The Barwon Health Eating Disorders Service Medical Consultation Clinic (MCC) is a public, paediatrician-led, medical review clinic for children and young people with an eating disorder within the Barwon South West region.
The service endeavours to provide diagnostic clarification of the eating disorder, exclusion of differential diagnoses, identification and suggested management of comorbidities, consequences of malnutrition, and advice on broader management plans.
The service operates under a shared care model, where all patients will have a GP who has agreed to be the ongoing primary provider. The GP will have ongoing access to support and advice from the outpatient clinic team after the patient has been discharged and may re-refer as needed.
Intake and triage
All referrals to the MCC will be triaged by clinicians for suitability and urgency. All accepted referrals will receive an initial telehealth/phone intake consultation to assist the prioritisation process.
Referring clinicians will be notified in writing of the referral outcome.
Accepted patients will have a face-to-face clinic appointment allocated. Before the clinic appointment, the referring clinician will be invited to a brief, phone-based multidisciplinary meeting to discuss the care needs of the individual patient. This attendance is Medicare-billable for referring GPs using Medicare item number 758. Please obtain the consent of your patient/carer, as appropriate, to participate in the multidisciplinary meeting to ensure eligibility for this Medicare item.
To maintain equity and access to this service for children in our region, GP shared care and collaborative management at discharge will be required for all children referred to the service.
Inclusion criteria
– Children and young people, aged under 18 years, with a suspected or diagnosed eating disorder, which may include Anorexia nervosa and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
– This service is for children and young people currently adequately supported by primary care (their GP) +/- eating disorder allied health clinicians.
– Resides within the Barwon South-West region.
Services not provided
– Ongoing case management for children and young people.
– Patients requiring broader eating disorder multidisciplinary evaluation and management, including mental health and allied health, should be referred to the Barwon Health Eating Disorders Service.
Page last updated: February 3, 2025