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Practice Nurse Incentive Program
Friday, 16 December 2011

Contacts
Catherine Hayward
Coordinator
(08) 8112 1116 (Office)
email
Practice Nurse Program

The current GP Plus Practice Nurse Initiative aims to promote the role of the Practice Nurse as a change agent in General Practice. The program supports Practice Nurses and general practice teams to implement nurse led models of care coordination for patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs.

The aim of the program is to impact on hospital activity by targeting patients at risk of hospitalisation using care coordination as a hospital avoidance strategy.

To do this effectively, staff need to look at systems of care within their practice by building the practice team and influencing change through quality improvement activities.

In addition, GP partners Adelaide provides back-up support to practices with practical assistance in care co-ordination as well as providing current resources for local environment referral pathways.

Practice Nurse Incentive Program (PNIP)

The Practice Nurse Incentive Program was introduced through Medicare Australia on 1st January, 2012. Once the general practice has applied for the PNIP, quarterly payments to practices are made, based on calculations made by Medicare Australia from the information given in the application.

These incentive payments have replaced Medicare Item numbers that were previously claimed for practice nurse time undertaken for immunisation, cervical smears, and treatment of a person’s wound. The Australian Practice Nurse Association website provides comprehensive information about the PNIP including FAQs such as:
 

What is the purpose of the PNIP payments? Do they cover nurses’ salaries?

The PNIP provides funding to practices/services that employ either practice nurses or Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) or both. The funded site can use these funds for any purpose, including offsetting the salary/wages of their nurse or AHW. The aim of the policy is to offset costs rather than fully meet them.

The PNIP is a simplification of the previous incentive scheme. That scheme provided payments for certain activities. This new program provides more freedom in the range of activities that can be undertaken and provides the opportunity for practice nurses to work to their full scope, releasing them from the particular clinical practice and tasks associated with item numbers. Nurses can undertake a more varied role, and thus be engaged differently in meeting the clinical and financial demands on the practice.

Please access more information on the PNIP through the APNA website: www.apna.asn.au/
and the Medicare Australia website:
http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/incentives/pnip.jsp#N10363


   
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