Changes to Medicare Services Effective January 1, 2024 1. Smoking Cessation Support: 2. Continued COVID-19 Measures: 3. New Exemption for Urgent Care Clinics: 4. Extension of Pregnancy Support and Sexual Health Services: 5. Expansion of Telehealth Services to Hospital Outpatients: 6. Increases to Medicare Safety Net Thresholds: Always check item Read more…
Question: “Can you explain the implications of the 19AA restriction for overseas-trained doctors like myself who are considering applying for permanent residency in Australia? How does it affect billing under Medicare, and what steps do I need to take to ensure a smooth transition while maintaining compliance with the regulations?” Read more…
Having doctors with Limited registration in General Practices is a good practice. Finding doctors for Australian General Practice can be tough. One way to address this is by involving Limited registrants. While some practice owners find managing doctors with limited registration tedious, many regret not starting this process earlier. In Read more…
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…
Signature Requirements for Telehealth Medicare Billings. General practitioners (GPs) and practice managers across Australia have been grappling with a significant concern – the signature requirements for Telehealth Medicare billings. In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, where telemedicine has become a pivotal tool for patient care, the issue of collecting signatures 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…
Question: Hi Paul, I have a question and Medicare couldn’t give me a clear answer. With the 80/20 rule. If a doctor has multiple items in 1 claim, let’s say 3 items. Does that count as 1 or 3? Also if it’s counted per item does 10990 also get counted? Read more…
Medicare has introduced a new rule for Telehealth. GPs cannot bill more than 30 Telehealth consultations in one day. The rule came into force on 1 January 2022. The 30/20 rule means that if any GP bills 30 or more telehealth consultations per day for 20 days in any 12 Read more…
Question: Can a GP bill Medicare twice in one day for the same patient? Answer: Yes, a GP can bill the same patient twice on the same day if both attendances are reasonably spaced out in time and not being a continuation of the initial service. Attendancies must be reasonably Read more…
Guide to General Practitioners. This post is not legal advice but rather a recollection of Medicare audits encountered by the author. My name is Paul Soloviev. I have had 20 years of consulting career in General Practice. Why GPs need to improve Medicare compliance and minimise the risk of Medicare Read more…