The Strengthening Medicare Aged Care Initiatives encompass the GP Panels Initiative and the Comprehensive Medical Assessment (CMA).

The Strengthening Medicare Aged Care GP Panels Initiative aims to ensure better access to primary medical care for residents of aged care homes and to enable GPs and allied health professionals to work with homes on quality improvement strategies for the care of all residents.

The Panels are designed to support GPs and allied health professionals to provide high quality primary care services within aged care homes.  They will supplement, not replace, existing MBS arrangements. 

The Panels Initiative has been expanded to include allied health professionals.  The expansion to the Aged Care GP Panels Initiative was recently announced as part of the May 2007 Budget, Aged Care - improved health services for residents of aged care homes. For more information click here.

Divisions will be funded to undertake the local liaison, development, and administrative support work for this initiative.

AGPN is working closely with the Department of Health and Ageing and key stakeholders in the development and coordination of the Initiative. 

The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing have developed several Fact Sheets for the Strengthening Medicare Aged Care Initiatives.  Click on the relevant document to upload.  Information pertaining to the expansion of the Initiative will be provided in the coming months.

Recent Additions to the Aged Care Web Pages

As of 20th March 2008 the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) is the assessment used to determine Australian Government care funding to residential aged care facilities. The new method is simpler with fewer basic funding categories, and two new supplements that will ensure funding is better matched to the needs of people with dementia and those with complex health care needs. An ACFI assessment will be completed by the aged care home. It is not intended that the ACFI will significantly impact the work of medical practitioners. Click here for further information

To improve communication flow for the Initiative AGPN will be circulating two regular newsletters: Aged Care Access and Aged Care Access E-bulletin.  The documents are located in the Aged Care sites document library.  Click here for the latest two releases..

 

The AGPN Aged Care Web Pages will be regularly updated to reflect the work being conducted by Divisions of General Practice, GPs, Aged Care Homes and Allied Health Groups under the Aged Care Initiatives. If you would like information held on this website or have any queries or comments please direct them to:

Ms Debbie Bampton
AGPN Principal Adviser - Aged Care

AGPN acknowledges the financial support of the Australian Government Department of Health & Ageing