Dear Mr Lawson

Thank you for your email of 25 May 2017 below.

Because of the nature of your request, ACC is treating it as a request for information under the Official Information Act 1982. ACC is working on your request and will be in touch with you as soon as possible. We note your request for urgency and will endeavour to meet it. We will certainly reply to you by 23 June 2017.

If you have any questions we will be happy to work with you to resolve these. We can be contacted via email at [email address].

Regards
Government Services

-----Original Message-----
From: David Lawson [mailto:[FOI #5929 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 25 May 2017 12:47 p.m.
To: Information Website Mail
Subject: Official Information request - ACC Treatment Provider Handbook that was live as at 1/1/12, and all subsequent copies trough til 2015/2016 version

Dear Accident Compensation Corporation,

I respectfully request that ACC Government Services provide to me in keeping with the Official Information Act 1982 PDF copies of the ACC Treatment Provider Handbook that was applicable as at 1 January 2012, and PDF copies of all subsequent versions through until the 2015 version which was applicable through to 2016 which ACC Government Services provided to me on the 24 May 2017.

Furthermore, I request that my request is actioned under the provision of urgency afforded under the Official Information Act 1982, and the official information that I have requested is made available to me within 10 working days being by the end of business close on the 9th June 2017.

In order to satisfy section 12 subsection (3) of the OIA 1982, with my request for the provision of urgency to be applied in this instance I provide the following reasonsfor seeking the official information urgently;

1. the information I am requesting is readily and easily able to be retrieved off ACC's records management system, and remains well within the statutory period that ACC is required to retain the information.

2. In June 2016 ACC released to ACC treatment providers, and associated treatment provider registered agencies the "Consumer Outlook Group Update" titled "Read Codes" with the reference shown the the bottom left hand side of the second page of the communication as being ACC7540 June 2016.

This communication acknowledged, and given the presence of the correspondence being able to be found on the internet, publicly declared that;

"ACC case owners don't know when to update Read Codes.

Sometimes, a Read Code may be recorded incorrectly at the time of injury. For example an injury may initially be recorded as a sprained ankle, and a later x-ray confirms that it is in fact a fracture, or the most serious injuries are recorded at the time of injury, but a secondary injury may be missed. This can result in the Read Code needing to be updated at a later stage.

In the past there has not been a formal process for providers to notify ACC of a change in diagnosis, or for case owners to know when they need to update the system."

Therefore ACC's failure in their duty of care to ACC claimants in not having reasonable systems in place to allow for the timely recording and reporting of injury diagnosis for ACC cover acceptance and entitlements for claimants i situations where;

a. a correction to an earlier incorrect injury diagnosis is required,

b. a correction to an earlier injury diagnosis that has been given the lowest possible read code (per ACC's direct and questionable instructions) by a treatment provider when a higher and more appropriate injury diagnosis read code is more appropriate.

c. there is a requirement of the addition of additional injury read codes for injuries in which the method of injury subjects multiple areas of the claimants body to traumatic injury, trough associated impact forces, to be added for ACC cover and entitlements where the ACC registered treatment provider has not registered the full set of injuries, or further injuries subsequently become apparent.

It is noted that despite ACC's 2016 "Consumer Outlook Group Update" titled "Read Codes, ACC still has not provided ACC registered treatment providers with specific independent and required manually competed claim forms or an electronic completed claim form versions for treatment providers to either;

(i) lodge with ACC a correction to a previously incorrect injury diagnosis or diagnoses (read code/s),

(ii)lodge and add new injury diagnoses codes, subsequent to the completion and lodgement of an ACC 45 form for cover and entitlements with ACC, so that all the associated injuries to various body parts from a single accident are afforded the timely acceptance for cover and entitlements per the ACC Act.

I have been exposed to ACC's failure in administering the ACC Act correctly between 2012 which continues to the present. I require the information that I have requested today to ascertain the demarcation between ACC's and the ACC registered treatment providers responsibilities to me under their duty of care, in situations where treatment providers that have been involved in my assessment, treatment, and rehabiliyation, or through their inaction the lack thereof, and whom have either specifically diagnosed in their treatment notes, or acknowledged in medical evidence the injuries that I sustained between 2012 and present, which I reported to them, and yet they have failed to lodge with ACC appropriate injury diagnosis codes, so that timely and relevant assessment and treatment can be commenced.

3. Upon receipt of this information I will be able to establish what ACC determined and advised the treatment providers of what their responsibilities were to me on reporting to ACC in the context of what the treatment providers were advised by me and recorded, so that I can approach each treatment provider's regulatory body and seek the correction of their records and their assistance in correcting and or adding the correct injury diagnoses that applied to the accidents and injuries that I sustained between 2012 and present.

Under s16(2) of the Official Information Act, my preferred way of receiving a response is by email to the address from which ACC received the original request, not by post

I thank you for your time and assistance.

Yours faithfully,

David Lawson

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hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Lawson

 

Please find attached a response to your request and four PDF files for the
Treatment Provider Handbooks relevant to your request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Government Engagement & Support

 

Disclaimer:

"This message and any attachments may contain confidential and privileged
information. If you believe you have received this email in error, please
advise us immediately by return email or telephone and then delete this
email together with all attachments. If you are not the intended
recipient, you are not authorised to use or copy this message or any
attachments or disclose the contents to any other person."