What is Care Management?

Is Care Management included with a Home Care Package?

Your Home Care Package provider must provide Care Management to you as part of the service of administering your home care package.

Whether you are with a fully managed provider or you self-manage your home care package, this service, Care Management, is a mandatory undertaking for service delivery for every provider.

Care Management means your provider will regularly assess your needs, taking into consideration your health conditions, and develop a care plan that reflects your personalised and specific needs, preferences and goals.

Everyone who receives a home care package should have a care plan.

Care Management should also identify and address any risks to the person receiving services.

Risks to a person's safety, health and well-being should be documented in the care plan and actions noted to mitigate these risks.

Care Management services must also comply with the Aged Care Quality Standards.

When providers are audited, it is these standards that the auditors are checking against, to ensure the delivery of services within home care packages is in accordance with Government expectations.

The specific standards ...

that Care Management must consider include the following.

• Standard 1. Support care recipients to make informed choices.
• Standard 2. Initial and ongoing assessment and planning with care recipients.
• Standard 3. Deliver safe and effective personal and clinical care.
• Standard 4. Provide safe and effective services and supports to support daily living and allow independence.
• Standard 8. Engage and support care recipients in the development, delivery and evaluation of care and services.

Your provider is entitled to charge you a fee to provide Care Management. The fee must be clearly displayed on your statement each month as a separate service, so you know exactly how much your provider is charging you for this aspect of service delivery.

From 1st July 2023, the maximum fortnightly fee your provider can charge you, is as follows.

Care Plan?

Care Management must include the development of your care plan.

Your care plan cannot be developed without your input. You can have a family member or support person with you, to help you with this.

The approach to developing a person's care plan is known as Consumer Directed Care, meaning you should lead the discussion with the provider's coordinator and let them know what services or support are most important to you, how frequently you'd like these services or support, and ideally by whom.

You are entitled to be given a copy of your care plan.

A provider should not dismiss your input, nor should they tell you they already have a care plan, and they'll use the one they already have. It is not okay for a provider to use a generic care plan that doesn't include your preferences.

Your care plan should be reviewed at least every 12 months and especially if your needs or circumstances change.

An admission to hospital is a significant event that would indicate a care plan review is necessary.

Your provider cannot change your care plan without your agreement either.

Your care plan informs the management of your budget, that is, how you spend your monthly allocated subsidy.

When developing your care plan, the coordinator will cost your preferred services and support and let you know how many of those services and support will be covered by your package subsidy.

You may have to reconsider some services or support if your package funding doesn't meet all your needs, but it is still very important these services and support are included in your care plan because maximised package funding and unmet needs are criteria for you to be considered for a package upgrade.

Care Management is an ongoing process, and your provider should be actively following up with you to ensure your needs are being met within your care plan and budget.

If you're reading this now and cannot remember the last time your provider called you to discuss your care plan, it might be worth contacting them and initiating a care plan review. If your needs have increased and you need more help, this would be the time to ask for a Support Plan review and have the Aged Care Assessment Team/Services review you for a package upgrade.

Care plans are something we feel very strongly about, so we'd encourage you to read our blog on Care Plans too.