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• Indigenous Chronic
  Disease Package
• Tackling Chronic Disease
  Risk Factors
  • National action to reduce Indigenous smoking rate
  • Helping Indigenous Australians to reduce their risk of chronic disease
  • Local Indigenous community campaigns to promote better health
• Improving Chronic Disease
  Management and Follow up
  • Subsidising PBS medicine co-payments
  • Higher utilisation costs for MBS and PBS
  • Supporting primary care providers to coordinate chronic disease management
  • Improving Indigenous participation in health care through chronic disease self management
  • Increasing specialist and allied health follow up care
  • Monitoring and evaluation
• Workforce Expansion,
  Training and Support
  • Workforce education and training
  • Expanding the outreach and service capacity of Indigenous health services
  • Engaging Medicare Locals to improve Indigenous Access to mainstream primary care
  • Attracting more people to work in Indigenous Health
  • Clinical practice and decision support

4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessments (MBS item 715)¹

• General Overview

1. Information for General Practitioners on the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package
2. Patient identification
3. Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive
4. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessment items
5. MBS items overview
6. Chronic disease follow-up services
7. Allied health follow-up services
8. Practice nurses/Registered Aboriginal Health Worker follow-up services
9. Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme (PBS) Co-payment measure
10. Care Coordination and Supplementary Services Program (CCSS)

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Who is this document for?

• General practices
• Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and other Indigenous Health Services

Fee*	Benefit	Frequency	Assistance
$200.20	100% = $200.20	Annual (not more than once during a 9 month period)	An Aboriginal Health Worker or Practice Nurse can assist the medical practitioner with information collection and with providing patient’s information about recommended interventions.

*Current as at 1 Nov 2010.

Background

The aim of this MBS health assessment item is to help ensure that Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people receive primary health care matched to their needs, by encouraging early detection, diagnosis and intervention for common and treatable conditions that cause morbidity and early mortality.

Eligible practitioners

This health assessment item may only be claimed by a medical practitioner (including a General Practitioner but not including a specialist or consultant physician).

Patient eligibility

For the purpose of this item, a person is an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person if they, or their parent or carer, identify them as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The MBS health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people covers the full age spectrum. The requirements for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Health Assessment MBS item 715 vary depending on the age of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

Health assessment components

The health assessment includes an assessment of the patient’s physical, psychological and social wellbeing. It also assesses what preventive health care, education and other assistance should be offered to the patient to improve their health and wellbeing.

This health assessment must include:

• information collection: patient history and undertaking examinations and investigations as required;
• overall assessment of the patient;
• recommending appropriate interventions;
• providing advice and information to the patient;
• recording the health assessment; and
• offering the patient a written report with recommendations about matters covered by the health assessment.

Optional:

• Offering the patient’s carer (if any, and if the medical practitioner considers it appropriate and the patient agrees) a copy of the report or extracts of the report relevant to the carer.

Type 2 diabetes risk management

Patients between 15–54 years of age who are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as determined by the Australian type 2 diabetes risk assessment tool (AUSDRISK), may be referred to a subsidised lifestyle modification program.
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Restrictions

MBS item 715 does not apply for services that are provided by any other Australian Government, or state funded services. However, where an exemption under subsection 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 has been granted to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Service or state/territory government health clinic, MBS item 715 can be claimed for services provided by medical practitioners salaried by or contracted to, the service or health clinic so long as all requirements of the item are met.

Guidelines and resources

• MBS Online: www.health.gov.au/mbsonline
• Health assessment proformas: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mha_resource_kit
• National guide to a preventative health assessment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, prepared by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO): http://www.naccho.org.au/Files/Documents/ National guide to preventive health assessment.pdf
• The Australian type 2 diabetes risk assessment tool: http://www.health.gov.au/preventionoftype2diabetes

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¹Department of Health and Ageing. MBS Online. Canberra: DOHA; 2010. Available at: www.health.gov.au/mbsonline

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Page currency, Latest update: 09 December, 2010

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