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March 2023 Mar 2023
Posted March 31, 2023
A 715 Health and Wellness Check is a yarn between you and your GP or Nurse. In some cases it could be an Aboriginal Health Worker (AHW).
It is also a check of your health and social & emotional wellbeing and will help you learn more about your health and any risk factors.
The GP or nurse will talk with you about your:
And they will check your height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, eye sight and ears
Sometimes they may do a finger prick test to check your blood sugar level (BSL) and offer you any immunisations you need.
You can book a 715 Health and Wellness check at any GP practice or Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS).
The GP or nurse might want you to have more tests or see another health professional. When you have a Health & Wellness Check, the GP can give you 5 enhanced primary care (EPC) referrals. These are referrals to allied health workers such as a:
With an EPC referral, Medicare will pay some or all of the costs to see these allied health workers. Ask your GP if you will have to pay a gap fee (the difference between the allied health worker’s fee and the Medicare payment). If you have a chronic disease and a GP management plan, the GP can give you another 5 EPC referrals. If you don’t have a GP Management Plan, or you don’t know if you have one, ask your GP. A chronic disease is an illness that lasts longer than 6 months.
A Health & Wellness Check is for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of any age.
It is not compulsory, but it will help you to identify and address any health issues or needs.
Every 9-12 months
Integrated Team Care (ITC) is a program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of any age with one or more of these chronic conditions:
Through the ITC program you will get help with:
You will also have a Care Coordinator who will work with you to coordinate your appointments and help you to meet your health goals.
Aboriginal Outreach Workers will help you get to your appointments, help you understand what the doctor or health worker is saying and put you in touch with culturally appropriate health and community services.
For more information about ITC, talk with your GP or one of the organisations listed below.
The gap is only getting bigger, and it's time we start with health literacy. The podcast gives us a platform to reach our communities across the HNECC and our mob who we wouldn’t normally cross paths with every day.
We use the podcast to share the work happening in our communities, interview guests, have a laugh and to educate people on our health care system.
We want our communities to understand what the PHN is, what we do and who they can talk to.
- Josh Fuller, Co-Host Coffee on Country
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A $12.4m philanthropic gift from the Colonial Foundation will assist in developing and implementing rural and remote community focused Diabetes Alliance Program (DAP) intervention.
In 2022, the PHN developed its 2022-2025 Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategy. The strategy is critical to delivering the PHN’s community, workforce and cultural objectives and aligns to the PHN’s strategic purpose of “keeping people well in our communities through innovation, performance, collaboration and local engagement.”