The Medicare dental items will continue to be available to new patients who meet the eligibility criteria. The Government will be replacing this scheme with a Commonwealth Dental Health Program sometime after 1 July 2008. Further information will be provided once it is available. For further questions about the arrangements, please contact Medicare Australia on 132 150 (GPs) or 132 011 (patients). More information from DoHA.
Resources and links
This is a preventive health check for people between the ages of 45 and 49 (inclusive) who are at risk of developing a chronic disease.
More information
Division Resources
Prior to undertaking the health checks, it would be useful to investigate the services available in the local area and how accessible these are to patients. A directory of referral information within the practice should include counselling and self-help groups for smoking cessation, dietician referral information, drug and alcohol counsellors and self-help groups, local programs and services for physical activity, and more specialised services such as diabetes services.
The division provides the information on this page as part of its commitment to supporting growth in the capacity of general practice through efficiently and effectively adopting options such as EPC.
Since their introduction the EPC items have undergone some changes and have been joined by other items and incentives such as the Home Medicine Reviews, the diabetes and asthma Service Incentive Payments (SIPS), the Mental Health Three Step Process and, most recently, the Allied Health, Dental Care and Comprehensive Medical Assessment (in Residential Aged Care Facilities) items.
Changes have been made to the Allied Health and Dental referrals as part of the GP Management Plans and Team Care Arrangements. The new referrals should be used. There are both paper-based and Medical Director versions available. For a one-page overview background and overview of the new CDM item numbers click here.
More information
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