Medicare chronic wound care scheme set to benefit 20,000/year
The Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme has launched, the Australian Government has announced. The scheme will provide fully subsidised wound care products for people with diabetes aged 65 and over who do not have access to other wound care schemes. For First Nations people — who are disproportionately affected by diabetes and chronic wounds — the scheme is available from age 50.
The government has invested close to $50 million in the Medicare scheme and expects that, annually, 20,000 older Australians will benefit from completely free access to wound care products; the full cost for wound consumable products, such as adhesives, bandages and dressings, that the government said costs patients around $4000 each year.
Patients can now be enrolled by eligible healthcare professionals — using an online portal — and ordered wound consumable products can be delivered to a patient’s home or sent to themselves at no cost. The government said that already 3500 healthcare professionals have registered to undertake the training, a number that it said is continuing to grow.
“Chronic wounds are difficult to treat, require long-term care and are debilitating for patients,” Australia’s Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler said. “This new scheme offers a convenient and free service that will benefit the quality of life for thousands of Australians.” Butler added: “We’ve built this program based on data that shows older Australians with diabetes are the most likely to suffer from chronic wounds.”
Regarding the need for the scheme, Wounds Australia CEO Jeff Antcliff said: “Nearly half a million people in Australia live with chronic wounds. They can be painful, isolating, embarrassing and expensive to treat. The good news is, many wounds can be healed with appropriate treatment — but long-term wound care can be expensive.” Antcliff called the scheme “an innovation program” and “a crucial first step towards helping more Australians living with chronic wounds on a path to healing”.
More information on the scheme is available here, via the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
Westmead Hospital to gain $492m pathology hub
The new NSW Health Pathology Statewide Hub at Westmead Hospital will be the largest public...
NSW reforms to see trained GPs treat and diagnose ADHD
NSW will enable trained GPs to provide ongoing ADHD prescriptions for those on stable doses of...
Man fined for working as a podiatrist without registration
A man who worked as a podiatrist for more than a year after his registration lapsed — with...
