Practice Incentive Payments eHealth Incentives

Practice Incentive Payments eHealth Incentives

Overview:
On Friday 13 March, 2009, DoHA advised all Australian general practices of a new eHealth Practice Incentive Payment scheme. The letter contained the eHealth PIP guidelines and the application form: (download form PDF 124KB) or  (download form RTF 534KB)

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on E-Health April 2009:
Q&A on the eHealth PIP click here (PDF 54KB)

Requirements:
To qualify for the e-Health PIP practices must comply with the following three requirements:

1. Secure Messaging
   In order to meet this requirement, practices must have a NeHTA compliant secure messaging capability that will allow patient clinical and medical information to be securely exchanged where possible. As of 18 March 2009, the list of NeHTA compliant messaging providers (click here to view the page).
2. Individual & Location PKI
   In order to meet this requirement, practices must have (or have applied for) a location/site PKI certificate. Each medical practitioner working at the practice must also have (or have applied for) an individual PKI certificate. Locums are exempt from this requirement.
3. Clinical Resources
   In order to meet this requirement, practices must provide all medical practitioners from the practice with access to the current editions of a range of key electronic clinical resources to improve the quality of prescribing, support quality care, and enhance health outcomes. (click here - see table below)

Please note the examples outlined on the tables below are a guide only. Practices can determine which electronic clinical resources meet both the relevant descriptions in the PIP eHealth Incentive Guidelines, as well as the unique needs of their GPs and patients. Please note, it is up to individual practices, rather than software suppliers, to determine whether electronic resources meet the eligibility requirements. (Source: RACGP http://www.racgp.org.au/pip#downloads)

For more practical tips you can download this document Practical Reference Tool for Practices (PDF 184KB) developed by the Australian Association of Practice Managers

August Quarter Deadlines:
The following table highlights key compliance dates for the August Quarter.

Requirement Comply by:
1 - Secure Messaging 31 July 2009
2 - Individual & Locational PKI 30 April 2009*
3 - Clinical Resources 30 April 2009*

*NOTE: As with all PIP payments, practices must be compliant for a full three month period before claiming; hence the 30 April deadline for an August Quarter PIP payment. This is an ongoing arrangement so to be eligible for the November payment, practices must comply by 31 July, and so forth. If a practice has complied once it is assumed that it is compliant from then on, unless they inform Medicare is informated otherwise.

Payment:
This PIP is for accredited practices only. Payment starts in August 2009 and is based on the preceding quarter (May – July). As with all PIPs, practices must have been compliant for a full three month period before claiming. The payment is $6.50 Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE), capped at $12,500 per quarter.

PKI registration

• Registration forms for individual and location/site PKI certificates are available from the Medicare Australia website at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/pkiforms
• Further information on PKI is available at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/pki or phone: 1800 700 199 (select option 3)
• Frequently Asked Questions - Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) developed by GPNSW  

Requirement 3 Clinical Resources - links to electronic clinical resources:

How to meet Requirement 3 (excerpt from RACGP's website http://www.racgp.org.au/pip#downloads):

• Practice must have the electronic clinical resources available on the computer desktop in the consulting room either on the hard drive, CD-ROM or website shortcut. Download RACGP's instructions on how to create a website desktop shortcut.
• Practice must have the current edition of the resource. Be aware that your electronic patient file system may not contain the most current edition. Call your provider in order to find out what edition is built into your system.
• The range of electronic resources you make available must fit into the categories outlined in the PIP eHealth Incentive Guidelines. This includes:
  • At least 1 resource from each category in Table 1: Key Electronic Resources (minimum of 3 resources in total)
    and
  • At least 3 resources from any category in Table 2: Other Electronic Clinical Resources (minimum of 3 resources in total but they can all come from one category if you wish). A minimum overall total of 6 resources.
    

From Table 1 Requirements - Clinical Resources
At least 1 resource from each category in Table 1: Key Electronic Resources (minimum of 3 resources in total)

From Table 2 Requirements - Clinical Resources
At least 3 resources from any category in Table 2: Other Electronic Clinical Resources (minimum of 3 resources in total but they can all come from one category if you wish. A minimum overall total of 6 resources)

Relevant websites and resources PIP- eHealth incentive 

• Reference Tool for Practices on PIP-ehealth incentive (Australian Association of Practice Managers) Practical Reference Tool for Practices (PDF 184KB)
• Medicare Australia Medicare's PIP website
• NEHTA website NeHTA's eHealth PIP website.
• NEHTA website page on NeHTA's compliant messaging providers list
• E-health PIP Q&A (click here) 
• The Merck Manual: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/index.html - $49.95 (USD)
• Drs Ref: http://www.drsref.com.au/ausmedsite.html - free
• RACGP website http://www.racgp.org.au/pip#downloads

General Practice Computing Group Resources

The GPCG has developed these Security Guidelines for use in General Practice, including a simple Computer Security Check-list for implementation. The guidelines will assist practices in maintaining the security and privacy of electronic patient and practice records which is critical for both health record systems and the operation of a general practice. Free and dowmloadable resources on www.gpcg.org.au include:

• Security Guidelines for general practices
  • Security Self Assessment Guide for GPs    
  • Computer Check-list  
  • Security Templates for Security Policies and Procedures Manual
    
  • Security Template (WORD 147KB)
• Privacy and Health Information for GPs 
• Privacy and Health Information for Consumers
• Emails between you and your patients- GP information
• Emails between you and your GP - Consumer Information
• Buying Guide Software 
• Buying Computer Systems for General Practice
• Buying Computer Systems for GPs and Staff - An introduction
• Using the internet guide for GPs: 
  • Internet-a brief introduction
  • World Wide Web-a brief introduction  
  • WWW search strategies-a brief introduction 

Useful Resources and Websites

IM Resources North East Valley Division of General Practice - Template Downloads - Cheatsheets North East Valley Division of General Practice - http://www.nevdgp.org.au/?content=8 website offers a variety of useful resources, including Medical Director and Best Practice templates, cheatsheets, MD Training books for sale and links to IM-related sites.