Policy

• All treatment must be accompanied by a current referral by the treating doctor.
• Treatment will only be approved for conditions for which the client has accepted liability.
• Treatment Authority will exist for clients to receive physiotherapy treatment, as long as there is a valid referral for that treatment, and it is provided for accepted condition/s only.
• In instances where a progress report has been requested, the maximum payable fee should not exceed the cost of a standard consultation.

Version 2.2

22 April 2013

In this handbook

The Medical Treatment Handbook contains the following chapters:

Last amended: 21 March 2013

The current policy guidelines regarding the approval of gymnasium-pool membership for therapeutic exercise programs can be found in chapter 5.4 of the Rehabilitation Guide.

All requests for footwear must be accompanied by a current recommendation from a podiatrist registered to prescribe footwear and a referral from the treating doctor.

Footwear will only be approved for conditions for which the clients has accepted liability and only where depth, custom made or specific footwear is necessary to accommodate a physical deformity.

Depth footwear may be prescribed for some corrective insoles or to accommodate forefoot abnormalities such as bunions, hammer toes, swelling etc.

• The treating doctor is expected to supply a list of script and non-script medications necessary for the management of the client's accepted liabilities. A standard letter exists on Defcare that can be used for all clients. These medications need to be recorded on Defcare/Employee Note under a Pharmacy heading so that pharmacy accounts can be matched to the approved list of medications prescribed by the Nominated treating doctor.

The underlying principles for the approval of medical treatment as being reasonable to obtain  are that treatment:

• be necessary to improve any conditions for which the client has accepted liability
• do no harm
• be of a reasonable cost (considering the cost of treatment against the expected gains)
• be clinically effective (considering the available evidence)
• be accepted clinical practice (considering the current professional opinion).

Last amended: 17 April 2013

Where a client is seeking massage therapy for the first time or a client is seeking an extension of their long-term massage therapy services, and their GP/specialist is supportive of alternative treatment with a focus on self management, the client will be offered assistance to transition to new treatment arrangements with the support of a DVA Injury Management Adviser (IMA).

• All requests for treatment must be accompanied by a current referral by the treating doctor.
• Treatment will only be approved for conditions for which the clients has accepted liability.
• Treatment Authority will exist for clients to receive Chiropractic/Osteopathic/Naturopathic treatment, as long as there is a valid referral for that treatment, and it is provided for accepted condition/s only.
• Naturopathic treatments will only be approved where the same clinical effect cannot be gained with treatment offered by other registered allied health practitioners.

Compensation is also payable under S15 of the SRCA for 'loss of or damage to property used by the employee'. Property, as defined in this context, has a very narrow meaning.

Section 4 of the SRCA says that property used by an employee:

...means an artificial limb or other artificial substitute, or a medical, surgical or other similar aid or appliance, used by the employee

Section 27(2) of the 1971 Act reads:

if an injury to an employee is intentionally self-inflicted, the Commonwealth is not liable ...to pay compensation in respect to that injury.

This is essentially the same provision as under the SRCA and the guidance provided in this Handbook should apply equally to similar cases arising under the 1971 Act.