Mr Michael King

Member, CTP Accreditation Panel

Why have an Accreditation Scheme?

“ The designated Minister may establish an accreditation scheme with respect to health professionals…”

-76 (2) Civil Liability Act 1936.

“A key objective of the Accreditation Scheme is to create an independent system that provides consistent, objective and reliable

ISV Medical Assessments to assist in the determination of an ISV.” --MAIAS, Scheme Overview 2015

The Accreditation Scheme: History

• February 2014: Cabinet approved Regulations including the establishment of the Accreditation Panel

• November 2014: Accreditation Panel appointed by Attorney-General to establish the scheme before 1 July, 2015

• February 2015: Motor Accident Injury Assessment Scheme (MAIAS) designed by the Accreditation Panel is approved by the Attorney-General for implementation

• June 2015: 1st Accreditation Training session for doctors, repeated in a second session in October 2015

• 1 July 2015: Accredited Medical Practitioners

commence ISV Medical Assessments

The Accreditation Panel

• The Accreditation Panel comprises of nominees of the

Australian Medical Association SA Dr Andrew Sutherland, Chair

Law Society SA Mr Michael King

Attorney-General Mr Terry Evans

Motor Accident Commission Mr Len Boehm

The Accreditation Panel is an independent body established by the Attorney-General, not part of the Motor Accident Commission (MAC)

The Accreditation Panel’s Terms of Reference

• Formulate the criteria and process for accreditation

• Determine who have satisfied the criteria and make recommendations to the Attorney-General re who should be accredited

• Formulate and publish the standard format of the ISV assessment report;

• Determine training requirements

• Monitor the ongoing performance of accredited medical practitioners to ensure conformity with accreditation obligations (currently under development)

• Facilitate the development of a protocol for the payment

of ISV Medical Assessments

Register of Accredited Medical Health Practitioners

• Currently 119 Accredited Medical Practitioners registered

• Regional and interstate assessment locations included

• General Practitioners and Medical Specialists available across all body systems (as per AMA 5)

• Psychiatrists must use GEPIC

MAIAS website maias.com@sa.gov.au

MAC website mac@sa.gov.au

The ISV Medical Assessment Report must:

• be completed on the current ISV Medical Assessment Report Template (as approved by the Attorney-General) with all set questions answered and tables completed

• answer all other relevant questions as agreed between the parties

• be returned to the referring party within 30 days of the assessment

• provide an opinion to the ISV Item Number for each injury referred

• comply with relevant rules of Court or practise directions been included

See Regulation 23 of the Civil Liability Regulations 2013

AMA 5 used to determine WPI

“…the Court must, unless it considers there is a good reason for doing otherwise, give greater weight to a medical assessment for whole person impairment provided under AMA 5.” Reg 17, Civil Liability Regulations 2013

• MAIAS requires Accredited Medical Practitioners to assess whole person impairment using AMA 5 for all physical injuries referred, however

– exceptions are suggested in the MAIAS Training Manual but are not compulsory (i.e. assessment of hearing loss) and

– other assessments methods may be used with reasoning

If a WPI using AMA 5 is provided:

When reporting a WPI percentage based on a criteria under AMA5, the report must state

• the clinical findings, and

• how the impairment was calculated, and

• an identification of the relevant provisions of AMA 5; and

• if a range of percentages is available under AMA 5 for an injury –the reason for assessing the injury at the selected point in the range -see Reg 16, Civil Liability Regulations 2013

GEPIC used to assess Pure Mental Harm• The ISV table refers only to a GEPIC rating for all ISV item numbers for

Pure Mental Harm injuries.

• Only GEPIC ratings from a psychiatrist will be accepted The GEPIC rating to be provided by a ‘medical expert’ – a psychiatrist who has completed training under Minister’s Scheme training

- see Reg 14, Civil Liability Regulations 2013

What’s happening now?

• Referrals for ISV Medical Assessments commenced 1 July 2015

• 119 Accredited Medical Practitioners listed on the MAIAS Register

• Good availability for timely appointments across most Accredited Medical Practitioners

• Now average around 200 appointments/assessments per month

• Over 60% of Accredited Medical Practitioners have received at least one referral to date

• Assessments to date are predominantly for musculoskeletal injuries

• Today’s CRASH Panel will share their experience of the ISV Medical Assessment referral process, assessment and use of the

resulting ISV Medical Assessment reports

More?

Further information is available and feedback welcome.

MAIAS is also responsible for dealing with complaints and/or any breach of accreditation conditions.

Contact MAIAS Manager Jayne Gowland

8422 8143 / M: 0438 376 011

jayne.gowland@sa.gov.au

Refer to MAIAS website for further resources

maias.gov.sa.au