Your Eating Disorder Treatment Plan

This guide explains how your Eating Disorder Plan (EDP) works — including how to access your appointments, what is required during treatment, and your responsibilities in keeping the plan active. Please read it carefully and keep it somewhere you can refer to it.

What is an Eating Disorder Treatment Plan?

An Eating Disorder Plan (EDP) is a Medicare-funded care plan created by your GP. It allows you to access a team of health professionals — including your psychologist — with a Medicare rebate applied to each appointment. The EDP is specifically designed for people with a clinical eating disorder diagnosis and is separate from a standard Mental Health Care Plan.

How to Access Your EDP

To access EDP-funded appointments, you need to:

• Be diagnosed with a clinical eating disorder by your GP or treating psychiatrist
• Have your GP prepare an EDP and GP Management Plan (GPMP)
• Receive a referral from your GP to the health professionals included in your care team
• Attend an initial assessment with a psychiatrist — this is a mandatory requirement of the EDP (see below)

Your GP coordinates the plan and must review it at set intervals for it to remain active.

How Many Sessions Are You Entitled To?

The EDP provides access to significantly more funded sessions than a standard Mental Health Care Plan. All sessions run within the 12-month period of your EDP, not the calendar year.

Sessions	How to access
Psychology — up to 40	Released in blocks of 10, with a GP review required between each block
Dietitian — up to 20	Available as part of your multidisciplinary care team

How Long is the EDP Valid?

Your EDP runs for 12 months from the date it was created by your GP. Any unused sessions within your allocation may be accessed during this period.

It is routine to need ongoing treatment for an eating disorder. Your GP will assess whether a new EDP is appropriate and can issue a new plan at the expiry point if so.

Requirement to See a Psychiatrist

The EDP has a mandatory requirement to see a psychiatrist:

• An initial psychiatric assessment is required as part of accessing the EDP
• A further psychiatrist review is required before you can access sessions 21–40 (the second half of your psychology allocation)

Your Care Team and Multidisciplinary Care

The EDP is built around team-based care — a multidisciplinary team (MDT). Your team may include:

• Your GP — coordinates and reviews your plan
• Your psychologist — psychological therapy
• A psychiatrist — mental health assessment and medical oversight
• A dietitian — nutritional support and meal planning
• Other specialists as recommended by your GP

Medicare requires regular communication between treating team members as part of the EDP. This is a built-in feature of how the plan works and is important for sharing clinically relevant information across your care team.

Communication Between Your Treating Team

As part of the EDP, your treating team members communicate with each other. You should be aware that:

• Your psychologist will provide progress updates and letters to your GP and other treating team members at key points in your treatment
• By engaging with services at Linked Psychology you acknowledge this as part of your service agreement
• This is a normal and important part of coordinated care — it allows your team to respond to changes in your presentation and make joint clinical decisions
• You are always welcome to ask what information has been shared or will be shared, and with whom

Your privacy is important to us. Any information shared is done so within the bounds of your consent and in line with our professional obligations. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more detail.

GP Review Intervals — What to Expect

Your GP must review your progress at set points before releasing additional sessions. This is standard procedure and ensures your plan remains appropriate for your needs.

After session	Review required
10th	GP review to release sessions 11–20
20th	GP review and psychiatrist review to release sessions 21–30
30th	GP review to release sessions 31–40

Your psychologist will typically provide a progress letter to your GP to support these reviews. You do not need to facilitate this — just attend your GP appointment at the relevant time.

Your Responsibilities Under the EDP

To keep your plan active and your appointments funded, please make sure you:

• Know the date your EDP was created and when it expires (exactly 12 months later)
• Book a GP review before your plan expires — do not wait until the last minute
• Attend your psychiatrist appointment before your 20th psychology session
• Attend your GP reviews at the scheduled intervals (after sessions 10, 20, and 30)
• Let your psychologist know if you are unsure about any of the above, or if you are having difficulties attending appointments

If There is a Gap in Your Treatment

If you take a break from therapy:

• Your EDP remains valid for 12 months from its creation date regardless of whether you are actively attending appointments
• Any remaining sessions within your allocation may still be available when you return
• If your EDP has expired when you return, your GP will need to issue a new plan before Medicare rebates apply
• Please contact your GP or our clinic before your return appointment to confirm the status of your plan

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions about your EDP, your appointments, or your care team, please speak with us. You are also encouraged to raise any questions directly with your GP.

We are committed to supporting you through treatment and want you to feel informed and in control of your plan.