Prescribing Medical Grade Footwear (MGF) for DVA clients
Podiatrists are advised to check the procedures for assessing and prescribing Medical Grade Footwear (MGF) for DVA clients, to support best-practice use and improved patient outcomes.
This includes use of the correct prescription form, and fitting and issuing the first pair of shoes to your client before prescribing subsequent pairs.
Prescription form
Please ensure you are using the current form D0688 — Medical Grade Footwear (MGF) Prescription and not an outdated template. The form was updated several years ago (November 2015), with additional sections and streamlined procedures, but some providers may still hold the old template in their systems.
If your clinic has its own formatted form, please ensure it has been updated to reflect the additional numbered fields in Section A #20-23 and Section C #30-33.
A prescription form is required for every request for MGF supplies, shoe modifications and repairs, and it must include the date of each request. The same form used for an initial prescription should not be re-used for subsequent requests.
Delivery of MGF to DVA clients
The Notes for Medical Grade Footwear Suppliers requires footwear to be sent to the prescribing podiatrist for them to issue to their DVA client, as part of an assessment and fitting.
Where this arrangement is impractical, alternative arrangements must be discussed between all parties, ensuring the acquittal is undertaken by the assessing health prescriber as soon as practical.
Acquittal process
Podiatrists are advised to arrange a consultation with their client to check the fit of new or repaired shoes and ensure they meet the prescribed MGF requirements, before acquitting the order.
This assessment can be claimed under item code F019 of the DVA Podiatry Schedule of Fees.
This process is vital to ensure accountability and to maintain the warranty on the MGF supplied, and is necessary to assess the issued footwear’s function and fit prior to requesting additional pairs of MGF.
Instances of frequent replacement and/or multiple shoe modifications should be assessed as part of the acquittal process and review of MGF for a client.
Where footwear is being replaced sooner than the expected 18 to 24 months lifespan, both the MGF supplier and the assessing health prescriber should be reevaluating the most appropriate style and type of footwear being issued.
This process will allow a few months' time delay between the supply of the first and second pair of MGF, thus providing further wear time to highlight any potential problems with the footwear.
MGF suppliers tips and guides
- The Notes for MGF Suppliers (PDF 1.07 MB)
- The Notes for MGF Suppliers (DOCX 331 KB)
- MGF Terms and Conditions (DOCX 71 KB)
- Register of DVA-approved ready-made MGF footwear (XLSX 38 KB)
- MGF PowerPoint presentation for suppliers (PPTX 1.25 MB)