Hospital at Home

Care when it counts

We have treatment at home options for eligible members on a range of treatments because we want to give you the choice of how you’re treated, whenever we can.

At RT Health, we’ve chosen to pay for some treatments you can have in the comfort of your own home with RT Health-contracted providers, when we can make sure the treatment can be given safely and at the same, or better, quality than in hospital. These treatments at home are also called hospital-substitute treatment (or HST) because the treatment at home takes the place of treatment you’d have had to go to, or stay longer in, hospital for. Ask your doctor or hospital if there’s an option to be treated at home in your case – not all treatments available to RT members can be provided at home.

Our treatment at home network continues to grow, enabling us to treat more members in more locations. To see the list of current providers, view the HST provider list.

Types of Hospital Substitute Treatment

Intravenous (IV) therapy antibiotics

Complex wound care with negative pressure wound therapy

Rehabilitation after a hip or knee replacement

Chemotherapy

Some immunotherapy for chronic diseases

What treatment can I have at home?

Treatment at home is only available for selected treatments and if you're eligible. It’s important to know that if you’d be covered for the treatment in hospital, and your treating doctor agrees you can have treatment at home instead, we’ll work with you, your doctor and hospital to cover the cost of the treatment at home for eligible RT Health members who need:

intravenous (IV) therapy antibiotics
complex wound care with negative pressure wound therapy
rehabilitation after a hip or knee replacement
chemotherapy
some immunotherapy for chronic diseases.

Please note: Limits apply on HST services rendered. These limits sit with the provider and your doctor should check these from the outset and advise you accordingly.

Depending on where you live and the treatment you need, you might also be able to choose your RT Health-contracted treatment at home provider.

What isn’t covered?

While we’re expanding services for treatment at home, we only cover the specific treatments listed above through HCF-contracted treatment at home providers.

For example, RT Health cannot cover you for hospital in the home treatment if the reason you’re in hospital or need treatment at home is in any way related to an incident, accident or surgery you can claim compensation for from another party (like a workers compensation insurer, motor accident authority or a public liability insurer), then you're not able to be covered by your private health insurance.

If you’re over 65, and need some care at home, My Aged Care can provide you with help at home and care after your hospital stay for things that aren’t covered by your private health insurance.

How does treatment at home get organised for me?

You should talk to your treatment team/doctor about at-home treatment options while you’re in hospital. RT Health is not able to arrange care for you (your doctor does).

We’ve sent hospitals a list of providers that RT Health has contracts with to give selected treatment at home to members, so they’re familiar with the types of treatment at home we’ll cover eligible members for. Your treatment team/doctor should refer you straight to an RT Health-contracted treatment at home provider.

There are no out-of-pocket costs for treatment at home through RT Health-contracted treatment at home providers.

You can email hst@hcf.com.au to find out about our RT Health-contracted treatment at home providers – where they operate and what treatment they can give to eligible members.

Our contracted treatment at home providers will be able to assess your needs and tell your treating team if you’re eligible. Each type of treatment has slightly different criteria but generally, to be eligible, you’ll need to:

be a current RT Health member
have served waiting periods for pre-existing conditions
be covered for the treatment you’re having if you were admitted to hospital
need treatment that you would have had to stay in hospital for
ensure your doctor considers that you’re suitable to receive treatment at home and arranges a referral
live in an area served by an RT Health-contracted treatment at home provider
have a suitable home environment to be treated in.

How long will I get treatment for?

We consider your treatment at home complete once the care you need can be given in the community (like visiting a GP clinic or getting a referral to community nursing to have dressing changes that would've happened after you left hospital). When you finish your treatment, the treatment at home provider will refer you to community services if you need them.

How do I access the service?

You can talk to your treatment team about at-home treatment options while you’re in hospital.

Click here for a list of providers that RT Health has contracts with to give treatment at home to members.