Healthcare consumables

What are healthcare consumables?

Healthcare consumables are products that are intended to be used up quickly and are then disposed of. They are often single or short-term use products.

icare provides healthcare consumables to participants and workers so they can manage their injury-related continence, wound care, respiratory, nutritional and skin integrity needs. Examples include catheters, dressings for wounds, gloves and enteral feeds.

Consumables Panel

icare has a Consumables Panel to supply healthcare consumables for people in Lifetime Care and Workers Care. Consumables are to be sourced exclusively from the panel, unless there is a need for a product not supplied by the panel.

Please note: All non-consumable equipment, for example pressure stockings, BP monitors, waterproof seat or bed covers, can be ordered through EasyOrder.

Professional qualifications and experience of prescribers

You need to be a health professional with recognised experience relevant to the consumables you prescribe and to the person’s injury type and management program to be able to assess a person's injury-related needs and complete the consumables prescription.

For example:

• Continence: For people with neurogenic bladder and bowel, this is generally a Clinical Nurse consultant or Clinical Nurse Specialist in SCI, TBI, rehabilitation or disability. Otherwise, a Continence Nurse Advisor can prescribe continence products.
• Respiratory: Registered nurse in respiratory care
• Nutrition: Registered Dietitian
• Wound care: Clinical Nurse Consultant, Clinical Nurse Specialist or Registered Nurse with experience in wound management.

For more information about who can prescribe healthcare consumables refer to the Guidelines for Prescribers – Assistive Technology (PDF, 0.2MB).

Completing a consumables request

icare provides healthcare consumables to participants and workers so they can manage their injury-related continence, respiratory, nutritional and skin integrity needs. The consumables forms collect information on:

• current and proposed management protocol of the continence, respiratory, skin integrity and/or nutrition related to the participant or worker's injury-related needs
• the consumables products needed
• changes to management protocol and products to be added or removed
• the quantity and frequency of consumables provision in line with best practice, manufacturer's guidelines and clinical assessment
• the timeframe for which the prescription applies, including a review date based on the participant or worker's needs.

Comprehensive assessments for new or revised prescriptions

The consumables prescription and order forms must be used following a consumables assessment:

• for new prescriptions
• when a consumables program is reviewed; or
• when there are significant changes to a program (for example, new bladder or bowel programs, more than six products to be added or removed).

Use the following forms following a comprehensive assessment:

• F003A Consumables prescription (Word, 17MB)
• F003B Consumables order (Word, 18MB).

Minor variations to a prescription and order

The consumable variation forms may be used when a prescription has already been completed and there is a need to add or change items in a person's prescription before the next review. The prescription and order variation forms are used for minor variations only between comprehensive assessments.

Use the following forms:

• F004A Consumables prescription variation (Word, 17MB)
• F004B Consumables order variation (Word, 25MB).

If the person requires frequent or multiple changes to their consumables order, then consider a full review of the person's consumables prescription.

Where the person requires approved products within the quantity previously prescribed but before their next scheduled order delivery, a consumables variation form is not required. You can request these items directly  from the consumables provider.