Electronic Aged Care Client Record (eACCR) and Medicare card number questions and answers
Approximately 80 per cent of ACCR's are submitted electronically and all approved assessments (paper and electronic) are available on the secure Aged Care Online Claiming (ACOC) website.
Previously, only Residential and Community Care providers had access to the ACOC website. This limited the ability of other approved aged care providers to determine if care recipients are approved for care (prior to agreeing to providing care).
The Department of Human Services has undertaken enhancements to the ACOC website to extend online access to flexible care providers to view electronic Aged Care Client Record (eACCR).
Note: In conjunction with the changes to ACOC, the Department of Health and Ageing requested that additional privacy and security controls be introduced. The personal information in the ACCR is classified as ‘Protected Information’ under the Aged Care Act 1997.
As a result, when accessing ACCR data using Aged Care Online Claiming (for care recipients who are not in your care), you will be required to provide the person’s Medicare card number and individual reference number (IRN) and a reason for accessing the person’s aged care approval information. The system will only display the eACCR information if all the supplied information can be verified.
The following information answers important question providers may have.
| Questions | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which additional aged care providers has DHS extended online access to view ACCR data to? |
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| Why has DHS extended access to these additional providers? | All approved ACCR’s (paper and electronic) are available on the ACOC website, therefore, extending access to the additional providers ensures all providers now have the ability to determine if care recipients are approved for care (prior to agreeing to providing care). |
| Will these additional providers have the ability to perform any other actions within the Aged Care Online Claiming (ACOC) website? | No. The additional services mentioned above will only have the ability to view ACCR data on the ACOC website. Their authorisation levels will be restricted to view only. |
| Can Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres (CRCCs) register to view ACCR data online? |
The project to extend online access to a wider group of aged care providers has been scheduled in two parts. CRCC’s are scheduled for the second part of the implementation. Access to online claiming for CRCC’s is tied in with IT system changes in the Department of Health and Ageing and is expected to be rolled out in early July 2012. |
| How do the additional providers register to view eACCR's within the ACOC website? | A ‘Register or Amend Access for Aged Care Online Claiming – Viewing electronic Aged Care Client records’ form will need to be completed and forwarded to DHS. This form can be found here. |
| What is the process and timeframe once the registration form has been completed? |
You can mail, fax or email the completed ‘Register or Amend Access for Aged Care Online Claiming – Viewing electronic Aged Care Client records’ form to DHS as per the contact details listed on the form. Once received, DHS will process your form. You will be sent an email containing your user name (A number) and a separate email containing your password within 5 business days. |
| Do Flexible Care services need to register again to use the ACOC website if already registered as a Community and/or Residential service? | Yes. A separate registration form will need to be completed to register your service to view flexible care services within the ACOC website as the flexible service will have a different service ID to your residential and community services. Existing users of online claiming must be nominated on the new registration form, including their A number, to be associated to the flexible care service. |
| How are eACCR’s viewed within the ACOC website? | Step by step guidelines on how to view an eACCR via the ACOC website is detailed in Section 6 of the ‘Aged Care Online Claiming Website user guide for providers and services [PDF, 3.5Mb] ’ and also in the ‘Viewing eACCRs on the Aged Care Online Claiming website quick reference guide’. |
| Why has DHS changed the process to view eACCR's? | DHS has taken the opportunity to strengthen the privacy and security of care recipient's personal information (including the level of care required) to ensure their details are accessed only when there is a requirement to do so for caring purposes. |
| What information will I be required to provide when attempting to access care recipient ACCR data when using the ACOC website (for care recipients who are not in my care)? |
You will be required to provide:
The system will only display a care recipient's information if all the supplied information can be verified. It is recommended that services establish business practices to ensure the Medicare card number and IRN information is collected at the first point of contact to ensure all information is available when care is required. |
| If a care recipient is unable to provide a Medicare card number or the care recipient does not have a Medicare card and they also do not have a copy of the ACCR, how do we access the required information? |
DHS will be able to provide you with enough information to enable you to enter the care recipient into your care ie. Type of care, level of care and approval date. To ensure the care recipient's privacy is not breached, DHS will require you to complete a challenge response which involves answering a series of questions to verify you are a provider and you require this information to enter a care recipient into your care. Contact DHS on 1800 195 206* (option 1). |
| If a care recipient is already in my care, will there be changes to the way I access approval information? | No. There will be no change to the way you access approval information if the care recipient is already in your care. |
| If I retrieve a care recipient’s Medicare card number through ACOC, will I be breaching privacy if I provide this to a medical professional to enable them to claim for their service? | No. Enabling residential care providers' access to their residents' Medicare card number is to assist providers to arrange primary health care for people in their care. |
| Will all providers be impacted by the changes to accessing eACCR data? |
All providers who use web forms would have been impacted by the changes from 10 December 2011. Providers who use third party software products will be required to provide Medicare card details if their software vendor chose to implement the changes to their products. If your software vendor did not make the necessary changes to their products, you will not have access to view eACCRs and you will need to contact DHS on 1800 195 206* (option 1). For more information on whether or not the changes were implemented to your third party software product please contact your software vendor. |
| I am trying to input a valid care recipients Medicare card number into the Aged Care Online Claiming website to view an eACCR, however the number is not being accepted. | Enter the 10 digit Medicare card number without spaces plus the individual reference number (IRN). The IRN is the number to the left of the name of the person on the Medicare card who you are searching for. |
| I have the Medicare card information but ACOC still does not find a match to the care recipient I am trying to search for. |
Enhancements are being undertaken to improve the success rate of search results when an eACCR search is performed. These enhancements are anticipated to be implemented in September 2012. For assistance until the anticipated improvements are made, contact DHS on 1800 195 206* (option 1). |
| I am trying to enter a person into care that has a DVA card and does not have a Medicare card. How do I view the eACCR? | Unfortunately at this stage the ACOC website does not have the capability to accept DVA card numbers. It is anticipated that this capability will be available in December 2012. Until this anticipated enhancement has been implemented, contact DHS on 1800 195 206* (option 1). |
| Where do I go for further information? | The Aged Care Online Claiming Website user guide for providers and services [PDF, 3.5Mb] and Viewing eACCRs on the Aged Care Online Claiming website Quick Reference Guide For more information call the Aged Care Online Claiming helpdesk on 1800 195 206* (option 1) or visit the Department of Human Services website or the Department of Health and Ageing  website. |
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Last updated: 2 May, 2012