Telehealth bulk billing reprieve on the way

The Department of Health and Aged Care (DoH) will update contentious telehealth bulk billing protocols that GPs said were burdensome and undermining access to subsidised care.
 
The interim measure was detailed in a letter addressed to RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins on Friday, with DoH Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel McCabe confirming that the department would go ahead with her proposal to make DB4E and DB20 forms available in Rich Text Format (.rtf).
 
The letter also confirmed that the Federal Government will still explore legislative change next year to resolve the problem, but that in the meantime it is hoped digital assignment of benefit forms will now be better integrated into general practice software, making billing easier.
 
It comes after controversial Services Australia changes were introduced earlier this year, requiring GPs to fill in a form documenting patients’ verbal agreement to be bulk billed for telehealth.
 
The change sparked widespread anger and chaos among GPs, who labelled it ‘archaic’, ‘old-fashioned’, and ‘like a script from Utopia’.
 
However, under the new short-term solution, GPs should be able to pre-populate patient details into consent forms uploaded to medical software, helping to ease some of the administrative burden.
 
Dr Higgins welcomed the move, which go live in the coming week, saying it will give GPs more time to focus on their patients.
 
‘The administrative and regulatory burden on GPs has been spiralling out of control,’ she said.
 
‘The increasing administrative and regulatory burden is also impacting the sustainability of Aboriginal medical services. 
 
‘The RACGP will continue to work with the Government and health department to lessen the administrative burden on Australia’s GPs and practice teams, so they can get on with the job of caring for patients and communities.’
 
According to the RACGP’s most recent Health of the Nation report, 80% of GPs identified keeping up with constantly changing administrative requirements as a challenge.
 
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bulk billing bureaucracy