First Nations Health

To enable us to support our First Nations communities we have established a dedicated First Nations Health team. The team work closely with local First Nations organisations and service providers, forming strong relationships that help identify regional needs and in turn close the service gap.

The Integrated Team Care (ITC) Program (formerly known as Care Coordination and Supplementary Services or CCSS) is a service that contributes to improving health outcomes for First Nations people with chronic health conditions through access to care coordination, multidisciplinary care and support for self-management.

It improves access to culturally appropriate, mainstream primary care services, including but not limited to, general practice, allied health and specialists.

More information on the program and the organisations delivering the program is available through the links below.

Health professionals can access the referral form and patient consent form via our HealthPathways sites

The PHN funds a number of organisations to provide assistance to First Nations people who have been experiencing mental health and wellbeing issues that impact on their daily life.

Coordinators are able to help clients navigate the health system and get support.

More information on the services funded and links to the organisations providing them are included below.

The First Nations Community Health Directories can assist health providers in having a single point of reference to ensure access to up to date information regarding support services addressing the social, emotional, economic, educational and cultural needs of the First Nations community.

Aboriginal Health Worker

The Aboriginal Health Worker category includes the roles of Aboriginal Community Health Workers, Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer and Aboriginal Liaison Officer. These roles are non-clinical and provide a variety of services in a community and/or hospital setting. These services include advocacy, support, liaison and health promotion.

Aboriginal Health Worker Guidelines (NSW Health)

Our First Nations Health Access Team can provide free cultural awareness support with an email, phone call or a practice visit. First Nations health can be complex, it is a sensitive area that requires cultural understanding and this is where we can help.

These are the topics we can provide free training on:

• Integrated Team Care (ITC) Program
• MNS 715 Health Check
• CTG PBS Co-Payment
• Practice Incentive Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive (IHI)
• Asking the Question (Indigenous Identification)
• Allied Health
• Cultural Safety in Primary Care
• Close the Gap Initiative

Click on the following link to view accredited Cultural Awareness training and education – RACGP accredited cultural awareness training

Online Cultural Awareness Training:

• Centre for Cultural Competence
• Evolve Communities
• AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies)
• Arrilla

Contact the First Nations Health Access Team directly to organise a visit in your practice.

The 715 Health Check is designed to support the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations people of all ages. The aim of the 715 health check is to help ensure that First Nations people receive primary health care matched to their needs, by encouraging early detection, diagnosis and intervention for common and treatable conditions that cause morbidity and early mortality.

715 Health Check Resources

• National Guide to the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment

• RACGP/NACCHO 715 templates and information

• Instructions - Importing templates into BEST PRACTICE software, and Importing templates into MEDICAL DIRECTOR software

• How to do a high quality health check for First Nations people

• Medicare Learning Module: Health Check (MBS 715)

• Medicare guide: First Nations Health Services

• Medicare descriptor/criteria: Health Check (MBS 715)

• Dept of Health: Health Check (MBS 715)

• Education Guide - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessments and follow up services

• Follow up Health Services (MBS item 10987)

• RACGP - High Quality 715 Health Check

Videos

• What is a 715 Health Check?

• Dr Mark Wenitong: The importance of a Health Check and patient engagement

• Education Session: How to Conduct a Quality 715 Health Check - 2 hrs duration, features Hunter Region clinicians Dr Joel Wenitong and Trumaine Rankmore (AHP)

The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive supports general practices and Indigenous health services (practices) to provide better health care for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients. This includes best practice management of chronic disease.

This incentive is a key part of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap: Tackling Indigenous Chronic Disease.

The PBS Co-payment Measure implemented on 1 July 2010 promotes greater access to PBS medicines by reducing the co-payment for eligible Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients.

Practices must get patient consent to register their eligible patients for this measure and annotate PBS prescriptions.

Practices should note that patients registered only for the PBS Co-payment Measure won’t attract a patient registration payment.

PIP IHI guidelines and information

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have high rates of otitis media (middle ear infection) and subsequent hearing loss. They suffer an average of 32 months of hearing loss in childhood, compared with three months for non-Indigenous children.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with undiagnosed hearing loss are disadvantaged at school with delayed auditory, cognitive and psychosocial development.

The PHN is partnering with Hearing Australia to provide opportunities for general practices to provide their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with to access diagnostic hearing assessments.

What if your practice already does hearing assessments?

Audiometrists are only qualified to do assessments on patients 4yrs and above. This means your 0-3 year old patients are not being assessed for early intervention.

What is the benefit for your practice?

This program provides qualified Audiologists who can conduct hearing assessments from birth for your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

Who is eligible?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the years before primary school.

Where will it happen?
Assessments can be arranged to take place in a quiet room in your practice or at a location that is mutually agreeable with your patients and the program. For example a Library.

What will it cost?
There is no cost to patients or practices to hold a clinic. There is no cost to the patients if referred into the program for ongoing treatment and devices.

When will the clinics take place?
We can liaise with your practice to organise a mutually agreeable time to conduct a clinic. Clinic days can be flexible depending on the amount of assessments required. For example, 1-2 days a month

What tests are provided?

The 4 Tests in the Hearing Assessment Program – Early Ears (HAP-EE)

1. Otoscopy
2. Play Audiometry- age appropriate
3. OAE
4. Tympanometry

What ongoing treatment is provided?

If the child needs ongoing hearing care through the means of devices, assessments etc then they get referred into the funded Hearing Australia CSO/ Outreach pathway as a paediatric client. They remain a paediatric client until they turn 26 years of age.

If it is recommended the child sees an ENT, the Audiologist will write a report for the GP which advises this. Hearing Australia will also fit hearing aids if needed and provide ongoing support.

What next?
Please contact Sherilee McManus on 0421 662 975 or email Sherilee.McManus@hearing.com.au to discuss further details on organising a clinic for your practice

Identifying the ethnicity status of people accessing services improves national health and welfare data, contributes to helping ‘Close the Gap’ in outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and helps First Nations people access Indigenous specific health measures designed to overcome health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Most of these health measures can be accessed through General Practitioners.

Asking the Question Resources:

• • Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in General Practice
  • Fact Sheet for patients: 'Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Origin'
  • Poster (Waiting Area) - Indigenous Identification

The CTG PBS Co-Payment Program was established in July 2010 to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with, or at risk of, chronic disease by registering them for the Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Co-payment program. This will mean registered patients can obtain their PBS General Schedule Medication at a concessional rate if they normally pay the full amount and those eligible patients who would normally pay the concessional rate receive their PBS medication without being required to pay an amount.

CTG PBS Co-Payment Resources:

• CTG PBS Co-Payment Program Frequently Asked Questions
• Factsheet for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
• Factsheet for Community Pharmacies
• Factsheet for Hospital Pharmacies
• Factsheet for Prescribers
• How to register for an individual PRODA account
• How to register a patient for Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS Co-Payment
• The Indigenous Health Incentive Guidelines
• RACGP Cultural Awareness and Cultural Safety Training

Videos:

• How to Register a patient for the CTG PBS Co-Payment Program – this video shows you step by step how to register a patient for the CTG PBS Co-Payment Program via PRODA.
• Learning Module: CTG PBS Co-Payment Program - Services Australia have provided a learning module available on the Closing the Gap (CTG) Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) Co-Payment Program if you would like further information.

This resource is to support primary health care providers enhance the cultural responsiveness of their staff, premises and services.

The ideas included can be used to acknowledge, engage and learn more about some of the dates that are significant to Australia’s First Nations people.

Significant Dates Australian First Nations