❓ The WA parliamentary question seeks details on contracts (Medical Service Agreements) between WACHS and GPs, including on-call arrangements and contract terms. The answer provides general information about the MSA, payment structures, and variations, particularly regarding SIHI contracts, citing commercial confidentiality as a limitation to providing specific rates.
AnsweredQoN 2341Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
For each West Australian Country Health Service
(WACHS) cant the Minister please provide details pertaining to the contract WACHS and doctors
(the Medical Service Agreement) for the services supplied by GPs to WACHS;
including, but not limited to: (a) close on call arrangements; (b) terms of the Medical Service Agreements; and (c) any other relevant standard and non-standard clauses?
(WACHS) cant the Minister please provide details pertaining to the contract WACHS and doctors
(the Medical Service Agreement) for the services supplied by GPs to WACHS;
including, but not limited to: (a) close on call arrangements; (b) terms of the Medical Service Agreements; and (c) any other relevant standard and non-standard clauses?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
2 January 2018
Responded by
Minister for Health
Response time
11 days
I am advised that:
(a)-(c) A Medical Services Agreement (MSA) is a common law commercial contract between the doctor and health site with standard fee for service (FFS) arrangements and clauses related to scope of practice, service delivery and governance requirements.
The current registered MSA is applicable to all Health Services and is due to expire November 2017. The new MSA is currently being finalised.
MSA arrangements are currently used by all WA Country Health Service (WACHS) sites. As specific rates are directly negotiated with the doctor under a commercial in confidence basis, WACHS is not able to provide specific rates or payment details for particular doctors. General Practitioners provide in and after hours services via MSAs to most WACHS sites dependent upon the local service model of care and service delivery requirements in obstetrics, anaesthetics, emergency medicine and inpatient care.
It is estimated that 90% of MSA contracts provided to GPs have standard clauses (except Southern Inland Health Initiative [SIHI] contracts) with about a 10% variation, usually related to special arrangements for services such as obstetrics, anaesthetics and surgery.
Additional payments are made by WACHS to ensure continuous service provision in regional sites. Items include rural practice incentive (RPI) payments, provision of on call services, non-clinical administrative requirements determined by the Health Service and Chairmanship of the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).
Resident GPs in all regions are generally on a FFS arrangement with payment in line with the Western Australian Government Medical Services Schedule (WAGMSS).
Other payments may include the following but are not standard for all contracts:
GPs resident in the regions do not generally receive payments from WACHS for accommodation and travel; there are exceptions for SIHI doctors who provide services in neighbouring towns.
Other general clauses within the MSA outline requirements for
All SIHI contracts are non-standard due to the incentive nature of the payments. SIHI focuses on additional incentive payments for nominated towns to support the provision of emergency medicine and procedural services.
SIHI incentives have been made to support doctors who meet the eligibility criteria to increase service provision in hard to recruit sites, with a focus on comprehensive emergency services. These incentives have previously included:
Attraction and Assistance Incentive – payments made over two years to support the relocation and retention of doctors in nominated sites.
(a)-(c) A Medical Services Agreement (MSA) is a common law commercial contract between the doctor and health site with standard fee for service (FFS) arrangements and clauses related to scope of practice, service delivery and governance requirements.
The current registered MSA is applicable to all Health Services and is due to expire November 2017. The new MSA is currently being finalised.
MSA arrangements are currently used by all WA Country Health Service (WACHS) sites. As specific rates are directly negotiated with the doctor under a commercial in confidence basis, WACHS is not able to provide specific rates or payment details for particular doctors. General Practitioners provide in and after hours services via MSAs to most WACHS sites dependent upon the local service model of care and service delivery requirements in obstetrics, anaesthetics, emergency medicine and inpatient care.
It is estimated that 90% of MSA contracts provided to GPs have standard clauses (except Southern Inland Health Initiative [SIHI] contracts) with about a 10% variation, usually related to special arrangements for services such as obstetrics, anaesthetics and surgery.
Additional payments are made by WACHS to ensure continuous service provision in regional sites. Items include rural practice incentive (RPI) payments, provision of on call services, non-clinical administrative requirements determined by the Health Service and Chairmanship of the Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).
Resident GPs in all regions are generally on a FFS arrangement with payment in line with the Western Australian Government Medical Services Schedule (WAGMSS).
Other payments may include the following but are not standard for all contracts:
GPs resident in the regions do not generally receive payments from WACHS for accommodation and travel; there are exceptions for SIHI doctors who provide services in neighbouring towns.
Other general clauses within the MSA outline requirements for
All SIHI contracts are non-standard due to the incentive nature of the payments. SIHI focuses on additional incentive payments for nominated towns to support the provision of emergency medicine and procedural services.
SIHI incentives have been made to support doctors who meet the eligibility criteria to increase service provision in hard to recruit sites, with a focus on comprehensive emergency services. These incentives have previously included:
Attraction and Assistance Incentive – payments made over two years to support the relocation and retention of doctors in nominated sites.
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