Speak Out OCTOBER 2021 DIGITAL EDITION

Association NEWS

Member perspectives Balancing speech pathology and footy

Tallisha is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman that grew up on Yugambeh Country outside of Meanjin (Brisbane). Tallisha graduated from the University of Queensland and works as a paediatric and adult speech pathologist at the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health. Tallisha says she loves working as a speech pathologist as she feels she can give back to the community and her mob. She says she loves spending time getting to know so many different families and hearing their stories. Tallisha works alongside children and their families as well as in aged care facilities. Not only is Tallisha a deadly speech pathologist, she has represented Australia in indoor volleyball, rugby 7s, rugby 9s and rugby league. Tallisha began playing rugby league in 2013 with the Burleigh Bears and represented the Indigenous All Stars from 2014-2016; 2019-2020, captaining the team in the last two years. She also represented Queensland in 2018-2021 as well as the Australian Jillaroos in 2015, 2019 and 2020. Just recently, Tallisha played for the Brisbane Broncos in the grand final and came away with the trophy and championship ring. As a result of advocacy from the Association and other allied health professions, new MBS items will be available from 1 November 2021, for eligible allied health practitioners including speech pathologists participating in multidisciplinary case conferences with medical practitioners. The new items apply to non-admitted patients under the care of an eligible allied health practitioner for: • chronic disease management under the care of a medical practitioner in either community or residential aged care settings, • early diagnosis and treatment for children under 13 years with, or suspected of having, a pervasive developmental disorder (including autism) or an eligible disability, under the care of a specialist, consultant physician or medical practitioner.

Talisha with the Grand Final trophy she won with the Brisbane Broncos team.

New Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Case conferencing item numbers for allied health use

Under the new items, eligible allied health practitioners may claim reimbursement for participating in multidisciplinary case conferences for the following periods of time: 15-20 minutes, 20-40 minutes and over 40 minutes. These items will be able to be accessed in- person, via videoconference or telephone, using the same item number. The new items are intended to increase uptake of multidisciplinary case conferences, improve care coordination and support outcomes that matter most to clients and their families. This fact sheet outlines eligibility for new items, details of each of the item numbers and how they can be accessed and SPA’s document about Medicare programs has been updated to reflect the addition of these new items. The full item descriptors can be found on the MBS Online website at www.mbsonline.gov.au .

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Speak Out | October 2021