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Keeping our Model – Care Assess
Keeping our Model – Care Assess
“Are you going to keep your model?”
In view of the reform changes, particularly the upcoming introduction of the new Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), Care Assess gets asked this question by those who know us well.
It’s a good question – after all, the Department of Social Services Key Directions for Commonwealth Home Support Programme Discussion Paper, released in May this year, has detailed a proposal to cease funding for HACC Service Group 2 service types; namely, assessment and client care coordination. These two service types are key to Care Assess’ current HACC operation with its existing programs and services.
However, the design of the new program is good news for Care Assess, not bad!
Mapping of current services into the CHSP
The proposed design of the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) will seek to link service delivery to six outcomes that each service is intended to contribute towards; one of these is “Increased Independence”.
The CHSP will seek to significantly change the way many basic HACC services are currently delivered – by adopting a reablement approach at the front-end of the system, with access via the My Aged Care Gateway (MAC).
Where clients are assessed as potentially being able to benefit from a short course of intensive supports or interventions, as part of a reablement approach recommended by a My Aged Care assessor, the MAC will refer clients to short term intensive reablement services within the CHSP, like Care Assess existing HACC Home Independence program, which provides goal-orientated reablement plans for up to 12 weeks, designed and managed by a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals.
Because these existing HACC services at Care Assess, including our Post Acute and Hospital Avoidance programs, are all managed by health professionals (nurses, exercise physiologists and occupational therapist), we’re able to apply to continue delivering current services in the CHSP within the “Increasing Independence” outcome, which will fund “nursing” and “allied health” services.
Keeping our Model
We are very excited that the aged care system, which will be in place from July 2015, will include a new Commonwealth Home Support Program (for low intensity basic support at home) that will feature a significant new element; in addition to ongoing services for clients and/or carers, the CHSP is being designed to include short-term restorative care programs and services – which will get system-wide access from the front-end of the system!
Care Assess will be able to retain our service model! Our service model is our point of difference; we provide independent care coordination through brokerage, giving our coordinators and clients the control to choose the direct-care provider(s) and service types that are best placed and suited to meet our consumers’ need, desires and goals.
Our clinical professionals specialise in coordination of care that is comprehensive, providing client-centred, quality management of care.
Care Assess employ a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals of over 60 staff, mostly senior RN (Level 2) clinical nurse coordinators, assessors and care-managers, enhanced by a contracted workforce of over 35 subcontracting organisations.
This service model allows Care Assess’ care coordinators to specialise in quality-management of subcontracted care, placing consumers themselves at the centre of our clinical governance and workforce management.
This service model increases the ultimate value of services for clients by providing better access to affordable and appropriate care. To find out how our care coordination increases quality of care and value for money, please see our Value for Money Model
