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Welcome to Aged Care Connect, keeping you up to date across WA Primary Health Alliance’s Aged Care Program initiatives that seek to build capacity in primary care and aged care services, leading to better health outcomes for older Australians and other aged care news. 

In this November update:

• MyMedicare registration
• General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI)
• Telehealth carts reach more aged care homes across WA 
  
• Optimising care coordination in residential aged care 
  
• Dementia Community Services and Support Finder
  
• Upcoming sector events, training and resources
• Government updates

MyMedicare registration  

WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) continues to support general practices, providers and patients to register with MyMedicare. People living in residential aged care homes (RACHs) have been able to register with MyMedicare since 1 October 2023, to formalise their relationship with their regular general practice and GP. RACH residents are eligible to register if they have a valid Medicare card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Veteran Card. 
 
RACH residents can register in MyMedicare by completing a registration form from their GP or online through their Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare mobile application. They won’t need to physically attend a practice for the purpose of completing their registration. 
 
Where a patient is incapable of providing consent, as for other Medicare arrangements, a responsible person can consent on their behalf. ‘Responsible person’ means an adult person accompanying the patient or in whose care the patient has been placed, including the parent or guardian, a person who holds power of attorney or a guardianship order, or the legally recognised next of kin. 

PHNs are working with the Department of Health and Aged Care to ascertain how PHNs can best support patient registration in RACHs, noting the importance of both the practice and patient providing informed consent for registration.  

General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI) 

The Australian Government is investing $112 million over 4 years in the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI) to support every aged care resident to receive quality primary care services from a regular GP and practice.  
 
From 1 August 2024, GPs and practices registered in MyMedicare will receive incentives for providing their registered patients who permanently live in a RACH with regular visits and better care planning, improving continuity of care and reducing avoidable hospitalisations. RACH residents will be required to be registered in MyMedicare and the GP linked to the patient’s registered practice for GPs to access the GPACI. Further details on the GPACI incentive will be available in the coming months.  
 
Practices and GPs are encouraged to register their RACH patients in MyMedicare as a priority from 1 October 2023 to fully benefit from the GPACI. RACH patients who are registered in GPACI will be exempt from the two face-to-face visits eligibility criteria for MyMedicare. 
 
From late 2023, PHNs will be funded to work with RACHs to match residents with a regular primary care provider in MyMedicare where they do not have one. From 2024, PHNs will have will also have access to a needs-based funding pool to commission GPs to provide care in RACHs in areas of critical workforce shortage or market failure. 
 
WAPHA, with the PHN Cooperative are working with the Department of Health and Aged Care to inform the design of the measure, including identifying challenges and opportunities and to better understand the implementation requirements.  

Optimising care coordination in residential aged care 

GPs play an integral role in supporting the end of life and palliative care needs of residents living in RACHs and enabling choice at end of life. To improve access to support, WAPHA began a pilot project in January 2023 for aged care organisations to employ four dedicated clinical coordinators to implement key initiatives across eight sites in WA.   

To support implementation, WAPHA established an orientation program and monthly community of practice meetings focused on quality improvement and building capacity and capability of the case coordinators.

Read more

Caring for older people in warmer weather 

High temperatures are often experienced across Australia every summer and older people living in the community may be at risk of heat stress, particularly those who live alone without regular contact from others. 

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has developed checklists to prepare for extreme weather events. 

Access the resources 

Upcoming sector events, training and resources

Australian Government updates

Electronic National Residential Medication Chart Adoption Grant 

Round 2 of the Electronic National Residential Medication Chart (eNRMC) Adoption Grant Opportunity is open with up to $20,000 available to help defray eNRMC adoption costs for eligible services that provide residential aged care. For more information, please see Grant GO6319 on the GrantConnect website (grants.gov.au). 

In WA, all eNRMC products must be approved by the WA Department of Health. There are currently 7 eNRMC products approved for use in WA:  

• Acredia RX (Acredia Pty Ltd) 
• Bestmed Medication Management (Best Health Solutions) 
• Health Stream (Medication Packaging Systems (MPS)) 
• Medi-Map Medication Management (Medi-Map Group Pty Ltd) 
• Medpoint (Telstra Health) 
• Strong Care (Strong Room Technology Pty Ltd) 
• Webstercare Med Care (Webstercare – Manrex Pty Ltd) 

RACHs seeking to adopt one of these products must contact the WA Department of Health prior to implementing, and provide the details of the pharmacy/ies which will be providing medicines for residents using the eNRMC. eNRMC software vendors may assist this process. For more information concerning this process, or to request to use an eNRMC product, you may contact the WA Department of Health via MPRB@health.wa.gov.au.  

It is not necessary to have selected an eNRMC before applying for the eNRMC Adoption Grant. For more information concerning the Grant, visit Grant Connect. For more information regarding how to select the right eNRMC System for your service, and safely transition, please visit the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care and Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care websites.  

WA Virtual Emergency Department Update – Phase 1: Perth metropolitan area 

The WA Virtual Emergency Department (WAVED) will give patients the option of being seen virtually in the comfort of their own home through a virtual consultation with a specialist emergency clinician, rather than waiting in an emergency department (ED). This partnership between the Department of Health, Health Service Providers and St John WA will provide patients with clinically appropriate alternative care options and help reduce visits to the ED. 

WAVED was launched on 11 September 2023 as a proof of concept and will be implemented in a phased approach. Residents of aged care homes in the Perth metropolitan area are being prioritised for the first phase of WAVED.  

Find out more

My Health Record system upgrade on 30 October 2023  

My Health Record was upgraded on 30 October 2023 and included enhancements to incorporate the new Aged Care Transfer Summary (ACTS) functionality in readiness for when RACH systems have been enhanced to support the upload of ACTS documents into My Health Record.  

Health care providers and consumers are able to view an aged care resident’s key health information in My Health Record views, including the My Health App, which will assist with coordination of care across the health system. The upgrade also included structured data attached to level 1B and 2 documents uploaded (discharge summary, e-referral and specialist letters) being made available to health care providers. 

You are receiving this email as an interested party for activities related to the Primary Health Network Aged Care Program or have signed up through our website. All enquiries related to the Aged Care Program should be attention to healthpolicy@wapha.org.au

Our mailing address is:

WA Primary Health Alliance Level 2, 1 Hood Street Subiaco, WA 6008 Australia

Disclaimer

WA Primary Health Alliance’s publications and the material within them are intended for use by health professionals for general information purposes and do not replace clinical decision making. Please read our full disclaimer.

While the Australian Government contributed funding for this material, it has not reviewed the content and is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage however arising from the use of or reliance on the information provided herein.