Health Checks and Assessment

Project Officer: Vijay Ramanathan
Phone: 8752 4915

Overview Health Checks and Health Assessments



Health assessments overview

Health assessments are used to assess the over health of a patient taking into consideration their social, physical, physiological health, family history and environmental risk factors. They are useful tools to establish a baseline for the patient to consider, monitor or focus on self management to maintain or address their potential future health predicament.

They can provide the impetus needed to address a potential health problem such as CVD or diabetes. They can be valuable to patients and carers to help direct interventions before problems arise such as hearing problems in small children or dental issues in intellectually delayed patients.

They are also there to show parents the positives about their health. That their children are doing really well, they have reached the appropriate milestones and everything is on track.

We encourage all practices to take a whole of practice approach and utilise health assessments as a best practice frontline approach to health promotion, encouraging patient wellness and self management of care.

Guidelines to Health Assessments

  • The patient must give consent and the consent must be recorded. If the patient can’t give it or is too young. It will need to be given by a responsible person who has the authority to do so i.e. a parent, carers or guardian.
  • The patient’s usual doctor is best placed to carry out the assessment. Usual means having seen the patient on previous occasions over the past 12 months.
  • Both Practice Nurse and registered Aboriginal Health Workers are able to assist with history taking and provide health promotion interventions. All clinical diagnosis of the health assessment must be conducted under the care of the GP.
  • The patient should receive a copy of their health assessment.
  • Follow up and review where appropriate particularly with lifestyle interventions and goal setting.

Claiming rules

  • Always check with Medicare on 131231 to ensure the patient is eligible for the health assessment.
  • Health Assessments should not be claimed with other consolation unless it is clinical significant. The exception to this is with a Healthy kids check or a Comprehensive Medical Assessment. When they are often provided in conjunction with another consultation.
  • Bulk billing incentives can be claimed with health assessments.
  • Practice nurse item numbers and health assessments can also be claimed together.
  • The GP and the practice nurses total time combined equates to the item number claimed.

New rules for claiming and assessing (Question and Answers)
From 1 May 2010 new rules apply to health assessments this cheat sheet should help explain the process.

1.  Healthy Kids Check

Claiming rules

Only claim once

  • Claimed with practice nurse immunisation item number
  • Claimed with bulk billing incentive

Can be completed by

  • GP
  • GP and practice nurse
  • Practice nurse or Aboriginal Health Worker (item 10986)

Eligible children must:

  1. Be aged between 3 and 5 years of age
  2. Have received or be going to received their 4 year old vaccinations (NSW health Schedule)
  3. Have consent from parent or carers
  4. Be provided with a copy of “Get set 4 Life”

2.  45-49 year old Health Check for patients

Claiming rules

Patients is eligible for ONE health check between the age of 45-49 years Claimed with bulk billing incentive can be completed by

  • GP
  • GP with the assistance of a practice nurse

The patient

  • Aged between 45-49 years of age
  • At risk of developing a chronic disease

Risk factors include

  • Smoking
  • Poor nutrition and Physical inactivity
  • Alcohol intake

Biomedical Risk Factors

  • Blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Weight issues
  • Impaired glucose metabolism
  • Family history

Tools to assist

3.  Type Two Diabetes Risk Evaluation – people 40-49

Target

people aged 40-49 at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes

Claiming rules

  • Once every three years
  • Claimed with bulk billing incentive

Can be completed by the

  • GP
  • GP and practice nurse

The patient

  • aged between 40 - 49 years of age Complete AUSDrisk assessment tool (link)
  • Have consent from parent or carers
  • Be provided with a copy of Get set for Life
  • Clinical risk factors
  • Lifestyle factors
  • Smoking
  • Poor nutrition
  • inactivity

Biomedical risk factors

  • blood pressure
  • weight
  • impaired glucose metabolism
  • recent diagnostic test results
  • family history of chronic illness

The health assessment will include

  • evaluation of patients risk using AusDRISK completed at least 3months before the health assesment
  • physcial examination and update of patients history and clincial investigation
  • make the assessment of patients risk
  • initiate patients readiness to change interventions
  • recommend Lifestyle Modification Program (LMP)
  • Contact CSGPN for referral number and provider
  • Implement motivalion interviewing and lifestyle coaching

Other services to support newly diagnosed diabetics

4.  75+ Health Assessment

5.  CMA

6.  People with an Intellectual Disability

7.  Refugee and Humanitarian Check

8.  Health Checks for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients

Children aged 0-5 information and form
Adults aged 16-54 information and form
Older patients aged above 55 information and form

Links

Further Resources

Tuesday, May 22nd 2012

Office hours are weekdays 9am - 5pm
Contact reception on 9799 0933
The time of your visit here is 9:07am

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