Practice Nurse Incentive Payment windfall for the Illawarra!
All practices in the Illawarra region are set to benefit from the Commonwealth Government’s decision to extend the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Practice Nurse Payment to all urban areas of workforce shortage.
The extension of the PIP Practice Nurse Incentive Payment, which offers practices financial assistance to employ a nurse, has been widely reported to be an important step towards relieving the mounting workforce pressures GPs face due to doctor shortages.
Practice nurses are skilled health professionals who play an important role in supporting GPs to deliver timely quality health care services to the community. Nurses are especially able to assist with chronic disease management, implementation of health promotion and illness/disease prevention strategies, and generally enable a practice to offer a wider variety of health care services to their patients.
To be eligible for the Practice Nurse Incentive Payment, practices need to meet the following requirements:
· The practice must be participating in the PIP
· The practice must be located in an Urban Area of Workforce Shortage as defined by the Department of Health and Ageing
· The practice must employ or retain the services of a practice nurse and/or allied health worker for the minimum number of sessions required.
The minimum number of sessions required is calculated using the practice’s Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE). This figure can be obtained from your quarterly PIP Statement.
For further information regarding the Practice Nurse Incentive please refer to the following resources:
Practice Nurses and/or Allied Health Workers for Urban Areas of Workforce Shortage – Guidelines.
PIP Inquiry Line: 1800 222 032
Medicare Australia Website: http://www.medicareaustralia.com.au/
For information regarding nursing in general practice, please refer to the following resources:
Nursing in General Practice: A Guide for the General Practice Team
Contact Person: Anne Harding
Practice Nursing Program Officer
Ph: 4226 7052 (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
