Episode of admitted patient care—patient election status, code N

Accommodation chargeable status elected by a patient on admission, as represented by a code.

Public patient:

A person, eligible for Medicare, who receives or elects to receive a public hospital service free of charge.

Includes: patients in public psychiatric hospitals who do not have the choice to be treated as a private patient. Also includes overseas visitors who are covered by a reciprocal health care agreement, and who elect to be treated as public patients.

Private patient:

A person who elects to be treated as a private patient and elects to be responsible for paying fees for the type referred to in clause 49 of the Australian Health Care Agreements (2003–2008).

Clause 49 states that:

Private patients, compensable patients and ineligible persons may be charged an amount for public hospital services as determined by (the state or territory).

All patients in private hospitals (other than those receiving public hospital services and electing to be treated as a public patient) are private patients.

Includes: all patients who are charged (regardless of the level of the charge) or for whom a charge is raised for a third party payer (for example, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Compensable patients). Also includes patients who are Medicare ineligible and receive public hospital services free of charge at the discretion of the hospital, and prisoners, who are Medicare ineligible while incarcerated.

Australian Health Care Agreements 2003–08 state that eligible persons are to be given the choice to receive, free of charge as public patients, health and emergency services.

At the time of, or as soon as practicable after, admission for a public hospital service, the patient must elect in writing to be treated as either

- a public patient or
- a private patient

This item is independent of the patient’s hospital insurance status and room type.

Notes:
Inability to sign: In cases where the patient is unable to complete the patient election form, the patient should be assumed to be a public patient.

Compensation funding decisions: A patient may be recorded as a public patient as an interim patient election status while the patient’s compensable status is being decided.

Inter-hospital contracted care: If the patient receives inter-hospital contracted care the following guidelines can be used if no further information is available:

• If the patient received contracted care that was purchased by a public hospital then it will be assumed that they elected to be treated as a public patient.
• If the patient received contracted care that was purchased by a private hospital then it will be assumed that they elected to be treated as a private patient.

Admitted patient care NMDS Technical Reference Group

Supersedes Episode of admitted patient care—elected accommodation status, code N Health, Superseded 23/10/2006

Admitted patient care NMDS 2007-08 Health, Superseded 05/02/2008

Admitted patient care NMDS 2008-09 Health, Superseded 04/02/2009

Admitted patient care NMDS 2009-10 Health, Superseded 22/12/2009

Admitted patient care NMDS 2010-11 Health, Superseded 18/01/2011

Admitted patient care NMDS 2011-12 Health, Superseded 11/04/2012
Commonwealth Department of Health, Candidate 16/07/2015

Admitted patient care NMDS 2012-13 Health, Superseded 02/05/2013

Admitted patient care NMDS 2013-14 Health, Superseded 11/04/2014

Admitted patient care NMDS 2014-15 Health, Superseded 13/11/2014

Admitted patient care NMDS 2015-16 Health, Superseded 10/11/2015

Admitted patient care NMDS 2016-17 Health, Superseded 05/10/2016

Admitted patient care NMDS 2017-18 Health, Superseded 25/01/2018

Admitted patient care NMDS 2018-19 Health, Superseded 12/12/2018
ACT Health, Final 09/08/2018

Admitted patient care NMDS 2019-20 Health, Standard 12/12/2018

Admitted patient care NMDS 2020–21 Health, Standardisation pending 01/10/2019

Tasmanian Admitted Patient Data Set - 2016 Tasmanian Health, Archived 10/01/2018

Tasmanian Admitted Patient Data Set - 2017 Tasmanian Health, Archived 10/01/2018

Tasmanian Admitted Patient Data Set - 2018 Tasmanian Health, Archived 12/04/2019

Tasmanian Admitted Patient Data Set - 2019 Tasmanian Health, Endorsed 12/04/2019