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Supported Living Payment : Contents

Assessment from client's medical specialist

The client is likely to have been assessed by registered health practitioners, which may include specialists, throughout the duration of their illness or disability.

MSD can consider granting Supported Living Payment if it is satisfied the information contained in the assessment from a medical specialist confirms the client meets the medical criteria for Supported Living Payment.

Note all medical specialists are registered medical practitioners.

The information the client provides needs to be current. In some cases specialist reports will be over 12 months old but they will still be current.

Who will have an existing medical specialist assessment

A client may have an existing specialist assessment MSD can use to decide their eligibility to Supported Living Payment if they:

  • are blind
  • have severe physical disabilities (e.g. tetraplegia, paraplegia, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, stroke)
  • have long standing, severe ill health (e.g. chronic arthritis, chronic heart failure, cystic fibrosis)
  • have an intellectual disability
  • are terminally ill
  • have a mental health issue (e.g. severe depression, schizophrenia, psychoses)
  • are deaf

This list is not exhaustive and MSD should encourage the client to provide other types of existing assessments if it may avoid further assessment.

Types of medical specialist assessments

Specialists are registered medical practitioners who concentrate on certain body organ systems, specific age groups or on complex scientific techniques developed to diagnose or treat certain types of disorders. There are many different types of specialists including but not limited to:

  • addiction medicine specialist (e.g. drug or alcohol addiction)
  • allergist or immunologist (e.g. asthma, eczema, adverse reactions to drugs, foods and insect stings, immune deficiency diseases)
  • cardiologist (e.g. heart related conditions)
  • endocrinologist (e.g. hormonal conditions)
  • general surgeon (e.g. surgical conditions affecting almost any area of the body)
  • neurologist (e.g. brain damage arising from a brain tumour, early onset dementia)
  • oncologist (e.g. cancer)
  • ophthalmologist (e.g. blindness)
  • paediatrician (e.g. cares for babies, children and adolescents)
  • psychiatrist (e.g. schizophrenia, severe depression, psychoses, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, developmental disabilities)respiratory physicians (e.g. diseases and conditions affecting the respiratory system)

What the reports will look like

The formats of medical specialist assessments are likely to be diverse. They can be provided in the form of a letter from the medical specialist to the client's registered medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or psychologist or could be a written report.

The reports and letters will generally be signed by the medical specialist or another registered medical practitioner on their behalf.

Although medical specialist assessments are not always signed by a medical specialist, if the client provides a Supported Living Payment medical certificate it must be signed by a registered medical practitioner, nurse practitioner or psychologist.

Note a psychologist cannot complete a medical certificate for the person who is being cared for when assessing a client's eligibility to Supported Living Payment (caring for a person).

Medical specialist reports contain useful information

Medical specialist reports are particularly useful in establishing the permanency of the client's health condition or disability. All information provided to MSD by the client should be used when deciding whether to approve Supported Living Payment.

If it is unclear from the information a client provides that they meet the medical criteria for Supported Living Payment, seek advice from the Regional Health Advisor or Regional Disability Advisor [no link find out why] .

For more information see:

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A health practitioner is a person who is registered with an authority as a practitioner of a particular health profession under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. All health practitioners have a unique identifying number called a Health Practitioners Index number (HPI number).

MSD may require information from a registered health practitioner to help determine a person's eligibility for some types of financial assistance.

Note unless specifically mentioned otherwise, most medical ...

Nurse practitioners are health practitioners who are registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and hold a current annual practising certificate.

Nurse practitioners are expert or specialist nurses with advanced education, clinical training and experience. They have demonstrated clinical competence and have the legal authority to practice as independent healthcare providers.

All nurse practitioners have a unique identifying number called a Health Practitioners Index number (HPI number).

Some nurse practitioners have specialised ...

Disorders that involve disturbances in the form and content of thought (e.g. delusions, hallucinations), in mood, behaviour and sense of relationship between self and the external world.

There are different types of schizophrenia including paranoid, reactive and undifferentiated. The symptoms differ between types. (A common misconception is that schizophrenia involves multiple personalities - this is a different condition - Multiple Personality Disorder.)

An ophthalmologist is medical specialist who deals with the diseases and surgery of the visual pathways, including the eye, brain, and areas surrounding the eye.

A person with an intellectual disability has intellectual functioning significantly below average. They may also have limitations with their behaviour (either behavioural problems or difficulty with managing day to day tasks or both).

An intellectual disability is not an illness or a disease and there may be various causes, for example; genetic, chromosomal abnormality or injury. One example of intellectual disability is Down Syndrome.

A psychologist is a health practitioner who is registered under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 and with the New Zealand Psychologists Board. Psychologists are concerned with the study of behaviour.

Psychologists must be listed on the New Zealand Psychologists Board's Register and hold a current practising certificate.

Psychology is a broad field of practice and research which applies psychological principles to:

An allergist/immunologist is a medical specialist with expertise in the evaluation, physical and laboratory diagnosis, and management of disorders potentially involving the immune system.

Selected examples of such conditions include asthma, anaphylaxis, eczema and adverse reactions to drugs, foods, and insect stings as well as immune deficiency diseases (both acquired and congenital).

An oncologist is a medial practitioner who specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer and other benign and malignant tumours.

A paediatrician is a medical practitioner who is concerned with the physical, emotional and social health of children from birth to young adulthood (about 16 years old).

A medical practitioner is commonly referred to as a doctor. Medical practitioners are health practitioners who are registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand as practitioners of the profession of medicine and hold a current practising certificate.

All medical practitioners have a unique identifying number called a Health Practitioners Index number (HPI number).

Medical practitioners don't need to have completed their training in New Zealand but must be registered with the New Zealand ...

A psychiatrist is a medical specialist who specialises in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental, addictive, and emotional disorders (for example, psychoses, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, developmental disabilities, sexual dysfunctions and adjustment reactions).

They understand the biological, psychological and social components of illness, and can prescribe medications, as well as evaluate and treat psychological and interpersonal problems.

A neurologist is a medical specialist concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease or impaired function of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, and automatic nervous system, and the blood vessels that relate to these structures.

A general surgeon is a medical specialist prepared to manage a broad spectrum of surgical conditions affecting almost any area of the body.

An addiction medicine specialist is a medical practitioner who focuses on the evaluation and treatment of individuals with alcohol, drug or other substance-related disorders and of individuals with the dual diagnosis of substance related and other psychiatric disorders.