Speak Out Feb 2020 DIGITAL EDITION. pdf

As many members working in private practice are aware, clients eligible to claim private health fund rebates can do so in one of two ways. They can claim electronically - where the practitioner processes the claim electronically via a terminal on behalf of the client and the client pays the gap, for example, via Hicaps, HealthPoint etc. Or, the client can claim manually - where the client pays the full amount for the service, the practitioner provides them with an invoice and then the client claims the rebate from their health fund. As a general rule the following information is included on the invoice: • Patient details: name, date of birth and address • Provider details: name, provider number • Practice details: name of practice, address and phone number • Service details: date of service, service descriptor (see table below), service fee, amount paid. Prior to the roll-out of electronic claiming for allied health services, Speech Pathology Australia worked with the companies and organisations involved to develop speech pathology item numbers and service descriptors. These are listed below: 310 Initial Individual consultation/assessment up to 45 minutes 320 Initial individual consultation/assessment 46 -90 minutes 330 Initial individual consultation/assessment over 90 minutes 340 Subsequent individual consultation/assessment / treatment up to 45 minutes 350 Subsequent individual consultation/assessment/treatment 46 – 90 minutes 360 Subsequent individual consultation/assessment/treatment over 90 minutes Members have contacted the Association with requests to make changes to these descriptors including the addition of a descriptor for sessions up to 30 minutes. However, before making any changes it would be helpful to get feedback from all members. Feedback can be made via a short survey : www. surveymonkey.com/r/PZQMQPX . Results will determine if discussions with companies to propose changes to service descriptors to streamline billing processes are required. You are also welcome to contact me directly with any feedback or questions, nharris@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au More information about billing and claims made under private health funds can be found on the SPA website under 'Rebates and Funded Programs'. Nichola Harris Manager Professional Practice in practice Item numbers and private health fund claims Proposed changes 370 Group treatment up to 45 minutes 380 Group treatment 46 – 90 minutes 390 Group treatment over 90 minutes

Welcome to Speech Pathology Australia! Speech Pathology Australia provides support for speech pathology students and recent graduates in the early stages of their career. Early Career Support can be found on the SPA website and includes: Ready 4 Work learning resources including links to a series of videos about a range of topics Guides to Finding a Job and Starting Work Mentoring and supervision support and resources Links to SPA’s Early career Facebook member community Professional resources about clincial practice, clinical records, legal matters, risk management, working with other professionals, the NDIS etc. Support from WorkPlacePLUS about employment, HR issues and industrial relations. Information about: • how to access Continuing Professional Development (CPD) • working in private practice • strategies to support work life balance • working overseas Early career members can also contact SPA’s Professional Support Advisor, Nate Cornish-Raley with any questions. Support for early career speech pathologists

Nate is in the office on Wednesday to Friday psa@speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speech Pathology Australia maintains an online community specific to early career members . This private Facebook group permits those who are newer to the profession to connect with one another and discuss issues that are pertinent to this stage of clinical practice. The community is comprised exclusively of early career members and SPA moderators, and participants openly share questions, thoughts, concerns and successes with peers. It is also a venue for the Association to share information that is specific to early career needs. Facebook group for early career members

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February 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speak Out