In 2005, the Australian Government changed the name of the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) to Chronic Disease Management (CDM). The old terminology has stuck in everyone’s minds and people still refer to their ‘Care Plans’ as EPC Plans.
What is it?
A Care Plan is an Australian Government scheme that will subsidise allied health care for chronic or complex conditions. The plan enables your GP to coordinate your care with multiple providers. The plan entitles you to 5 subsidised sessions per calendar year.
Who is eligible?
- You must have a chronic condition
- Must have had condition for 6 months or longer
- Condition is NOT well managed in it’s current state
What is a chronic condition?
- Musculoskeletal issues involving all areas of the body
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular Disease
When your GP prepares your plan, they will discuss your chronic condition with you. They will also inform about treatments and services available to you. The GP will also talk to you about management goals and actions for you to take. The Plan is generally reviewed yearly.
The Finer Details
The Care Plan can be issued at any time of the year and the sessions can be used anytime within the referral period. If you have unused sessions at 31 December, you can still use them for the next year, however they will come out of that calendar year’s allocated sessions. The maximum number of session available per calendar year is 5 sessions. There is no rollover of sessions remaining from the previous year.
There are some exceptions to this for mental health and type 2 diabetes. Please speak to your GP if you have these conditions.
How do Care Plans work at Vitalis Physiotherapy?
At Vitalis Physiotherapy, we accept Care Plans from any GP. We do offer GAP Free to patients of Sinnamon Park Medical Centre – all other referrals from other medical centres will have a gap. Overall, a care plan will reduce your out of pocket expenses.
At time of writing this, the medicare rebate covers $55.10 of the appointment fee. We can process your claim through Medicare after your appointment and in most case, you should have your rebate back into your account within 24 hours.
Interested in finding out more, or to book an appointment?
For more information, please see our FAQs or contact the clinic on 0410 559 856.