3.7.1 Provider Acknowledgement of Referral

The Rehabilitation Provider is required to acknowledge receipt and acceptance of the referral within 24 hours.  This will ensure that there is confirmation the referral has been received and accepted by the provider.  It will also allow the Rehabilitation Coordinator to forward the referral to another provider if necessary. This is essential for urgent cases.

The Rehabilitation Coordinator should highlight any issues to the rehabilitation service provider which have been identified through the needs assessment [2] process. This can be provided in the form of a copy of the completed needs assessment summary or relevant parts of the summary. The information already compiled by DVA staff during the needs assessment will provide valuable leads as to the rehabilitation issues to be further explored in a comprehensive rehabilitation assessment.

The more detailed and thorough the referral documentation, the smoother the referral process is likely to be. It can be very difficult for the rehabilitation service provider to make initial contact with someone that they know very little about, given that the client may be in a very stressed or vulnerable state.

As a minimum, the referral documentation to the rehabilitation service provider must contain:

• client contact details;
• injury/condition details, including liability status;
• treating medical practitioner/s details (see note below);
• case background and summary;
• any specific instructions or information;
• rehabilitation services required;
• any pre-approved cost arrangements (estimates where appropriate), negotiated with the provider prior to completing and forwarding documentation; and
• the Rehabilitation Rights & Obligations form, with the appropriate governing Act for the client highlighted.

Note: Authorisation for the Rehabilitation Coordinator to release personal information to the rehabilitation service provider is given by the client if they have signed the Authorisation section of their claim form, however this authorisation does not extend to the rehabilitation service provider obtaining, disclosing or discussing personal information from the client's treating health professionals or specialists. For this to be allowed the Rehabilitation Coordinator or the rehabilitation service provider must obtain the client's authority by having them complete, sign and return the Medical Disclosure Authority Form available on the Forms Portal [3]. D9290 provides the authorisation for a single medical practitioner and D9291 provides the authorisation for multiple medical practitioners.

The MRCA/SRCA claim forms and the VVRS application form each have authorisation sections as follows:

• Part H Authorisation of the Claim for Liability and/or reassessment of Compensation form (D2051 [4]) for MRCA clients;
• Part 9 Your Authorisation of the Claim for Rehabilitation and Compensation form (D2020 [5]) for SRCA clients; and
• Authorisation section of the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme Application form (D1000 [6]) for VVRS applicants.