AMA Checklist to help General Practices prepare for e-health incentive changes
With time running out for general practices to meet the new Practice Incentives Program (PIP) e-health incentive requirements, the AMA today issued a comprehensive checklist to help general practices undertake the many steps, some complex, needed if they are to remain eligible for incentive payments.
From tomorrow, general practices have just 41 business days to meet the new requirements or lose their incentive payments, which can be as much as $12,500 per practice per quarter.
Concerned about the tight deadlines and lack of timely coordinated Government support and advice for GPs, the AMA has fast tracked its checklist to help the general practice community be better informed about what is required of them before 1 February 2013.
The AMA checklist brings together forms, information and instructions from the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), the Department of Human Services, the National e-Health Transition Authority (NeHTA), and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that compiling all the information into a single package is work that should have been done by the Government and its agencies.
“We hope our checklist will save time and hopefully preserve valuable income for busy general practices around the country,” Dr Hambleton said.
“Our checklist shows clearly that there is a lot of work to be done for medical practices to meet the new PIP e-health requirements.
“Having compiled this information over some considerable time, the AMA was just yesterday advised that general practices will not be able to register for the digital certificate required for secure messaging, which is a necessary step towards eligibility for the PIP e-health incentives, until 10 December 2012.
“We have also discovered that there is no current mechanism to verify the installation of their software, which is another requirement for eligibility.
“The AMA supports the PCEHR, but we also support fair and orderly processes to allow general practices to properly prepare for its full implementation.”
The AMA is currently polling its members on whether they think their general practice will have the first four ePIP requirements in place by 1 February 2013. The checklist is available at https://ama.com.au/getting-ready-pip-ehealth-incentive-and-pcehr
30 November 2012
CONTACT: John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Kirsty Waterford 02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
