Upgrading to Medicare Web Services

Services Australia have upgraded the technology used by Practice management software such as Bp Premier to connect to Services Australia for digital health services like online claiming. The old method of connecting online required a Medicare Client software 'adaptor' and a Medicare PKI certificate, also known as a site certificate. Site PKI certificates and adapter software have been replaced with a Provider Digital Access (PRODA) account and Medicare Web Services (MWS) technology in 2022.

Best Practice Software have secured an extension to June 19 2022 to upgrade your practice software to Medicare Web Services. You can continue to use the older technology until this date.

However, all Bp Premier practices must upgrade to version Saffron Service Pack 3 or later before June 19, 2022. If you have not upgraded by this date, you will not be able to use any online Services Australia functions from Bp Premier, including online claiming. The doctors in your practice will not be paid for services claimed and you will not be able to submit immunisation records online to AIR.

A few prerequisite tasks are required before you can set up MWS integration in Bp Premier. Best Practice Software strongly recommend that you begin preparing your practice for upgrade to Saffron SP3 or later well before the final date of 19 June, following the instructions in the articles below.

I have already upgraded to Saffron SP3

If you have already upgraded and are using Services Australia functions such as online verification, online claiming, and AIR submissions with no issues, no further action is necessary. You have already switched over to Medicare Web Services. Keep an eye on Bp Premier Latest News (Help > Latest News in Bp Premier) for any updates to MWS or Saffron SP3.

I have not upgraded to Saffron SP3

You must upgrade Bp Premier to version Saffron SP3 by June 19 2022, or you will not be able to use online verification, claiming, or AIR after this date until you upgrade. You can download the Saffron SP3 Program Update from the Best Practice Software Resources page.

IMPORTANT  Upgrading to Saffron SP3 will automatically switch Bp Premier to Medicare Web Services technology. Some prerequisite activities, like clearing out AIR submissions, creating a PRODA account, and linking to Medicare in PRODA are necessary before you upgrade. Best Practice Software strongly recommend reviewing the Saffron SP3 Release Notes and the installation prerequisites before running the upgrade.

What are the main differences in Saffron SP3 and MWS?

The Saffron SP3 Release Notes summarise the changes to online AIR, verification, and claiming workflows after you upgrade to Saffron SP3 and MWS.

The Saffron SP3 Masterclass presentation and FAQ from 23 February to 1 March 2022 go into a lot more detail about Saffron SP3 workflow changes, including walkthroughs by Bp Premier trainers. This article also includes questions and answers asked by Bp Premier users during the masterclass presentations.

The Medicare Web Services Be in the Know FAQ also includes questions and answers from Bp Premier users from an earlier Be in the Know presentation on Medicare Web Services.

Updates to online AIR and Claiming have been made to the Bp Premier Knowledge Base articles:

Otherwise, this Knowledge Base navigation page includes links to all MWS-related pages in the Saffron Knowledge Base.

What do I have to do before upgrading?

Steps 1—6 of this Saffron Knowledge Base article, up to and including Register Subsidiary Organisations in PRODA, describe the steps you have to take outside of Bp Premier to integrate your practice with Medicare Web Services. Your practice may have already completed one or more of these steps, for example, you may already have a PRODA account.

Do I still need a NASH certificate?

Yes. The NASH certificate is used for:

  • My Health Record
  • Health Identifier (HI) Service
  • eRx Prescription Exchange
  • National Cancer Screening Register

Historically, eRx has used the Site PKI certificate. The Bp Premier March 2022 data update automatically switches your installation of eRx to use the NASH certificate instead. If you have not already done so, before upgrading to Saffron SP3, you should:

  1. Ensure you have renewed and reinstalled your NASH certificate if it expired 13 March 2022 (many practices' NASH Certificate expired on this date).
  2. Install the March 2022 data update.

No other action is necessary for eRx and NASH.

How do I upgrade?

  1. Read the Saffron SP3 Release Notes. These notes summarise the major changes and the prerequisite tasks BEFORE YOU UPGRADE. Some tasks may need to be done by a Practice Manager or Senior Doctor rather than an IT resource, so it is important that these roles review the release notes.
  2. Download the Saffron SP3 Program Update from the Best Practice Software Resources page. Click on the entry for Program Updates > Software: Bp Premier Saffron SP3 1.11.3.68 and review the prerequisites.
  3. Run the Program Update wizard.
  4. Review the Saffron SP3 Masterclass presentation and FAQ so that your practice staff are familiar with the changes to workflows like AIR and claiming under Medicare Web Services.
  5. Carry out step 7, Register and Manage a B2B Device, of this Saffron Knowledge Base article, which registers your Bp Premier database as a MWS 'B2B Device' in Bp Premier.

For more information

Select Help > Latest News in Bp Premier) for any updates to MWS or Saffron SP3, including recent issues identified by Bp Premier users. You can set the Latest News to appear automatically from the Login screen.

From inside Bp Premier, select Help > Online to open the online knowledge base and search for more information.

 

 

 

Last updated 10 April 2022