Here's some answers I obtained from Medicare Australia (or more correctly, Human Services) via email to questions posed previously on this list.
Enjoy, Simon -- 1. What happens if incorrect information is entered into the EFTPOS terminal? A. If the message has already been transmitted to Medicare Australia, it is likely that the error would be picked up by Medicare Australia's assessment engine. If not and it is for a patient claim, the claim can be cancelled before the patient's debit card is swiped and the transaction re-done. If it is for a bulk bill claim, and the error is not detected by the assessment process, the surgery would need to contact Medicare to fix the error. Medicare Australia has a dedicated help desk number for practitioners. 2. What happens if the patient pays the gap or a lesser portion of the bill? A. This is referred to as a 'pay doctor via claimant' (PDVC) arrangement and is accepted by some doctors. In this situation, the claimant can still make their claim using 'Medicare Easyclaim'. They swipe their medicare card in the terminal and the practice manager would enter the claim details and indicate that the claim is unpaid or partially paid. Following claim approval, Medicare will then send a cheque to the patient, in the name of the doctor, which the patient would then need to provide to the practice to settle their account. The difference between this process compared to what occurs today is that the doctor has assurance that the claim has at least been lodged and the cheque is on its way. This should reduce the need for any follow up for unpaid accounts by the practice. 3. What can doctors do for home visits? A. Doctors can request a remote EFTPOS terminal from their bank. We understand a number of banks will have this technology available in the near future and Medicare Easyclaim transactions can be undertaken remotely through approved remote terminals. 4. What privacy provisions are in place to prevent banks from snooping on the data? A. The data is encrypted from the time it leaves the terminal to the time it arrives at Medicare Australia. Banks offering Medicare Easyclaim through their EFTPOS terminals will have signed a contract with Medicare Australia which prevent them from storing or using the claim data in any way. The only data the bank will retain (for reporting and tracing purposes only) is a transaction identification number (as similar process to the number attached to a standard EFTPOS transaction) the date and time of the transaction and the amount of the rebate paid into the person's account. Furthermore, banks will need to satisfactorily complete and accreditation process with Medicare Australia prior to being certified to offer the product to practices. This accreditation process includes a high level of security checking and testing, conducted by Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) approved assessors that the message is being carried and handled securely and in accordance with Government policy. 5. What about DVA? A. DVA claims will not be transmitted using Medicare Easyclaim. These claims require an additional set of information which would not be efficient to transmit using EFTPOS, nor to enter into a terminal. These claims can be processed as they are today, including through Medicare's online channel. _______________________________________________ Gpcg_talk mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ozdocit.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpcg_talk
