Simplifying ACC's complex cover: New resources for complex claims

ACC is adding more depth to its suite of educational resources for healthcare providers, this time to simplify areas of complex cover.

The short videos and accompanying quick guides give both new and experienced ACC providers an insight into how complex cover decisions are made and what information is helpful for them to successfully lodge a claim.

Presented by ACC’s own experts, the videos walk providers through the essentials of the different types of cover ACC can provide injured New Zealanders.

The videos and quick guides cover four specialist areas - causation, mental injury, treatment injury, and work-related gradual process injury.

They build on earlier resources produced for providers on the basics of ACC. These covered how to invoice, using read codes, and registering as a provider.

Provider education

Development of these resources is guided by feedback ACC receives from providers on areas they would like to learn more about. This helps ensure the agency is responsive to provider needs and supports them to lodge claims and interact with ACC with success and confidence.

ACC chief clinical officer and head of health partnerships Dr John Robson says the new videos and quick guides add to ACC’s growing library of helpful resources designed to make working with ACC easier.

“We know that the more information and education we can provide to support GPs with helping the person in front of them, the better the outcomes will be for those patients.”

ACC is also growing its new series of interactive webinars tailored to the needs of different health provider groups. The most recent was a Continuing Medical Education (CME)-endorsed webinar co-hosted with the Royal New Zealand College of GPs to discuss recent changes to accident cover to include specific maternal birth injuries.

“I’m encouraged by the great response we're receiving about our webinar series. This shows health providers appreciate hearing about ACC directly from our own people.

“It's also a chance to have direct contact with providers we work with to get a better understanding of what's important to them.”

More than 1100 people attended nine provider-focused webinars which cover the basics of ACC and offer practical tips and advice providers can apply to their work with ACC. These sessions are hosted on ACC's website and YouTube page for anyone to watch at their own convenience.

More webinars and resources are planned for 2023.

Complex cover videos and quick guides

Causation – presented by ACC clinical advice manager Dr Peter Burt

Intro to mental injury cover – presented by ACC clinical advice manager Penny Kokot Louw

Understanding treatment injury cover – presented by ACC medical advisor Dr Rochelle Phipps

Understanding work-related gradual process injury cover – presented by ACC occupational physician Dr Milly Hanlon