How to refer a patient for a Home Medicines Review

If you already know how a Home Medicines Review works and just need the mechanics, here they are. A valid referral must be a legible written document that can be retained, and it must include the information set out below. HomeMed is taking enquiries while its MMR credential and service-provider approval are being finalised; funded referrals and reviews will begin only after both are confirmed. The rest of this page sets out the planned workflow and current program requirements.

The referral pathway, step by step

A Home Medicines Review starts with an eligible medical practitioner: a GP, specialist in pain medicine, specialist physician, specialist psychiatrist or specialist in palliative medicine.

1. You identify a patient who’d benefit. Typical triggers are a recent hospital admission, a complex medicine regimen or a recent change. These are discussion prompts, not automatic eligibility rules; the referrer must confirm an identifiable clinical need.
2. You explain the service and confirm the patient is willing. The Service Provider must separately obtain and document the patient’s informed written consent before the initial interview.
3. Once HomeMed is approved to provide funded HMRs, you send the written referral through an agreed secure channel. The referral form (PDF) can be used as a planning template now.
4. HomeMed contacts the patient or authorised representative. Appointment timing is confirmed after credential, service-provider approval and availability checks.
5. The planned interview is at home, with a HomeMed service aim of 45–60 minutes, covering every medicine the patient is actually taking — prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, and anything a specialist has added that might not be on your system.
6. The pharmacist writes and sends the report to the referrer and, when different, the regular GP. HomeMed’s service aim is within three business days. Prescribing decisions remain with the relevant prescriber.

What the referral needs to include

Under the current PPA Program Rules, the referral must be legible, dated and in a written format the Service Provider can retain. It should include:

• The intended Service Provider or credentialed pharmacist, where specified
• The patient’s full name and residential address
• An explicit request for a Home Medicines Review
• The clinical reason for referral
• Relevant medical history and current clinical information
• The referrer’s full name and contact details
• The referral’s date of issue

Date of birth, patient contact details and a current medicine list are useful additions, but they do not replace the required items. Consent obtained by the referrer before issuing the referral is separate from the informed written consent the Service Provider must obtain for each HMR before the interview.

If your practice uses secure messaging or a Medical-Objects or HealthLink connection, get in touch and I’ll send through the details your software needs — I’d rather confirm that directly than have your reception staff guess at an ID number.

What the report looks like when it comes back

HomeMed’s report template is designed to be prioritised, plain-language and structured around clear recommendations. Decisions about prescribing remain with the relevant prescriber. The pharmacist service is funded separately through the Community Pharmacy Programs and must be provided at no charge to the patient. A GP may separately claim MBS item 900 when its current requirements are met; the patient’s GP or specialist appointment may have its usual fee unless bulk billed.

Choosing a pharmacist, and reluctant patients

A patient can nominate a credentialed pharmacist or service provider for the HMR. The selected provider must meet the current program requirements. HomeMed cannot accept a funded referral until its MMR credential and service-provider approval have both been confirmed.

Patient consent is required. It can help to explain that a funded HMR is a medicines interview and must be provided at no charge to the patient, but the patient should not be pressured to proceed. Any later reconsideration should be discussed with the patient and referrer. For families asking the same question from the other side, the GP page covers the why in more detail, and also has PMS referral template setup guides if your practice wants the referral pathway built directly into your software.

If you’ve got a patient in mind, the quickest way to sort out the practical details — secure messaging ID, fax number, or anything else your software needs — is to get in touch directly and we’ll work it out together.

For the family-facing version of this process — what an HMR involves and what it costs — see HMR pharmacist Melbourne.