Australian healthcare has made available resources with standards that govern healthcare practice across all states and suburbs. The same applies to psychiatry practice in Australia. The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) has prepared resources for members to benefit in private practice.

Opening a practice

Professional regulation

Professional medical regulation enables the highest standards of healthcare to protect the public. As per regulations, a psychiatrist working in Australia and New Zealand must be registered with the relevant professional body to be able to practice in the respective country.

Medical Board of Australia (MBA)

Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ)

Legal requirements in Australia

A psychiatrist must address the following before commencing a private practice in Australia:

Medical Registration

Provider number

Prescriber number

Australian Business Number

Business name registration

Professional indemnity and relevant insurance such as public liability

Check Legal requirements for opening a practice in Australia for more information.

Operating a practice

Practice management

Practice management focuses on the following areas:

Safety

This means safety of one’s self and the staff. On very rare instances, there must be protocols to manage aggressive and potentially dangerous patients.

Staff supervision

Staff supervision is necessary when running a private practice. Good mental health literacy, careful selection, and training of staff is essential.

Referrals from a medical practitioner

A referral by general practitioner (GP) is the preferred method, but a referral from any medical practitioner enables a patient to claim to Medicare for funding of consultations.

 Working with patients

Here are the concerns regarding psychiatrists working with patients in private practice:

Advice to new patients

Financial arrangements with patients

Informed consent on medical care for initial consultations and clinical consultations

General medical health of patients

Prescribing medications

Shared care

Communicating with children and young patients

Interaction with families

Reporting obligations regarding children

Use of interpreters

Cultural competency

Services out of the consulting room

Telepsychiatry

Working with community organizations

Refusal of treatment

Ending/ transfer of patient care

Ending and transferring of the patient requires focusing on the below areas:

Psychiatrists working in private practice should have a contingency plan for delegating, referring, and handing over patients.

Responsible for the transfer of patient’s ongoing care to another healthcare professional.

Informing the patient’s GP and contacting his family in case the patient drops out of care.

Psychiatrists must terminate a professional relationship with patients when it comes to the point of being ineffective.

Providing required guidance when discharging a patient.

Medical professionalism

Maintaining professionalism in medical engagements is vital for a psychiatrist or any medical professional. Here are the focus areas in medical professionalism:

Personal relationships

Professional Boundaries

Managing complaints

Reporting of misconduct by a healthcare professional

Disclosure of conflicts of interest

National codes and standards

Giving evidence and signing documents

Research activities

Advertising and social media

Handling media

Health and well-being of psychiatrists

Teaching and mentoring

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities

Practice visits

Contingency plan for emergency shutdown of practice

A psychiatry private practice should have a contingency plan for emergency shutdown if required. The procedure should involve nominating a person to manage the closure of the practice, including compiling vital information to facilitate the closure.

Patient health records

Management of patient health records

The management of patient health records should follow the below procedure.

Maintenance and retention of patient health records.

Recording health information

Maintaining privacy and confidentiality of patient health records

Access rights to the patient health records

Request by a legal representative to access patient health records

Subpoenas management

Transfer of patient health records

Documentation, legislation, and storage of records

This section highlights the legal requirements for managing patient health information and records. It focuses on the following areas:

Ownership of medical records

Health records legislation, codes, and guidelines for Australia and New Zealand

The importance of good documentation in patient health records

Modifications and corrections to patient health information

Health records content

Secure storage of health records

Document canning

Retention and destruction of records

Health records are maintained primarily for the ongoing care of patients. Once it is completed, there should be appropriate procedures to destruct this data. This section focuses on the retention and destruction of patient health records as follows:

Retention periods of health records

Destruction of health records

Disposal of health records during practice closure

Practice policies on retention and destruction of patient health records

Access to patient health records

This section covers the right of patients to access their own health information. Below is what’s covered in this section.

Patient access to health records

Request management to access patient health records

Refusal of access rights

Legal representative’s right of access to patient health records

Access to a deceased person’s medical records

Subpoenas management

Legal correspondence

Transfer of patient health records

Closing a practice

Closing a private practice is a significant step in a psychologist’s career. In light of the complex procedure involved in closing a practice, the RANZCP has compiled resources for this.

Initial decision-making process

Transferring or discharging patient care

Organizations and personnel to notify

Management of health record

Contingency planning

Initial decisions to consider

Here’s what’s required to be initially considered when closing a practice:

Set a closing date

Manage new patient referrals

Consider the patient’s health and wellbeing

Transferring or discharging patients

There are different stages in transferring patients, including the following:

Preliminary preparation – The psychiatrist must ensure to check the patient’s medical records and find an alternative therapist option

Handover of patients – Psychiatrists should take the responsibility of adequately handing over the patients to another medical specialist or healthcare provider

Informing patients – Patients should be informed of the closure of the practice prior to the date.

Whom to notify

Professional notifications include the following:

Medical indemnity insurance organization

Run off cover

RANZCP

Other professional organizations such as AMA, NZMA, ASMS, Medicare Australia, local pharmacies and healthcare centers, and local GPs

Colleagues

Notice of closure in a circular

Practice staff

Practice services and suppliers

Management of patient records on closure

A psychiatrist must maintain and retain patient health records as per requirement. He should ensure to protect of the privacy and confidentiality of this data, especially during retention and transfer procedures. Patients also have legal access to their healthcare records. Transfer of patient information should be done in an appropriate manner.

Closure of practice

Adequate legal procedures must be followed in the event of selling or transferring of the private practice. The procedure for selling or transferring ownership of a private practice includes the following:

Initial sales, financial, and legal considerations

Valuation of assets – including tangible and intangible assets

Vendor and buyer agreements

Advertising

Prospective purchasers

Contract of sales

Gods & Services Tax (GST)

Leased equipment and premises

Handling employees

Closure may also occur due to misconduct. If that is the case the appropriate personnel and organization must be informed about it.

Medfuture has been in the field of Australian healthcare recruitment for many years and has a strong network of medical professionals including psychiatrists. We constantly update our job board with the latest medical jobs including psychiatry jobs across all states and suburbs in Australia.

Visit our website for more information and to view our current list of medical jobs available in Australia.