Time-Tiered Health Assessment - Health Assessment provided for a refugee and other humanitarian entrant

Publication date: 1 July 2024

SUMMARY

Time-tiered health assessment items may be used to undertake a health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant.

Note: The requirements below must be met in addition to common principles for time-tiered health assessment items, contained in AN.0.36.

USE OF THE ITEMS

The specific requirements of the health assessment for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant are set out in clause 2.15.9 of the Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations).

The Regulations require that a health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant is an assessment of:

• the patient’s health and physical, psychological and social function, and
• whether preventive health care and education should be offered to the patient to improve their health and physical, psychological or social function.

The Regulations also state that the health assessment must include:

• a personal attendance by a GP or prescribed medical practitioner
• taking the patient’s history
• examining the patient
• performing or arranging any required investigations
• assessing the patient, using the information gained from the above points
• developing a management plan addressing the patient’s health care needs, health problems and relevant conditions, and
• making or arranging any necessary interventions and referrals.

A wide range of factors may affect the time needed to communicate effectively with a patient during a consultation. These include, but are not limited to, situations where a language barrier exists between the medical practitioner and patient (including when an interpreter is required), or when a patient has hearing problems, difficulty with speech, an intellectual disability, and/or dementia.

When claiming for time-tiered MBS items, the total consultation time includes the time required to communicate effectively with the patient. Where more time than usual is required to communicate effectively with a particular patient, it is considered reasonable to claim a longer attendance item than might otherwise be expected for the service.

In such situations, medical practitioners and other providers should make a brief record in the patient’s notes including details about why the additional time was required. For example, stating ‘consultation extended due to use of interpreter’ and, if relevant, citing the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) job number.

ELIGIBLE PATIENTS

Patients are eligible for this assessment if they are:

• a refugee or humanitarian entrant, with eligibility for Medicare, and
• either:
  • ­hold a relevant visa that the person has held for less than 12 months at the time of the assessment, or
  • ­first entered Australia less than 12 months before the assessment is performed.

A relevant visa means any of the following visas granted under the Migration Act 1958:

• Subclass 070 Bridging (Removal Pending) visa
• Subclass 200 (Refugee) visa
• Subclass 201 (In-country Special Humanitarian) visa
• Subclass 202 (Global Special Humanitarian) visa
• Subclass 203 (Emergency Rescue) visa
• Subclass 204 (Woman at Risk) visa
• Subclass 786 (Temporary (Humanitarian Concern)) visa
• Subclass 790 (Safe Haven Enterprise) visa
• Subclass 866 (Protection) visa

A health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant may only be claimed once by an eligible patient.

ELIGIBLE PRACTITIONERS

A health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant can be undertaken by a general practitioner (see GN.4.13) or a prescribed medical practitioner (see AN.7.1).

CO-CLAIMING RESTRICTIONS

To co-claim a health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant item and another item, both items must be clinically necessary and distinct services. 

RECORD KEEPING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

A health assessment provided for a refugee or other humanitarian entrant must include:

• keeping a record of the health assessment; and
• offering the patient a written report on the health assessment.

The department undertakes regular post payment auditing to ensure that MBS items are claimed appropriately. Practitioners should ensure they keep adequate and contemporaneous records. For information on what constitutes adequate and contemporaneous records see GN.15.39.

Clause 4.3 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 specifies that, where an item specifies the creation of a document (however described) and a document it created, the document must be retained for the period of 2 years. 

RELEVANT LEGISLATION

Details about the legislative requirements of the MBS items can be found on the Federal Register of Legislation at www.legislation.gov.au. Health assessment items are set out in the following regulatory instrument:

• Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulations 2021