After signalling that it would be cracking down on opportunistic health providers, the Department of Veterans Affairs now has official standards for the businesses and individuals it interacts with.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is asking all health practitioners and organisations which deliver, facilitate or manage care for veterans to ensure that their “billing, documentation and referral practices” align with its new set of integrity principles and expectations.
Released earlier this month, the principles are designed to apply to all organisations involved in the veteran wellness space and outline the department’s approach to compliance.
“In delivering services connected with DVA programs, we expect all parties involved in the veteran support system to act ethically and in the best interests of veterans and their families to ensure programs are effective and deliver meaningful support,” the document reads.
“Maintaining integrity is a shared responsibility. We are committed to working collaboratively with providers to support ethical practice and positive outcomes.”
It sets out seven expectations, asking that providers: put veterans first; act with honesty and transparency; deliver appropriate services; maintain independence; communicate responsibly; comply with obligations; and support the integrity of the system.
Of particular interest to some GPs may be the expectations to deliver appropriate services and to maintain independence integrity.
“Ensure services are clinically appropriate, reasonably necessary, evidence‑based, and delivered in accordance with professional standards and best practice,” the guidelines said.
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“… Exercise professional judgement, avoid conflicts of interest, and do not engage in arrangements or practices that compromise clinical, ethical or professional independence.”
Like the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, the DVA also stratifies risk across several categories.
Low-level non-compliance will be met with education efforts, opportunistic non-compliance will be met with audits, voluntary repayments and investigations, while deliberate non-compliance or fraud could trigger debt recovery action, provider deregistration and criminal prosecution.
It’s the latest in a series of moves that the DVA has made to stamp out inappropriate prescribing and predatory business models within the veteran care sector.
In a separate page covering “fee notes” for GPs, last updated in February, the DVA noted that telehealth consultations are “generally not appropriate for completion of requests from DVA”.
That same month, the DVA also released updated guidance on medicinal cannabis access via the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
These reforms also targeted particular clinic models; the DVA will now only fund cannabis treatment for new clients if they have met face-to-face with the prescribing clinician for an initial consultation.
It will also only accept scripts written by a specialist doctor.
The last few years have seen multiple reports in the mainstream media about pop-up, single issue telehealth clinics with names like “VeteranCann”, which appear to be directly targeting Australian Defence Force veterans.
