My Aged Care – new online referral form for health professionals
The Department of Health has developed, in consultation with stakeholders including the AMA, a new online referral form and referral fact sheet. Existing referral options are still available and work is continuing to facilitate GP referrals from within clinical software systems.
According to the DoH, the benefits of the new webform include:
- The capture of more detailed information, including client function;
- A confirmation of successful transmission, including confirmation via email if provided;
- Provision of a unique identifier to facilitate follow up;
- The ability to save and print the referral as a PDF;
- Streamlined processing of a completed health professional referral.
The webform can be accessed via the ‘Contact Us’ page on the My Aged Care website or via MyAgedCare.gov.au/referral. A YouTube video explaining the new health professional webform is also available.
GPs can still use existing referral options to my Aged Care which include calling the contact centre on 1800 200 422 or faxing their patient’s details (name, contact details, reason for the patient being referred to My Aged Care, record of patient’s consent for the referral) to 1800 728 174.
There is also a referral pathway for patients who need urgent access to Commonwealth Home Support Programme services through referring directly to a service provider. These arrangements are set out in an updated fact sheet on referring patients to aged care services.
