Medical assessment

Involves history taking, examination and investigation that generally leads to a disease based diagnosis.

Monitoring

Informal observation by people and services involved in the care of a consumer, to see if any significant changes occur in the person’s situation that may require a change in the care plan. Monitoring may lead to the recommendation of a formal review, or a full reassessment. Monitoring also refers to the ongoing examination of the performance of a funded service provider by the Department of Human Services.

Multi-disciplinary Assessment

Multidisciplinary assessment/care-planning allows for inter-professional dialogue and collaboration and a process of deliberation that maximises the care of the client and provides a mechanism for direct involvement and communication between at least two other service providers. It allows for different professionals to bring different perspectives and conclusions, and provides mechanisms to identify, record and reduce these differences.

Multi-disciplinary Care Planning

See Multi-disciplinary Assessment.

Operational Framework (SC)

A general description of the six elements of Better Access to Services in which functional integration will be achieved. The six elements are: initial contact, initial needs identification, service specific assessment, specialist assessment, comprehensive assessment, and care planning.

PCP

A group of primary care providers that have formed voluntary alliances to work together to improve health and wellbeing in their local communities. There are 31 Primary Care Partnerships in Victoria.

PCP Strategy

Primary Care Partnership Strategy. A strategy which aims to enable primary care services to achieve positive outcomes for consumers and deliver improved health and well being for the community. This strategy provides a framework for improving the planning and delivery of primary care services and for ensuring they work effectively together.

Personal Information

Information or an opinion recorded in any form, whether true or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion.

Practitioner

A service provider who has direct contact with and provides direct service to consumers.

Primary Care

Primary Health Care is essential health care based on practical, scientific and socially acceptable methods and technology. It is made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at an affordable cost to the community and country. Primary Health Care is the central function and main focus of the country’s health system. It is the first contact of the individual, the family and the community with the national health system, bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work.

Primary Carer

Informal carer who has the main responsibility for supporting and providing the care needed.

Privacy

The protection of the interests of the individual, and the individual's right to control how their personal or health information is used, and for what purposes.

Providers

Organisations publicly funded to provide services to consumers.

Re-Assessment

A formal process of undertaking a subsequent assessment of a consumer who has been previously assessed due to a perceived change in their requirements. The reassessment process should mirror the original assessment in order to maximise identification of changes in the consumer. The outcome of reassessment is a new care plan.

Referral

The transmission (physically or by other means) of personal and/or health information relating to an individual from one service provider(s) to another service provider(s) with the individual’s consent and for the purpose of care or treatment.

Review

Formal follow up of a consumer, usually on a date specified in the care plan, or due to a sudden change in the consumer's situation, where the suitability of the care plan in meeting the needs of the consumer is considered.

Risk assessment

A systematic process that quantifies the level of the client’s risk.

Risk assessment tool

A structured way of identifying clients who are at risk of developing a specific condition.