eHealth PIP
The PIP eHealth Incentive was announced as part of the 2008-09 Budget, and will commence from August 2009. The incentive aims to encourage use of electronic health systems in PIP practices. The PIP eHealth Incentive will replace the existing PIP IM/IT Incentive and the PIP Electronic Decision Support Incentive, which commenced in August 2008. The PIP IM/IT Incentive will cease from August 2009.
This project will introduce the new eHealth Incentive to encourage general practice to move to using Electronic Decision Support Systems through consolidating the PIP IM/IT and Electronic Decision Support Incentives.
You can access more information on the NeHTA website , the PIP section of the Medicare Australia Website or the Department of Health and Ageing Website
eHealth PIP Guidelines & Application Form
General Resources
General FAQ by GP NSW
Understanding the e-Health PIP by GP Partners
eHealth PIP tele/video conference sound recording from 28th April, 2009, Speakers; Kim Willcox - Manager of eHealth PIP, Department of Health and Ageing, Paul Williams - Head of Solution Development, NEHTA; John McMillan - Manager of Secure Messaging, NEHTA
Information for Clients - Pen Computer Systems (PCS)
Requirements
To qualify for the eHealth PIP practices must comply with the following three requirements:
1. Secure Messaging
In order to meet this requirement, practices must have a NeHTA compliant secure messaging capability that will allow patient clinical and medical information to be securely exchanged where possible. The list of eligible suppliers is now available on the NeHTA website and can be found here.
2. PKI Registration
PKI FAQ by GPNSW
To be eligible for the PIP eHealth Incentive, practices must have (or have applied for) a location/site Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate for the practice and each practice branch, and ensure that each medical practitioner from the practice has (or has applied for) an individual PKI certificate. Locums are exempt from this requirement.
Registration forms for individual and location/site PKI certificates are available from the Medicare Australia website at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/pkiforms.
Further information on PKI is available at www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/pki or phone: 1800 700 199 (select option 3).
Practices only need to prove that they’ve applied for the PKI certificates. They don’t have to demonstrate that they’re using them.
Non-Medicare PKIs (e.g. ACIR) do not meet the requirement.
3. Electronic Clinical Resources
The guidelines for PIP payment indicate that a number of up to date clinical resources must be available to each General Practitioner – one from each category in the "Key Resources" group and at least three from the "Other Resources" group.
The PIP guidelines require that these clinical resources are available on the computer desktop in the consulting room, either on the hard drive or as a direct link to a website. GPs must be able to explain how to access the resources.
How to Meet Requirement 3 - from the RACGP Wesbite
GP's who are members of the RACGP will have access to a broad range of electronic clinical resources that will help to meet this requirement
MD and Requirement 3 - by Paul Bruce, NSW Central West Division of General Practice
Description of how Medical Director meets Requirement 3 of the Incentive as well as how these resources are accessed
Key resources
eTherapeutic Guidelines –$300 p.a. per GP ($150 renewal)
Australian Medicines Handbook - $155 for online version
Guidelines for Preventive Activities in General Practice ('red book') - free
Putting Prevention into Practice (‘green book’) - free
Other resources
Journal of Evidence-based clinical care: E.g., Bandolier - free; Clinical Evidence - £142 p.a
Clinical resources (latest editions): E.g. Immunisation: Myths and Realities, The Australian Immunisation Handbook, Assessing Fitness to Drive - free
Regulatory resources: E.g., Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) - free
The Merck Manual: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/index.html - $49.95 (USD)
Drs Ref: http://www.drsref.com.au/ausmedsite.html - free
Payment
This PIP is for accredited practices only. Payment starts in August 2009 and is based on the preceding quarter (May – July). As with all PIPs, practices must have been compliant for a full three month period before claiming. The payment is $6.50 Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE), capped at $12,500 per quarter.
Secure Messaging - Practice must comply by 31st July. This extension is due to the list of NeHTA compliant messaging providers not being available at this stage. To be on the list, vendors must be actively working towards complying with the appropriate NeHTA standards. They don't necessarily have to be compliant at this stage.
For PKI and Clinical Resources Medicare states "For all payments from August 2009 onwards, practices will need to meet all three eligibility requirements at the point in time to be eligible for a payment. The ‘point in time’ corresponds to the last day of the month prior to the next quarterly payment month. For instance, the point in time for the November quarterly payment is 31 October."
Once practices comply once, they're assumed compliant from then on unless they inform Medicare otherwise.