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COVID-19


Professional Advice

STATE REQUIREMENT FOR MASK USE
In general, if you can guarantee social distancing in your consulting room (i.e. maintaining 1.5 meter distance between you and your patient) and you are not in or seeing patients from a COVID-19 hotspot you probably do not need to wear a mask or ask your patient to wear a mask unless:

  • your practice is located within a shopping precinct
  • you are offering a service within an aged care facility
  • you have reason to believe that you are with a client who is a suspected, probable or confirmed case of COVID-19.

It is also advisable to consider mask use or use of Telehealth if:

  • You are over the age of 60
  • You have pre-existing medical conditions (e.g. such as diabetes, high blood pressure).

If you have a common waiting area where patients spend time signage might be considered to remind patients to wear a mask when waiting in these areas.

Let us keep our patients and ourselves safe by observing prevention guidelines which are accessible on the APAS website and at https://www.australia.gov.au/

TELEHEALTH
Temporary telehealth Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items. The Australian Government has added a number of temporary bulk billing items to help you deliver telehealth services to people who are self-isolating or vulnerable. Doctors, nurses and mental health professionals can deliver bulk-billed services via telehealth until 30 September 2020 via phone or video conferencing. Learn more about Temporary Telehealth Bulk-Billed Items for COVID-19 at MBS Online.

The International Psychoanalytical Association is working to support members so we can treat our patients and ourselves safely and effectively during the COVID-19 Virus Pandemic. Not only is there increased anxiety at this extraordinary time, but many sources are encouraging people to stay at home. For mental health practitioners, this may mean, in some cases, treating patients remotely. The IPA offers the following technical assistance to help psychoanalysts consider how they might approach remote sessions from a technological perspective.