Touchstone Volume 32 May 2019 | Page 10

Have you heard about the changes to the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS)? The Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) provides financial support for travel and accommodation for eligible patients needing to travel to access specialist medical services. The Queensland Government has recently made some changes to make the PTSS easier to use. There are now three simple forms to complete when lodging your travel information. These forms have been created to make it easier for people to access their PTSS subsidies, and have been successfully trialled in other locations across QLD. So, how do the PTSS forms work? 1 The patient fills out the PTSS Patient Registration Form (Form A) to register for PTSS. 2 The referring clinician fills out the PTSS Travel Referral Form (Form B) for the patient to apply for travel, accommodation and patient escort subsidies. 3 The patient’s specialist, or a representative, fills out the PTSS Appointment Attendance Form (Form C) to confirm the patient attended the appointment. How will this help? • Get subsidy payments back faster (within 30 business days of submitting all required documents). • PTSS forms are easy to understand and can be completed and submitted online. • Applications have less duplication of information required, making them faster to complete and process. • All patient information will be collated electronically and in one place. Am I eligible? If you live in Queensland and have been referred by a clinician to a specialist medical service that is not available at your local public hospital you may be eligible for a subsidy. 10 Need help? Visit health.qld.gov.au/PTSS for more information or call 13HEALTH (43 25 84).