Dear Doctors and Health Care Workers
The government giveth and the government taketh away and then the government giveth back again!
I’m sure you are all as exhausted as we are trying to keep up with this ever-changing billing landscape, so I’ll keep this short and sharp, but as always, don’t hesitate to ask any questions.
The Federal Register is becoming so unwieldy at the moment. I actually feel sorry for the legislative drafters who must be at their wits end drafting new instruments and then repealing them a week later, all the while trying to keep track of what exists in which instrument. A lawyering nightmare!
Anyway, the key things to be clear about are as follows:
- All the repealed specialist phone attendances have been returned until midnight on 30 June, so telephone (as opposed to video) attendances are again OK. Here is the link to the relevant Determination https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022L00035 and the fact sheet is here.
- The old loading items have not been returned and are unlikely to ever be. These were items 99, 112, 149 etc. Please adjust to using the new Covid telehealth items forevermore.
- The new 30/20 rule has been repealed from today, but will be reinstated in 6 months. Here is the link to the Determination https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022L00035
- Specialist inpatient telehealth services have been returned and will operate exactly as described in Bulletin 55.
We look forward to your questions.
Hang in there!
Margaret and the Synapse team.