Who can attend
Who has to be in the room
A case conference is a team service, so the schedule sets a minimum team.
The minimum team
- Second member May be another doctor
- Third member Must not be a doctor
- Fourth member Must not be a doctor Only required if a physician, pain specialist, or palliative specialist coordinates
Three to four participants required
Only one other doctor counts
Any number of doctors may attend, but at least one member must be non-medical.
One clinician per discipline
Each member should provide a different kind of care or service. In practice, this means generally only one clinician of each discipline type.
Neither the patient nor a carer counts
The patient does not count toward a minimum, and nor does an unpaid carer.
Who can coordinate
One person convenes: they decide who takes part, set the time, guide the discussion and take the outcomes back to the patient.
Who can participate
Participants contribute expert input and help the coordinating practitioner plan the patient’s ongoing care.
With an MBS participation item of their own
- General practitioners
- Including multiple GPs for co-managed patients.
- Physicians
- CardiologistClinical geneticsClinical pharmacologyEndocrinologistGastroenterologistGeneral physicianGeriatricianHaematologistImmunologistInfectious diseasesNephrologistNeurologistNuclear medicineOncologistPaediatricianRehabilitation medicineRheumatologistSleep & respiratory
- Psychiatrists
- Any psychiatrist, under their own item numbers.
- Other specialists
- Each with their own participation items.Addiction medicinePain medicinePalliative medicineSexual health medicine
- Allied health
- Aboriginal health workersAudiologistsChiropractorsDiabetes educatorsDietitiansExercise physiologistsNurse practitionersOccupational therapistsOsteopathsPhysiotherapistsPodiatristsSpeech pathologists
- Mental health
- PsychologistsSocial workersMental health nursesMental health OTs
Counted, but with no item to claim
- Practice and registered nurses
- While practice nurses do not have their own case conferencing item, they often know the patient well and count toward the minimum team requirements.
- Pharmacists
- No item of their own, but a medication review is a common reason to convene — the schedule expects issues from an HMR or RMMR to be taken to a case conference.
- Others involved in their care
- Named by the schedule, and they count toward the team.Education providersMeals-on-wheels providersPersonal care workersNDIS support workersHome care workersSupport coordinatorsCase managers
Common teams
Multidisciplinary teams in practice
A selection of the most common case-conference teams — the coordinating clinician decides which disciplines attend, based on the patient.
Chronic pain team
Diabetes team
Geriatrics team
Mental health team
The three that catch people out
What is not required
Nobody you invite has to be treating your patient
A case conference is not a referral. The people you invite need no history with the patient, and take none on afterwards.
“The health professional is not required to have a pre-existing relationship with the patient.”
Explanatory note MN.3.2
No referral is required
Nothing has to pass between you first. The invitation is the gate, and it is yours: you ask, and they attend.
“A referral is not required for a health professional to access the multidisciplinary case conferencing items for chronic condition management.”
Explanatory note MN.3.2
The patient does not have to attend
They must consent, but nothing requires them in the room. They hear the outcome either way.
“The patient does not need to attend but may do so.”
Explanatory note AN.0.49
When two GPs share the patient
Complex patients are often co-managed by more than one GP. The schedule allows both doctors to participate in a case conference.
One organises; the other participates
Only one practitioner claims the organising item. The other claims a GP participation item — 747, 750 or 758.
The same test applies
Each member must provide a different kind of care or service to the patient. The schedule sets that test and does not answer it for you: whether two GPs meet it on a given patient is the convening practitioner’s call, and they sign off on it.
The exceptions
Three kinds of conference do not follow any of the above.
Cancer conference
A multidisciplinary conference on a patient with cancer, to develop a treatment plan.
- Team
- 4 doctors, different areas of practice
Plus allied health or other relevant health professionals in addition.
TAVI conference
A heart-team conference on whether a patient is suitable for transcatheter aortic valve implantation.
- Participant 1
- Cardiothoracic surgeon
- Participant 2
- Interventional cardiologist
- Participant 3
- Specialist or physician not performing the procedure
One of the first two must be TAVI accredited.
TMVr conference
A heart-team conference on whether a patient is suitable for transcatheter mitral valve repair.
- Coordinator
- Surgeon or cardiologist, TMVr accredited
- Participant
- Specialist or physician
Every requirement, and how we support it
Team composition is one of ten acts the schedule sets out for a conference. The compliance page walks through each of them, cited, beside what Conference.care does about it.