Download Incentives News Update - Department of Human Services

February 2017
Incentives News Update
An ePIP update for GPs: shared health summaries—good for
your patients, good for your practice
The temporary amendment to the Practice Incentives Program eHealth Incentive (ePIP) requirements
expired on 31 January 2017. If your practice is registered for ePIP, you now need to meet the shared
health summary upload target in My Health Record each quarter to receive ePIP payments.
The My Health Record system is easy, fast and delivers benefits for many Australians. Uploading a
shared health summary to a patient’s My Health Record allows important health information to be shared
securely with healthcare providers across Australia. This particularly benefits people with multiple
chronic conditions and medications, or patients who see more than one healthcare provider.
It also offers important benefits for practices. In any week in Australia, one in three general practitioners
(GPs) will see a patient for whom they have little or no health information. More than one in five GPs
face this situation every day. If their patients have a My Health Record, healthcare providers in this
situation have access to at least some information about their patient, especially if there is a shared
health summary on their record.
Uploading shared health summaries can help your practice:

share critical clinical information to treat new patients and patients seeking care unexpectedly, such
as in an emergency, after hours, or when travelling

save time by not chasing medical histories, and

support other practices.
Over 300,000 shared health summaries have already been uploaded to the My Health Record system:

21,410 were uploaded in the three months before the new requirements started

130,445 were uploaded in the first quarter of the ePIP, and

159,000 were uploaded in the second quarter of the ePIP.
Update your patient’s shared health summary when their medical circumstances change. This also helps
your practice meet ePIP requirements for that quarter.
Go to digitalhealth.gov.au for online training and self-paced learning materials to help general practices
meet ePIP requirements.
The third quarter of the ePIP ended on 31 January 2017. Compliance activities soon start for all
incentive payments paid to practices that didn’t meet their shared health summary targets for the first
three quarters of ePIP. Your practice may be exempt if issues outside your control prevented your
practice from meeting the requirements. You must demonstrate you’ve taken all reasonable actions to
resolve them. Tell us as soon as possible by emailing [email protected]
Transition arrangements for the National General Practice
Accreditation Scheme
The National General Practice Accreditation Scheme started on 1 January 2017. Under the new
scheme, general practices accessing the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) and Practice Nurse
Incentive Program (PNIP) must be assessed by an approved accrediting agency. Accreditation
continues to be voluntary for general practices that do not participate in the PIP or PNIP.
Transition arrangements are in place so no general practice is disadvantaged by the new scheme.
General practices will notice very little change and those already accredited will maintain their existing
accreditation cycle.
If you’re due to be accredited or re-accredited before 30 June 2017, you can maintain your existing
arrangements with your current accreditation provider. Once your accreditation cycle expires or you
change accrediting agencies, you must be assessed by an approved accrediting agency. General
practices registering for accreditation for the first time need to select an approved accrediting agency.
For a list of approved accrediting agencies, go to safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/general-practiceaccreditation
If you believe you’re adversely affected by the new scheme, you may have your individual situation
reviewed. These reviews are conducted on a case-by-case basis by members of the industry-based
stakeholder committee providing oversight of the scheme.
About the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, in collaboration with the Royal
Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), developed the National General Practice
Accreditation Scheme.
The scheme includes:

an industry-based stakeholder committee to provide governance and oversight of the scheme

an approval process for accrediting agencies assessing general practices, and

a data collection and reporting framework for accrediting agencies that requires the submission of
de-identified accreditation outcomes.
The National General Practice Accreditation Scheme supports consistent assessment of Australian
general practices against the RACGP Standards for general practices.
Confirming practice details on confirmation statements
We issue confirmation statements so you can verify practice and payment details.
Approved practices get a confirmation statement for one or both of the following programs:

PIP annually, and

PNIP quarterly.
You need to review the information on each page of the confirmation statement, including the list of
practitioners working at your practice.
If the details on the confirmation statement are correct, submit your response online through HPOS:

go to humanservices.gov.au/hpos and log on

select PIP Online, then confirmation statement from the menu options on the left, or

select PNIP Online then quarterly confirmation statement from the menu options on the left

read the declaration then select the confirm button.
If any details in the confirmation statement are incorrect, update these online through HPOS. Updates
made online are visible and effective immediately.
When you return your confirmation statement to us you declare that the details provided are true and
correct, including the information for GPs. Subsequent requests for recalculation of a practice’s
Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) value won’t be accepted.
Form upload in HPOS
You can now submit selected forms online using the form upload function in HPOS.
You can use the form upload function to send scanned or photographed forms and supporting
documents directly to us. Forms submitted this way avoid the costs and possible delays associated with
sending them through the post. Submissions made through form upload also get an instant confirmation
of receipt.
Form upload is available for selected items, including:

PBS authority applications

PBS authority prescriptions

pathology

diagnostic imaging, and

ordering PBS stationery.
You can continue to submit forms using existing channels.
For more information go to humanservices.gov.au/hpos
Changes to manual bulk bill claiming—have you tried
Webclaims?
You can access Bulk Bill Webclaims through HPOS.
Submitting Bulk Bill Webclaims through HPOS is faster and easier than using paper forms. Bulk Bill
Webclaims benefits are generally paid within 48 hours of submission.
All types of Medicare Benefits Schedule eligible services can be claimed through Bulk Bill Webclaim.
There are many benefits to doing your business through HPOS—it’s free, fast, convenient and secure.
You can also:

view details about your provider number

create a new provider location, and

update bank details for payment of Medicare benefit/s for bulk bill claims.
Don’t have access to HPOS? It’s easy to sign up and log in through Provider Digital Access (PRODA).
For more information go to humanservices.gov.au/proda
From 1 April 2017, PDF Bulk Billing forms won’t be available on our website.
Incentives Program—guideline and form updates
In consultation with the Department of Health we have reviewed and updated the guidelines for the:

After Hours Incentive, and

Teaching Payment.
We also updated a number of our forms. Go to humanservices.gov.au/pip or humanservices.gov.au/pnip
to download the most up-to-date forms.
If you submit an old version of a form it won’t be processed and your claims and payments may be
delayed.
Reminders and helpful hints

If you’re currently using a PKI Individual certificate to access HPOS, you need to create your
PRODA account now to avoid delays.

Remember to link your RA number to your practice profile to access PIP and PNIP Online.

Check our website for the most up-to-date program guidelines and associated forms as old forms
won’t be processed.

Remember to click Update Online Subscriptions on your practice profile to get online notifications
and alerts when your payment statements and confirmation statements are ready for viewing.
News for health professionals online
Did you know you can keep up to date with News for health professionals online? Subscribe to get news
highlights sent to your email every month.
You can opt out at any time. Go to humanservices.gov.au/healthprofessionalsnews
For more information
Online
humanservices.gov.au/pip and humanservices.gov.au/pnip
Email
[email protected] or [email protected]
Call
1800 222 032* (8.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday, Australian Central Standard Time)
*Call charges apply from mobile and pay phones only.
8646.1701