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 DVA Rehabilitation Delegate to forward the referral to another provider if necessary. This is essential for urgent cases.
The Rehabilitation Delegate should highlight any issues to the Rehabilitation Provider which have been identified through the needs assessment 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 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 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; and
- any pre-approved cost arrangements (estimates where appropriate), negotiated with the provider prior to completing and forwarding documentation.
Authorisation for the DVA Rehabilitation Delegate to release personal information to the Rehabilitation Provider is given by the client if they have signed the Authorisation section of their claim form. The MRCA/DRCA 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) for MRCA clients;
- Part 9 Your Authorisation of the Claim for Rehabilitation and Compensation form (D2020) for DRCA clients; and
- Authorisation section of the Veterans' Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme Application form (D1000) for VVRS applicants.
Note: This authorisation does not extend to the Rehabilitation Provider obtaining, disclosing or discussing personal information from the client's treating health professionals or specialists. For this to be allowed, the Rehabilitation Provider must obtain consent.