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Data Element Detail

Chargeable status of mother
Identifying and Definitional Attributes
QH 042541 v1
Data Element
Data Element
Current
11-Oct-2017
Documented
Director, Statistical Collections and Integration, Statistical Services Branch
01-Jul-1987
30-Jun-2019
Accommodation chargeable status elected by the mother on admission.
Queensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC)
Chargeable status of mother
Accommodation status of mother (QPDC)
Representational Attributes
Numeric
Code
N
1
1
Permissible Values

Permissible_values

CodeDescription
1Public
4Private
Supplementary Values

Supplemenary_values

CodeDescription
9Not stated/unknown
Collection and Usage Attributes
Upon admission to hospital a patient must elect to be either a public patient or private patient.

A public patient is a patient who:
- elects to be treated as a public patient, and so cannot choose the doctor who treats them, or
- is receiving treatment in a private hospital under a contract arrangement with a public hospital or health authority.

A private patient is a patient who:
- elects to be treated by a doctor exercising their 'right of private practice' within a public hospital, or
- is the patient of a doctor who is a general practitioner/specialist with admitting rights.
Queensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC):
Must not be blank.
Ineligible for Medicare
A patient who is ineligible for Medicare does not have access to hospital treatment 'free of charge'.
Queensland public hospitals are to provide Medicare ineligible patients with a choice to be treated as a public or private patient. Different fees apply depending on the option chosen. Refer to the Queensland Health Fees and Charges Register, see https://www.health.qld.gov.au/directives/html/a#f.

Compensable
A patient who is compensable (e.g. entitled to receive compensation for their hospital treatment) does not have access to hospital treatment 'free of charge'. However, they do have the right to elect to be treated either by a hospital nominated doctor ("public") or by a doctor of their choice ("private").

Compensable patient charges will be raised on behalf of the patient either directly or indirectly through bulk-funding arrangements for their public hospital care, regardless of public or private chargeable status.
If a compensable patient has elected to be treated privately they will be responsible for all charges if the compensation claim is rejected or the insurer does not provide prior approval of the private status.

Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA)
A patient who holds a Gold or White Repatriation Health Care Card can choose to use or not to use the benefits of their entitlement card. All eligible DVA patients who elect to have the DVA fund their hospitalisation, will also need to decide on whether they wish to have a public or private doctor manage their treatment. It is recognised that not all public hospitals have access to private doctors, hence account class codes are available that recognise a veteran's choice of doctor.

Reciprocal Health Care Agreements (RHCA)
The Australian Government has signed RHCA with the governments of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Slovenia, Malta and Italy which entitles the patient to public hospital services 'free of charge' for 'essential' medical treatment while visiting Australia. A patient relying on a RHCA to cover the cost of their hospital stay must elect to be a public patient. Conditions such as period of cover vary between the different Agreements. For more information see the Department of Human Services website.

If a patient from a country with a RHCA with Australia, elects to be treated by a doctor of their choice i.e. a private patient, then they are ineligible for Medicare and do not have a right to access hospital care 'free of charge'. They will be coded as private ineligible patient regardless of whether the treatment was for 'essential' medical treatment or not.

Refugees
Is a person whose asylum claim has been successful and who has received a refugee protection visa. Refugees are Medicare eligible and as such may choose to be treated as a public patient. If the person chooses to be treated as a private patient they will be charged as a medicare eligible patient for admitted and/or outpatient services.

For more details refer to:
- Refugees, asylum seekers and detainees information sheet, see https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/676518/refugees-asylumseekers-infosheet.pdf.

Asylum Seekers
On 29 July 2017 the Queensland Government announced Medicare ineligible Asylum seekers would be provided with access to public health services at no charge.

Some Medicare ineligible asylum seekers may also qualify for funding to cover healthcare costs under the Status Resolution Support Service (SRSS). No costs should be directly charged to the Medicare ineligible asylum seeker however costs can be indirectly recovered from a third party such as the International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) or a SRSS provider. For full details refer to:
- Fees and Charges for Health Care Services, Health Service Directive, see https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/150717/qh-hsd-045.pdf; and
- Refugees, asylum seekers and detainees information sheet, see https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/676518/refugees-asylumseekers-infosheet.pdf.

Detainees
Detainees are not eligible for Medicare although International Health and Medical Services IHMS is contracted by the Department of Border Protection to facilitate and pay for a specific range of health services, not all health services are covered. For further details refer to:
- Refugees, asylum seekers and detainees information sheet, see https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/676518/refugees-asylumseekers-infosheet.pdf.

Torres Strait Treaty Zone
Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals are considered Medicare Ineligible. Under the 'Project Agreement on Healthcare and Disease Prevention in the Torres Strait Islands' the Commonwealth Government agrees to provide a funding contribution to Queensland Health for the provision of healthcare to patients designated in the Torres Strait Treaty. Therefore, those PNG nationals designated under the Treaty are funded and should not have any fees raised against them.

PNG nationals not covered by the Treaty are to have fees raised for their healthcare as a Medicare ineligible patient.
For more details refer to:
- Torres Strait Treaty Guidelines, see https://dfat.gov.au/geo/torres-strait/Documents/torres-strait-guidelines.pdf.
On admission to a public hospital, the patient must elect to be treated as either a public patient or a private patient. This item is independent of the patient's hospital insurance status.
Relational Attributes
Related Metadata References

Related Metadata References_IR

  • 1 - 1
ViewRelationshipMetadata Item TypeMetadata Item SubtypeNameIdentifier & VersionApproval Status
Has been superseded byData ElementData ElementAdmitted patient hospital stay-chargeable status of motherQH 042541 Version 2Draft
Implementation in Metadata Sets

Implemented

  • 1 - 4
ViewMetadata Item TypeMetadata Item SubtypeNameIdentifer & VersionObligationApproval StatusEffective FromEffective To
Information AssetData CollectionQueensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC)QH 020003 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-198730-Jun-2019
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementQueensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC) Mother Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2016-2017QH 020321 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201630-Jun-2017
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementQueensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC) Mother Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2017-2018QH 020354 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201730-Jun-2018
Data Supply RequirementHHS Service AgreementQueensland Perinatal Data Collection (QPDC) Mother Data Supply Requirement (DSR) 2018-2019QH 020448 Version 1MandatorySuperseded01-Jul-201830-Jun-2019
Source and Reference Attributes
Accommodation status; Chargeable status;