News

Released: 23 February 2017

Thousands of Australians will benefit from an innovative new form of flexible aged care that will help older people remain in their own homes for longer after injury or illness.

The Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM, MP, today announced 475 Short-Term Restorative Care places with an estimated total expenditure of up to $34.7 million a year.

The new places are part of the 2016-17 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR).

Mr Wyatt said: “The new short-term restorative care places aim to help people, who are experiencing illness or who have suffered an injury, from prematurely entering residential aged care.”

Read more:

New flexible aged care places help older Australians stay at home for longer (.pdf)

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 #2017/02 (.pdf)

Released: 17 February 2017

A nationally consistent approach to the delivery of aged care advocacy services to help those ‘lost in the system’ is a step closer with the development of the draft National Aged Care Advocacy Framework and today’s opening of the National Aged Care Advocacy Program funding round.

The Minister for Aged Care, Ken Wyatt AM, MP, said feedback from the aged care sector is helping to shape how advocacy services can better empower people to exercise choice and control within the aged care system.

“Consumers increasingly have more choice and a greater say over how they access aged care services,” Minister Wyatt said.

“Advocacy providers work one-on-one with older people and their families, particularly the more vulnerable groups in our community, to help them understand their aged care options so they can make informed choices.

Read more:

Advocacy in Aged Care Takes a Step Forward (.pdf)

The Aged Care Financing Authority (ACFA) was asked by government to provide advice on cost neutral mechanisms to ensure access to care for supported residents. This included reviewing the efficiency, effectiveness and appropriate level of the:
• supported resident ratio for each aged care planning region
• 25 per cent discount applied to the maximum accommodation supplement amount where a service does not provide more than 40 per cent of its eligible care recipient days to supported residents.

Read more:

ACFA report on access to care for supported residents now available

Report on access to care for supported residents – January 2017 (.pdf)

DoH – Report on access to care for supported residents – January 2017

8 February 2017

Australia’s first National Rural Health Commissioner will be an independent and high-profile advocate for regional, rural and remote health.

The Assistant Minister for Health, Dr David Gillespie, will introduce the Health Insurance Amendment (National Rural Health Commissioner) Bill 2017 into the House of Representatives to establish the role of the Commissioner as part of important reforms to regional and rural health in Australia.

The Commissioner will be established as a statutory officer holder under the Health Insurance Act 1973.

“The people of regional, rural and remote Australia are the heart and soul of our country, but their health outcomes are often diminished due to their remoteness and reduced access to health services,” Minister Gillespie said.

Read more:

Australia’s First National Rural Health Commissioner: The Champion of Regional and Rural Health Reform (.pdf)

We have now heard of several cases where users have submitted ACFI records to Medicare that have been processed and then marked as ‘Rejected’. On calling and speaking to staff at Medicare they have been informed that their software i.e. Manad Plus, has an issue or their software is not updated with the new 1 Jan ACFI changes.

This is not correct! Manad Plus has been updated and passed all testing with Medicare for submitting ACFI appraisals with the new 1-Jan-2017 business rules.

When sending ACFI appraisals you need to correctly select the ACFI Schema based on when the payment date will commence. Therefore, if you have ACFI records where the payment will commence from Dec-16 you need to use Schema A, if payment is to commence from 1 Jan-17 onward then you need to submit using Schema B rules.

If you are unsure then please check the software Release Notes published with the last update and if you are still unsure then contact the Help Desk for clarification, 1300 62 62 32 or support@manad.com.au.

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 #2017/01 (.pdf)

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

Read more:

Quality Standard – February 2017 (.pdf)

Australian Aged Care Quality Agency

The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine who produce the Residential Aged Care Communiqué have now released a new edition.

The Future Leaders Communiqué is an electronic publication containing narrative case reports about lessons learned from Coroners’ investigations into preventable deaths. These articles are written by health care graduates with a fresh take on current matters.

Read more:

Future Leaders Communiqué, Volume 2, Issue 1 – January 2017 (.pdf)

Saturday, January 28 was Chinese New Year.

2017 Is a ‘Fire’ Rooster Year

In Chinese astrology, each zodiac year is not just associated with an animal sign, but also one of five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth.

The 12 zodiac animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.

Rooster Years of Birth: 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017

Roosters: Honest, energetic, intelligent, flamboyant, flexible, diverse, confident.

The Luckiest Things for Roosters

• Lucky numbers: 5, 7, and 8
• Lucky days: the 4th and 26th of any Chinese lunar month
• Lucky colors: gold, brown, and yellow
• Lucky flowers: gladiola, cockscomb
• Lucky directions: south, southeast
• Lucky months: the 2nd, 5th, and 11th Chinese lunar months.

Things That Roosters Should Avoid

• Unlucky color: red
• Unlucky numbers: 1, 3, and 9
• Unlucky direction: east
• Unlucky months: the 3rd, 9th, and 12th Chinese lunar months