The outbreak of the coronavirus COVID-19 – a respiratory illness caused by a new virus – is a global health emergency.

We are taking a conservative approach and precautionary measures across mlcoa in response to this unprecedented crisis to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among our people and communities.

Centralised planning

mlcoa’s parent company, MedHealth, has a working group that meets daily to share information, optimise our preparation, and manage any issues that may arise from the COVID-19 outbreak. MedHealth’s approach, planning and protocols in relation to COVID-19 can be viewed here.

We are also able to access additional expert advice, as needed. Our Chief Medical Officer, Dr Peter Steadman, has engaged the services of two leading doctors to assist with specific disease advice and organisational health management.

All our centralised advice and screening protocols are based on the Australian Department of Health advice and daily updates.

Your clients visiting our premises

To safeguard our visitors, our premises are operating with robust screening and management protocols, in line with expert advice on good hygiene, social distancing and other authoritative information for the health sector.

• Appointment reminder processes screen clients for any overseas travel or recent symptoms of cold or influenza, including shortness of breath or fever. This occurs 1-2 days before clients are to attend appointments at our premises.
• Front-of-house team members screen clients upon arrival using the same criteria.
• Appointments do not proceed for anyone identified to have travelled overseas, or anyone reporting symptoms of cold or flu. Upon consultation with our customers, appointments for such individuals can be rebooked after a fortnight.
• MedHealth has set up a COVID-19 hotline to provide instant advice to our people on their next moves. Should a client present at our premises with any potential exposure to COVID-19, our team member calls the hotline for advice on next steps, while also immediately isolating the individual in question, ensuring mask use and supporting them to mitigate risk as they travel home to seek medical support via telephone. The appointment does not go ahead if there is any identified risk.
• We have also provided our medical consultants with recommended guidelines for conducting physical examinations in a manner that will limit the risk for all parties involved, including your client. Please click here for further details of mlcoa’s protocol to safeguard our visitors and clients.
• We have developed a frequently asked questions document for clients coming to our offices which can be found here.

Protocols, support and considerations for our people

If any of our team members are unwell, we ask they do not come into the office. This is for any illness, whether respiratory or not. It is an especially important principle at the moment.

We are following all Australian Department of Health guidelines on travel and self-imposed quarantine.

Additionally, Cogent Thinking has been operating a COVID-19 hotline within MedHealth since 2 March to support our team in managing risk and ensuring safety.

Flexible solutions to keep our services going

mlcoa has developed solutions to assist you in your claims, health and employment matters:

Telehealth
Our telehealth service involves a medical expert undertaking an independent medical assessment through secure video conferencing. This service removes distance and access barriers in a way that is convenient and cost-effective for everyone. With social distancing requirements, we will work with our customers to identify if appointments can successfully be made with this technology.

Desktop reviews
Our mlcoa medical specialists are experienced at reviewing claims and medical files and providing an assessment based on the review of medical material. In appropriate circumstances, our medical experts can also conduct a case conference with the treating doctor as part of this review process.

Chief Medical Officers
We are receiving a high number of queries from organisations to support them in the management of infectious diseases, along with other risk and health management needs. mlcoa has experienced consultants who can provide a dedicated CMO service to support you in addressing your specific needs, whether it be reviewing individual cases/claims, providing strategies for a group of claims/cases strategies, or offering education.

Upcoming mlcoa educational events

mlcoa has postponed our education events, in line with advice on public gatherings. However, our commitment to sharing healthcare knowledge with our customers has not wavered. We are looking at alternative methods for continuing to deliver our toolbox talks and in-house education and will be advising our customers on these changes.

Commitment to partnering with you

At mlcoa, we remain committed to working with our customers to reduce any unnecessary disruption to our appointment schedule. Our teams are working to increase the availability of our medical specialists and looking at flexible ways of working with you.

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As always, mlcoa puts the health and safety of our people, customers and clients at the forefront of our thinking and actions. Please do not hesitate to contact your local team on 1800 mlcoa1 (1800 652 621) or via contact@mlcoa.com.au if there are any queries or solutions you would like to discuss. We know you will have many questions and our aim is to provide regular updates via our website so you can stay informed.