Comfortably Compliant

February 2016

One of the common inquiries to the APS Professional Advisory Service at this time of the year pertains to the rules around the number of allowable sessions per patient per calendar year under Medicare.Once a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan is in place, a GP can refer a patient for an initial...

December 2015

The Australian health care system is shifting to the electronic management and storage of health information through the national eHealth Record System. Despite this trend, a 2015 APS survey revealed that just 6 per cent of private practitioners use software that enables secure messaging between...

October 2015

A regular column to assist members to meet third party requirementsWhile the individual holder of a Medicare provider number is legally responsible for any claims made using that provider number, in many psychology practices, it is the administrative staff within the practice that undertake the...

August 2015

The APS Professional Advisory Service frequently receives calls from members unsure if relationship counselling is an allowable use of a Better Access Medicare item. It is important to note that the intent of the Better Access initiative is to provide evidence-based treatment to people with a...

June 2015

The purpose of the Better Access initiative is to enable Medicare-funded treatment of mental illness in the community, and services provided are expected to comply with the allowable psychological treatment interventions for clients with eligible mental disorders. Guidance from the Department of...

April 2015

Although the majority of clients seen under Medicare are likely to be seen in psychologists’ consulting rooms, there are specific Medicare items available for the delivery of psychological services in locations away from these rooms (i.e., in places other than the location to which the...

February 2015

This edition’s column focuses on the results from the Department of Human Services’ most recent audit of providers of Medicare services under Better Access. It aims to assist members to avoid inadvertent non-compliance and to understand what to expect if selected for auditing.Two...

December 2014

It has come to the APS’ attention that a number of larger psychology businesses have introduced the practice of requiring ‘trailing fees’ from contracted psychologists who have left the practice. The term trailing fees refers to the situation where a previously contracted...

October 2014 | Dr Louise Roufeil FAPS

Most psychologists are aware of the legal, professional and organisational imperatives to keep adequate records documenting psychological services that have been provided. While the focus tends to be on recording the delivery of professional psychological services with clients, little attention...