Allied health treatment cycle arrangements continue during pandemic

The allied health treatment cycle arrangements for DVA clients continues to apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DVA clients are able to access GP services via telehealth, including consultations for review and referral to allied health treatments. This ensures continuity of health care for veterans during the pandemic.

Referral requirements

If you are a GP or an allied health provider it is important to ensure DVA client referrals include all the necessary information. These requirements has been in place prior to the introduction of the treatment cycle. Health care providers who treat DVA clients are required to be familiar with their obligations. For further information, please refer to the Notes for General Practitioners or the Notes for allied health providers — section one — general.

Claiming an end of cycle report

An end of cycle report can only be claimed after certain requirements are met. For those professions with activity-based fee schedules, each treatment cycle must begin with an initial consultation.

During an initial consultation, allied health providers are expected to prepare (or update) the patient care plan.

After 12 sessions of treatment, the allied health provider will complete an end of cycle report and send it to the client’s usual GP for their review.

To support continuity of care when treatment frequency is high, the allied health provider can provide the report to the client’s usual GP between eight and 12 sessions.

If the client requires a shorter length of treatment, then a minimum of two sessions are still required in order for the allied health provider to be eligible to claim the end of cycle report fee.

Please note that the end of cycle report fee cannot be claimed by physiotherapists and exercise physiologists for clients with a TPI Gold Card, as these clients are exempt from treatment cycle requirements for these services.

Treating DVA clients in hospital

Treatment cycle arrangements do not apply when treating DVA clients who are admitted to hospital. The treatment cycle was designed to operate in primary health settings where a GP is responsible for care coordination.

More information

Visit Improved Dental and Allied Health (provider information) for further information about the treatment cycle, including a range of clinical resources.