Medicare confirms validity of electronic referrals A six-month push for information has provided clarity on the previously murky area of Medicare rebates derived from electronic referrals.
Medicare compliance is ramping up: What GPs need to know The Department of Health is cracking down on Medicare compliance. Medico-legal expert Sara Bird has some recommendations to help GPs.
No, it’s not OK for the government to use your prescription details to recruit you for a study Legal experts weigh in on the research ethics issue sparking debate this week.
New resource to foster patients’ financial health literacy A new RACGP-endorsed guide aims to help patients understand health costs and empower their discussions around medical fees.
New compliance letters to target bulk billing incentive items A crackdown on bulk billing incentive items is part of what medicolegal experts dub an ‘increasing compliance program’.
How are GPs finding the MBS changes for thoracic medicine? The Department of Health and the RACGP ask how changes to items for respiratory function tests and sleep studies are affecting general practice.
Declining rural bulk-billing rates a sign of worse to come: RACGP Falling numbers outside the major cities ‘show that Medicare is under pressure’.
Bulk-billing rates dropping throughout rural Australia The declining rural numbers come as the Government announces Australia’s overall bulk billing is ‘at record levels’.
Reducing value disparity in the MBS The RACGP has reiterated its support for time-tiered items for other medical specialists, and the simplification of case conferencing items.
Rebate increase welcome, but not enough: RACGP A $187 million increase to Medicare rebates comes into effect this week, but the RACGP argues it does not fully address long-term underfunding of general practice.