Did you know that if you have an intellectual disability, you can have a yearly full health check-up with your doctor?
There is a special assessment called ‘CHAP’ that has been created just for people with intellectual disability. This is a list of questions, health and medical history checks to help someone with a disability, their family or supporters and the doctor to work together and find any health issues.
If you would like to book a complete check up with your doctor, make sure you ask for a longer appointment and specify that it’s for “an annual health assessment for a person with intellectual disability.”
Since the CHAP assessment tool is pretty new, the receptionist and the doctor may not be aware of it yet. You can email them the link (below) to learn more about the CHAP assessment before your appointment.
You can also ask the receptionist whether the assessment will be covered by Medicare through bulk-billing.
To make the assessment process better, it is best if you and your family, carer, or supporter fill in Part 1 of the form before seeing the doctor. The doctor will then fill out Part 2.
The aim of the CHAP program is to:
- Get more people with intellectual disability to have a yearly health check
- Get more people with intellectual disability, their supporters, and GPs providing annual health assessments using the CHAP tool
- Provide better health plans for people with intellectual disability that include:
- action on good health and disease prevention
- better disease detection and management
- Improve communication about health between:
- primary health care providers
- people with intellectual disability, their families and carers, support workers and disability service providers
The CHAP is a part of the Australian Government – Department of Health and Aged Care’s commitment to improving the health of people with intellectual disability to address serious health inequities faced by people with intellectual disability.
If you’d like to learn more about the Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP), you can check out the “National Roadmap for Improving the Health of People with Intellectual Disability – Annual progress report 2022” by clicking here.
If you want to know more about CHAP or need help to fill out Part 1, please contact the DDWA office on 9420-7203.
Stay healthy!