The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) would like to invite you to their upcoming workshop, to be held on Thursday, 15 June 2023, from 7PM online via Teams.

All Fellows and trainees are welcome.

The workshop will include case studies and 'quizzes', to encourage interactive discussion and exploration, and a Q&A session.

The workshop is free of charge. A teams link will be sent before workshop.

Event information

Department of Veterans' Affairs Workshop

Date: Thursday, 15 June 2023

Start time: 7.00 to 8.00PM (AEST)

Location: Online via Teams

Topic: Department of Veterans' Affairs Workshop

Presenters: Dr Robert Allen and Dr Sangeeta Bal

Cost: Free

Workshop Summary

Making it easier for you to support those who have served the Nation

Australia has an enduring commitment to supporting the well-being of the veteran community. Meeting their mental health needs is a national priority. DVA relies heavily on the expertise of the Fellows of the College for their clinical care of veterans and to assist in the assessment of claims relating to mental health conditions.

Our aim is to ensure you have the information and resources you need to assist veterans with quality care and access to entitlements. Importantly, you are not alone in caring for your veteran patients. There is a suite of DVA-funded support services and programs available for your practice and your patients, and handy, tailored reference guides to make it easier for you to understand and apply DVA arrangements.

This workshop aims to cut through the bureaucratic complexities to showcase how you can support DVA clients' compensation claims in a streamlined way that limits the impacts on your practice. We will help to demystify the claims process, and provide insights about developing accurate, fulsome documentation, on the first go, for assessments of initial liability claims, incapacity payments, permanent impairment and rehabilitation.

We will dispel the myth you need a detailed understanding of the Acts that define compensation, or how to apply them to decision making about links to military service and liability. What is more important is your expertise and diagnosis as the treating medical specialist, and completion of the relevant documentation with required information and evidence. Our aim is to help you save time, avoid unnecessary repeat requests for information and achieve the best possible outcomes for your veteran patients.

Presenters

Dr Robert Allen, BSc (Hons) MBBS PhD

Robert has been providing medical advice to DVA for six years, in areas of compensation liability, medical impairment assessments, offsetting and apportioning when liability is accepted across different Acts of legislation, and compensation following death. Advice is provided to DVA delegates in matters of diagnosis, onset, and causation, and has included medical opinion for the Specialised Cases Team - often involving mental health claims relating to alleged assaults and case managed clients. Robert is currently a Senior Medical Adviser. He is also an editorial board member of the Journal of Military and Veterans' Health.

Dr Sangeeta Bal, MD CHIA

Sangeeta is a Medical Adviser for the Department of Veterans Affairs Compensation Branch. She works in areas of initial liability claims and medical impairment assessment. Her area of focus is assisting and providing advice to the specialised case teams Delegates looking after clients with claims often linked to mental health claims. Her area of interest include Veteran Health, Public Health and Medical Administration. She is a Journal of Military and Veterans' Health reviewer and a trainee of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators.

This is a free online event. Please register by 14 July 2023 for the Teams link.

Directions

A teams link will be sent to you prior to the meeting to attend the workshop online.

Contact

Victorian Branch Coordinator

Tel +61 3 9601 4924

ranzcp.vic@ranzcp.org