New campaign targets GPs at risk of breaching Medicare billing rules A new Department of Health campaign will send letters sent to hundreds of GPs over concerns about their billing practices.
Changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule: What GPs need to know A number of changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule will be implemented from 1 November.
RACGP rejects proposed cuts to surgical assistance fees The RACGP has questioned suggested changes to surgical assistance MBS items that would effectively cut payments by a quarter.
Medicare freeze continues to thaw – but not fast enough, RACGP says The indexation of consultation items is not high enough to cover the true costs or value of general practice care.
Changes to MBS items for knee imaging: What GPs should know Associate Professor Mark Morgan, GP and member of the Diagnostic Medicine Clinical Committee of the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review Taskforce, writes for newsGP about changes to MBS items for knee imaging.
Budget leaves room for improvement in general practice, GP says The Government has committed to meeting the needs of rural and older Australians in the Federal Budget, but there is still much room for improvement in general practice, Dr Edwin Kruys writes.
What the new after-hours rebates mean for GPs The Federal Government’s recent changes to Medicare rebates are designed to better reflect the qualifications of doctors providing urgent after-hours care.
RACGP welcomes changes to after-hours care rebates President Dr Bastian Seidel has applauded Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt for heeding the RACGP’s concerns and implementing evidence-based adjustments to after-hours Medicare rebates.
After-hours care not value for money The current structure of after-hours healthcare provision in Australia ‘supports the provision of comparatively low-value medical care and does not represent value for money for the taxpayer’, the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce has found in its final report.
After-hours services facing ‘day of reckoning’ The RACGP has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to launch an investigation into after-hours medical services following News Corp reports it is using unqualified doctors to treat patients.