133 Molesworth St Thorndon PO Box 5013 Wellington 6145 New Zealand
21 February 2022
District Health Board Chief Executives Primary Health Organisations Chief Executives Tēnā koe In December 2021, Cabinet approved funding for the purposes of supporting regional and local implementation of the Ministry’s COVID-19 Care in the Community Operational Framework (the framework). The framework sets out the expectations of care for COVID-19 positive cases isolating in the community. The Framework has been communicated to the sector, and funding made available which enables local and regional adaptation of services to meet the needs of District Health Board (DHB) regional populations. The funding approved by Cabinet is intended to support primary and community care providers and emergency ambulance services who will increasingly be delivering clinical care to COVID-19 patients isolating in the community. It is envisaged that most clinical assessments and monitoring will be undertaken remotely eg, telephone and video consultations, text messaging and through patient portals. The funding covers the provision of after-hours clinical care, and in-person care where clinically required. COVID-19 related clinical care is fully funded by the Crown with no patient co-payment for people who are COVID-19 positive. As part of delivering COVID-19 Care in the Community, clinicians who have a Primary Response in Medical Emergencies (PRIME) contract may be called upon to undertake COVID-19 related care for COVID-19 positive patients in their PRIME role. In recognition of this, the Ministry has agreed that this in-home care / emergency call out will be funded at the same rate and terms stipulated in the COVID-19 Care in the Community General Practice Pricing Schedule rather than the PRIME contract. This rate is $250 (excl GST) per hour during standard work hours, and $412.50 per hour (excl GST) for after hours. After hours is between 8.00 pm to 8.00 am Monday to Thursday, and 5.00 pm Friday to 8.00 am Monday and any public holiday. The Ministry will also fund mileage rate at $0.62 (excl GST) per kilometre travelled. To access the funding PRIME providers will need to claim reimbursement using their existing COVID-19 Care in the Community general practice payment mechanisms with their local DHB. The funding is not available through the St John PRIME contract nor processes and cannot be double claimed for. It is specifically for COVID-19 clinical care for COVID-19 positive patients by a clinician undertaking their PRIME role. The funding is available until 30 June 2022. The funding is part of the COVID-19 provision for primary care services, which is available to all DHBs to access. DHBs report expenditure from providers in the COVID-19 Tracker, providers can invoice DHBs for COVID-19 Care in the Community services. The COVID-19 Tracker has been used to record costs and enable payments associated with COVID-19 since March 2020.