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Hospital Circular 4/1996

Date Issued: 22 Feb 1996
Publication: 4/1996
Contact: Regional Office
Distribution:

Public Hospitals
Registered Health Insurance Organisations
Extended Care Centres

Subject/s:

  1. Public Hospital Inpatient Election Form - amendment
  2. Public Hospital Fees - Patient Classification Schedule, and Day Only Arrangements - amendments
  3. Health Insurance Fund Data

1. Public Hospital Inpatient Election Form - amendments

  1. The Commonwealth has noted alleged reports of hospital or doctor-initiated changes to the patient election status in order to gain earlier admission to elective surgery, with revision back to public status to avoid further charges in many cases.

    States have agreed to amend the public hospital inpatient election form by adding an "unforeseen circumstance" amendment as the sole reason for an alteration of the initial choice of status.

  2. The sheet Victorian Public Hospitals - Information for Patients - sub headed COMPENSABLE PATIENTS has been amended by deleting Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act and by adding Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth); and (Vic) after the 3 Victorian Acts.

All the amendments above are effective 1 July 1996. This date aims to allow sufficient time for hospitals to run down current stock of inpatient election forms and print amended forms.

As a result, on 1 July 1996 could you please make the following update to the State fees manual "Fees and Charges for Acute Health Services in Victoria: A Handbook for Public Hospitals":

Patient Election Procedures - replace pages 6, 7 and 8 of part 1, Fees for Admitted Patients. Effective 1 July 1996. (Retain Page 9 which has not been amended.)

2. Public Hospital Fees

  1. Patient Classification Schedule

    Since issuing H&CS Circular 30/95, the Commonwealth advises of further changes to the patient classification schedule. Accordingly could you please update the State fees manual "Fees and Charges for Acute Health Services in Victoria: A Handbook for Public Hospitals":

    Patient Classifications - amend the attachment to page 3, Fees for Admitted Patients, SCHEDULE II Patient Classification Schedule p3 "Part III - Surgical Patient", by adding the following five radiation oncology (brachytherapy) MBS items: 15311, 15312, 15315, 15316 and 15345. Effective 17 January 1996.

  2. Day Only Arrangements - Amendments to the Type- C Exclusion List and the Type- B List.

    1. The Commonwealth advises that the following item number has been removed from the Type C Exclusion List and added to the Type B Band 1 (a) list with effect from 24 January 1996.

      13012 -hyperbaric treatment, including oxygen therapy, for a period of more than two hours (including examination immediately before and after treatment) - per hour

      This is in anticipation of changes to hyperbaric procedures which will occur with amendments to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) of 1 May 1996.

    2. The following item numbers have been removed from the Type B non-band specific list with effect from 7 February 1996.

      30675G/ Pilonidal sinus or cyst, or sacral sinus or cyst,

      30676S excision of

      As a result, could you please incorporate these amendments in your Type B and C lists in the State fees manual "Fees and Charges for Acute Health Services in Victoria: A Handbook for Public Hospitals". These lists are in the manual at:

      Same Day Patients -Fees for Admitted Patients (page 4):

      Attachment A Schedule of Type-B Professional attention procedures

      Attachment B Schedule of Type-C Professional attention procedures.

If you require further information on patient classification schedule/day only arrangements please telephone: (06) 289 8786 - 24 hour answering service - Health Insurance Section, Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health or e-mail the enquiry to pennyk@cbr.hhcs.gov.au

3. Health insurance fund data

It is anticipated that public hospitals will be required to gather data on the health insurance fund of each admitted patient from 1 July 1996. Further advice will be provided in conjunction with the VIMD update.

DR MICHAEL WALSH
DIRECTOR
ACUTE HEALTH SERVICES

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