Report on performance
Scenario 15
Service claimed
MBS item 302 - consultant psychiatrist, referred consultation, consulting rooms. (Professional attendance by consultant physician in the practice of his or her specialty of psychiatry where the patient is referred to him or her by a medical practitioner). An attendance of more than 15 minutes duration but not more than 30 minutes duration at consulting rooms, where that attendance and any other attendance to which item 300, 302, 304, 306 and 308 apply have not exceeded the sum of 50 attendances in a calendar year.
When asked about patients presenting complaints, the practitioner stated:
'I think she missed an appointment with her usual doctor, what's, kind of happened, it is pills, it is alcohol, "speed" whatever else.'
The practitioner went on to say:
'Look, the only reason why [the patient] would be seeing me - I am not her methadone prescriber - is that she would have missed an appointment and her methadone script would have run out and she needed it to be re-written.'
'Well, she had failed to see her doctor for an appointment and so she had to see me'.
The practitioner further said:
'... this patient is not my patient.'
'the patient's complaint would have been that the script had run out and the person needed a new methadone script.'
'There - there were perhaps no presenting symptoms. This is ongoing methadone maintenance.'
'There probably wasn't a symptom; she probably wanted a take-away dose.'