Helpful Hints on Choosing a Care Provider

There are 5 key steps to accessing a home care package and choosing the right care provider to meet your needs.

The Australian Government website www.myagedcare.gov.au has been developed to assist you in navigating the choices available to you and how to access these services. You can visit our My Aged Care profile here.

There is so much choice available that the process can sometimes be a daunting and confusing experience, so if you would like help in making the right choice, we are very experienced and knowledgeable in dealing with the health system, and we would be more than happy to assist you with this.

To give you a brief guide of what you will need to do to access a home care package we have summarised the steps in the following guide:

  1. Check your eligibility

    The first step in the process is that you will need to arrange an assessment of your care needs which is conducted by an Aged Care Assessment Team (ACAT) or (ACAS) in Victoria. You can arrange the assessment by calling the government Aged Care team on 1800 200 422 or by going to www.myagedcare.gov.au.

    Your local GP is also a good source of information and can direct you to the appropriate contacts to arrange for an assessment of your needs.

    Once your assessment has been completed, usually by a nurse or other health care professional visiting your home, you will be advised of your eligibility for a care package. These packages are determined to be either a low–level care package (Level 1 or 2 package) or high–level care (Level 3 or 4 package).

    If your care requirements change, a new assessment can be arranged to ensure you receive the appropriate level of care as your circumstances change.

    More details can be found on the government website.

  2. Find a home care service provider

    Once you have received you ACAT / ACAS approval you will need to find a suitable provider to assist you with your range of services.

    Service providers must be accredited by the government to provide services to you under your care package. The list of approved service providers is detailed on the My Aged Care website.

    Meditech is an approved provider for a broad range of services including Aged Care and Domestic assistance, Disability Support (NDIS), Home Nursing services, Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and Lifetime Care and Support (LTCS).

    Our support for you will be tailored to your needs and may be as simple as some extra help around the home with cooking / meal preparation, cleaning, gardening or companionship. You may need support of a more personal nature such as dressing, showering, continence care or assistance with medication and other more specialized clinical needs.

    Our caring team would be delighted to assist you with structuring your care to meet your needs within your package budget.

  3. The costs

    The Australian Government subsidizes a range of aged care services to keep client’s fees affordable and reasonable.

    Once you have been allocated a package, the assessment team will confirm the budget you have for care services.

    If you feel that you would like to access additional services outside of the budget you have been allocated, then we can assist you by working out a suitable supplementary level of services on a private pay basis.

  4. Engaging a home care service provider

    Once you have selected your home care service provider, you will need to enter into a Home Care Agreement with your service provider.

    The agreement will detail things like your allocated hours of service, the type of service that will be provided and costs for items such as case management, the development of a care plan and administration costs.

    Good service providers will be very transparent with all these costs and try and maximize the number of hours of care they can provide for you under your package.

  5. Begin your services

    Once you have your Home Care Agreement completed and the service provider has developed a care plan based on your budget, then services can commence.

    The Home Care Agreement officially commences from the date you sign the agreement.

    The Home Care Package that is allocated to you following your assessment will continue for as long as you continue to need it, and this cannot be transferred to another person.

    If at some time you feel that you need additional care, it is possible to be re-assessed for a higher-level package to meet your changing circumstances.

    We can assist you with this by contacting the assessment team to review your care needs.

How Meditech can help

Meditech has been operating in the health care industry for more than 15 years and understands the confusion that sometimes exists when trying to access aged care services.

Our experienced team can assist you in navigating your way through the assessment process to help you get the care and support you need.

We have a very talented team at Meditech, and we can provide a full range of support services for you including assistance in the home with domestic duties, case management, transport services, personal care all the way through to complex clinical care, dementia care and chronic disease care.