Kia ora,
We want to let you know that we are making some changes to the Allied Health Services contract. These changes will take effect on 1 November 2024.
These changes will impact you as a contract holder, so we wanted to let you know of the changes in advance.
What’s changing?
We are making a few changes to provide more flexibility for suppliers. We are removing:
What’s not changing?
We are not removing the requirement for Hand Therapists (Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists) to be registered with Hand Therapy New Zealand (HTNZ), as they are the supervising body for Hand Therapists. Hand Therapists require additional training to provide services under this contract, and membership of HTNZ demonstrates attainment of this standard.
Why are we doing this?
We have been conducting a review into the Clinical Director role and Accreditation to see if these two components are working as expected.
We are removing the requirement to have a Clinical Director as there is currently a duplication of responsibilities between this role and those set out in our Standard Terms and Conditions, Regulatory Authority requirements and Annual Practising Certificate requirements. As a result, we will be setting the expectation on the supplier that these responsibilities are met, rather than having a separate role to monitor this.
We are removing the option for suppliers to be accredited against the NZS 8171:2005 Allied Health Service Sector Standard as this refers to out of date legislation and duplicates other more current legislation which has progressed significantly. The ACC Certification Requirements for Physiotherapy, Hand Therapy and Podiatry Services (2021) are specific to our service requirements and will allow for consistency across all contracted suppliers.
Lastly, removing the compulsory requirement for professional body membership aligns the Allied Health Services contract to the recent changes made to the Vocational Rehabilitation Services contract, and that adopted for Integrated Care Pathways Musculoskeletal (ICPMSK).
Whilst we encourage membership of these professional bodies, we recognise that this is a decision for suppliers to determine how their providers demonstrate they are fit to provide services for ACC kiritaki.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact your Engagement and Performance Manager or email alliedhealth@acc.co.nz
Ngā mihi,
Greg Swann
Portfolio Manager, Recovery Services
Posted: Sat 08 Jun 2024
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