Our GP A to Z continues with Care Plans: Most of the discussion about Care Plans is about technicalities when really it seems to be a question of philosophy. We believe that most disagreements that we hear about are with respect to individual approaches or philosophies.
| Some say… | Others say… |
| I don’t need to do care planning because I have been able to work without them for the last 10 years and I don’t need to chase the money. | The chronic disease management items are designed to provide incentives for comprehensive approaches to patient management |
| I don’t want to be like those money grabbing doctors who review care plans just to make a quick buck. Those guys are just rorting the system to make some money | If the government didn’t want us to be doing is Care Plans, they wouldn’t be paying so much extra for them. |
| I am very careful about when I do care planning to make sure I stick with the rules. Last thing I want is an audit from Medicare | If you are providing systematic care to your chronic disease patients, you should be doing all the things that feed into a care plan anyway. |
| I’m not one of those money hungry doctors who do care plans all the time even when they’re not needed. I want to be ethical and everything that I do. | If you manage your care plans properly you are providing best type of care, it’s just that there isn’t a lot of training around for doctors develop the right systems. |
What do you think? Are you prepared to be challenged on your current approach? If so we have trained specialists who can demonstrate alternative approaches.
In the meantime, here are some interesting facts we have compiled:
- 1 in 3 Australians have a chronic disease however Only 25% of patients with chronic disease have a documented General Practitioner Management Plan (GPMP)
- Only 20% of patients who have a GPMP or TCA are regularly followed up and reviewed
- There is no list of eligible conditions; however, the CDM items are designed for patients who require a structured approach, including those requiring ongoing care from a multidisciplinary team.
- Recalls are important – GPs are not completing reviews of patients on a care plan
If you want to know more about how to improve billings and patient care with care plans, contact us at [email protected] as we have experienced partners who can assist