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32 Speak Out August 2017
Professional practice
Myth...
I can bill Medicare clients under the Medicare number of the owner of the
practice where I work.
Reality...
You need your own Medicare provider number and must never use another
speech pathologist’s provider number. Once you have your own provider
number, familiarise yourself with the MBS Guidelines:
Also read SPA’s document about Medicare programs and provider numbers
Myth...
I do not need my own indemnity insurance – the practice owner’s insurance will
cover me.
Reality...
SPA advises that all members take out individual professional indemnity
insurance so they have their own cover. The National Code of Conduct for
unregistered health practitioners clearly states that, a health practitioner
should ensure that appropriate indemnity insurance arrangements are in place
in relation to his/her practice. For more information see SPA’s professional
indemnity document.
Myth...
As long as I provide an appropriate receipt, I do not need to know if a client
is making a claim for my fees through their private health fund (PHF) or which
health fund they are making claims through.
Reality...
As a provider you need to be aware that you are responsible for knowing
which PHF your client is claiming from, the terms of service delivery with the
PHF; if you need to be registered with that PHF and what information you
need to retain in case the PHF conducts an audit. For more details read SPA’s
document: Private Health Fund Auditing process
Myth..
I don’t need anything in writing between myself and my workplace (e.g., private
practice I work in, school or RACF I visit).
Reality...
It is essential that all arrangements (even with friends) are in writing. Written
contracts provide certainty for everyone and clearly set out what has been
agreed between you and the other party. Read SPA’s documents: Contracts
for Private Practice and Private Practitioners Working in Schools (which
includes a service agreement template) under Professional Resources.
Nichola Harris
Acting Senior Advisor Professional Practice
Are you displaying
the SPA CPSP logo?
Did you know SPA has a Certified Practising
Speech Pathologist logo that you can use to
denote membership status to your clients.
While you are a member with full CPSP status
you can use the logo on your website, let-
terheads, business cards and other approved
purposes. It is a great way to let your clients
know that you are in “good standing” with
your professional organisation.
If you would like to use the logo then please
complete the appropriate form on the logo
page of the website. You will then be sent
a high quality, print ready file you can use in
your practice.
Contact Rebecca Faltyn, Assistant Manager,
Communications and Marketing, pubs@
AHPA Digital Health
webinars
The final, free webinar in this series titled
Digital Health will be held on 24 August,
2017, 7:30pm. More information is available
at:
You can also access the recordings of
the other three webinars about Medical
Software; Contacts, Referrals and Secure
Messaging and Clinical Notes and Informa-
tion Sharing at: .
au/allied-health-providers-free-resources
Myths, and
misconceptions
in speech
pathology
practice…