The following guides for use apply:

• an occasion of service is counted for each person attending in the capacity of a patient in their own right, even if other non-patient persons are present for the service.
• spouses, parents or carers attending the session are only counted if they are also participating in the service as a patient.
• in the instance of a dependent child presenting to a clinic, the session is counted as a single Occasion of Service provided to the individual child for whom an event history is being recorded. Where parents/carers also attend in the capacity of patients themselves within a booked appointment, and receive the same services at the same time, the child and parent/carer can be counted as a group. In this instance a Group Session count would be recorded.
• An occasion of service is counted for staff attending clinics of public hospitals only if they are attending as patients in their own right. Staff education and training is excluded.
• Patients attending for treatment at a dialysis or a chemotherapy clinic are receiving individual services. Patients attending education sessions at chemotherapy or dialysis clinics are counted as group sessions, if two or more people receiving the same services at the same time.

• Where a patient receives the occasion of service is counted at the clinic of the public hospital where the patient is booked.
• Where a patient receives multidisciplinary care, within one booked clinic appointment by themselves, one occasion of service shall be recorded, regardless of the number of providers involved.
• Where patients have received more than one booked appointment, each appointment will be counted as one occasion of service. (Example: three booked appointments with all services provided on a single day will be counted as three occasions of service).
• The occasion of service count should be attributed to the clinic type associated with the booked appointment.
• Services to individual patients should be counted separately from services to groups of patients. An occasion of service is counted only for a service provided to an individual. Group sessions are reported separately under 'Establishment - number of group sessions total N[NNNNNN]'.