Unpacking the Australian Medicare Benefits Tripled – What Lies Beneath The Australian Government recently made headlines by proclaiming a tripled increase in Medicare benefits. However, the reality is far from the grandiose announcement. Let’s break down the key points to unveil the truth behind this seemingly generous move. The so-called Read more…
Thousands of GPs around Australia received letters from Medicare. Medicare asked GPs to review compliance with the rules in relation to item 10997. Provision of monitoring and support for a person with a chronic disease by a practice nurse or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner (item 10997) is Read more…
MBS rebate discourages GP Mental Health Consultations. The rebate for a 20-minute GP Mental Health consultation is $75.80. The rebate for 20-minute long consultation item 36 is $76.95. There is a dollar and fifteen cents difference in favour of the long consultation for any general health complaint. Some GPs decided Read more…
Summary in point form: Unless a GP signed up for a formal ‘shared care’ arrangement, 16500 is the only item available for antenatal care. For formally recognised ‘shared care’ GPs, item 16590 OR item 16591 are available. Item 16500 can be billed as many times as needed during the pregnancy. Read more…
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This is a brief guide for GPs on Medicare item 4001. Non-directive Pregnancy Support Counselling Service – Medicare Item 4001 is worth $79.70. The Pregnancy Support Counselling item is for:· pregnant; or· who has been pregnant in the 12 months. Item 4001 can be billed three times per patient, per Read more…
Home Medication Review or Domiciliary Medication Management Review (DMMR) is one of the least used items by GPs. There are reasons for that. Firstly, DMMR is perceived as a cumbersome labour-intensive item. Secondly, there are some misconceptions about eligibility for DMMR. In fact, DMMR (HMR) is a very useful and Read more…
The consultation items are time-related. 23 – less than 20 min, 36 – 20 to 40 min, 44 – longer than 40 min. There is a good reason why I call them ‘tricky’ because these items are not just about time spent with the patient. There must be an element Read more…
New MBS items for Heart Health Check failed industry expectations. The item is viewed as a fig leaf to cover massive cuts in funding for Australian General Practice.