Month: June 2017

Commencing July 2017, pharmacists should include the RACFId (residential aged care facility identification number) for the nursing home each time a PBS/RPBS item is dispensed for all of the pharmacy’s nursing home patients.

The changes will make dispensing easier for pharmacists, as the RACFId will be used for PBS/RPBS supplies to all nursing homes. At present, the RACFId is only required for most supplies to nursing homes that have started using the National Residential Medication Chart (NRMC), or a commercial equivalent charting product that complies with PBS legislation.

Read more:

Revised Dispensing for nursing home residents (.pdf)

The world has been hit by a fresh ransomware epidemic spreading rapidly around the globe that uses the same tools exploited in the recent WannaCry epidemic.

The threat appears to be a variant of the Petya malware, which surfaced last year and crashes computers, rebooting them after rewriting the hard disk master boot record.

Read more:

Massive ransomware outbreak hits servers worldwide

What we know so far about the Petya/GoldenEye ransomware

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency has released the June 2017 issue of their ‘Quality Standard’ newsletter.

Read more:

Quality Standard – June 2017 (.pdf)

Australian Aged Care Quality Agency

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency’s draft Cost Recovery Implementation Statement is open for public consultation.

As announced by the government in the 2016-17 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Quality Agency’s Statement introduces the new levy, payable by residential aged care providers, for the annual unannounced site visit conducted by the Quality Agency.

The new levy is expected to take effect from 1 July 2018.

Public consultation is open until Friday 21 July 2017.

Read more:

Consultation open – residential aged care unannounced site visit levy

Consultation: Cost Recovery Implementation Statement

The schedules for residential and home care subsidies and supplements which take effect from 1 July 2017 have been released.

This includes fees and charges.

The Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) will also change effective from 1 July 2017.

The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) subsidy rates are not indexed and so have not changed, giving effect to the Government’s 6 December 2016 announcement of an indexation pause across all ACFI domains in 2017-18.

Changes effective from 1 July 2017

• Relevant (non-ACFI) subsidy and supplement rates have been updated and indexed: Schedule of aged care subsidies and supplements.

• The 2017 scheme of the viability supplement in residential care increases by an additional $2.12 per day as announced by the Minister for Aged Care on 6 December 2016.

• Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential and Home Care – for care recipients who commenced care on or after 1 July 2014 (has been updated and indexed).

• Schedule of Fees and Charges for Pre 1 July 2014 Residents (has been updated and indexed).

• The associated Department of Human Services quarterly review of fees and charges for all care recipients will be conducted with an effective date of 1 July 2017. Care recipients and providers will receive letters advising where there is a change to a care recipient’s fees and charges or where a refund may be due.

• A consumer who started a Home Care Package before 1 July 2014 can be charged a basic daily fee of up to 17.5% of the basic rate of the single pension. This rate is $10.10 per day.

Changes to MPIR

The Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) applicable to ‘refund periods’ for refundable deposit balances and accommodation bond balances and for accommodation prices will decrease from 5.78% to 5.73% for the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2017.

The Base Interest Rate remains unchanged at 3.75%.

You can view current and past Refundable Deposit Balance and Accommodation Bond Balance Refund Interest Rates.

You will need to update the daily payment prices published on your own website and in written materials in line with the new MPIR. The daily payment prices published on My Aged Care will be updated automatically.

If you have any queries, please contact My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

Read more:

Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements from 1 July 2017 (.pdf)

Schedule of Fees and Charges for Residential and Home Care From 1 July 2017 (.pdf)

Schedule of Fees and Charges for Pre 1 July 2014 Residents From 1 July 2017 (.pdf)

Indexation of Residential Aged Care and Home Care subsidy and supplement rates from 1 July 2017

The schedules for residential and home care subsidies and supplements have been updated and will take effect from 1 July 2017. This includes fees and charges. The Maximum Permissible Interest Rate (MPIR) will also change effective from 1 July 2017.

The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) subsidy rates are not indexed and so have not changed, giving effect to the Government’s 6 December 2016 announcement of an indexation pause across all ACFI domains in 2017-18.

Read more:

Indexation of Residential Aged Care and Home Care subsidy and supplement rates from 1 July 2017

The Department of Health has released a new edition of its ‘Information for Aged Care Providers’ newsletter.

Read more:

Information for Aged Care Providers – Issue #2017/11 (.pdf)

You are invited to share your experiences on the Commonwealth’s aged care quality regulatory processes. This independent review is to see how well regulation protects older people receiving aged care.

Ms Kate Carnell AO and Professor Ron Paterson ONZM are leading the review. They want to hear from:

• consumers
• their families
• carers
• aged care organisations
• staff of organisations
• other professionals in the aged care sector and related sectors.

The call for submission closes on 24 July 2017. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted.

Read more:

Get involved in the review of aged care quality regulation

Review of National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes

The 1 July 2017 ACFI rate updates should be released sometime next week (…if the Department release them in time before Saturday 1st July).

In anticipation of this, please note the following:

Version 5 clients:

Once the rates have been released we will create a new 5.4.xxxx version which will contain the new rates. We will push this version update out to all servers and notify you of its release.

Please arrange now for your IT Administrator to be available to backup your database and run this update when all staff have logged out of Manad Plus. Subject to the date the rates are released by DoH this update should be available Monday 3rd or Tuesday 4th July 2017.

Version 4 clients:

Once the rates have been released we will create a new 4.xxxx version which will contain the new rates.

We will log in and manually run this update for you on your server as we have done in the past (or if we have had other arrangements in the past we will continue with this process).

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If you have any questions, then please contact our office and speak with your usual Manad Plus Client Manager.

1300 62 62 32

Tabled 14 June 2017.

The ALRC was asked to consider Commonwealth laws and legal frameworks and how they might better protect older persons from misuse or abuse, and safeguard their autonomy.

The Report includes 43 recommendations for law reform. The overall effect will be to safeguard older people from abuse and support their choices and wishes through:

• improved responses to elder abuse in residential aged care;
• enhanced employment screening of care workers;
• greater scrutiny regarding the use of restrictive practices in aged care;
• building trust and confidence in enduring documents as important advanced planning tools;
• protecting older people when ‘assets for care’ arrangements go wrong;
• banks and financial institutions protecting vulnerable customers from abuse;
• better succession planning across the self-managed superannuation sector;
• adult safeguarding regimes protecting and supporting at-risk adults.

Read more:

Elder Abuse—A National Legal Response

Elder Abuse – A National Legal Response – FINAL REPORT (.pdf)