MBS Education for General Practice

Posted Wednesday 03 July 2024 | BFD Education

*New program*

With more general practice clinics moving towards private billing, doctors have never been under more pressure to bill correctly to reduce patients out of pocket costs. Understanding the array of item numbers that patients can receive MBS benefits for will provide additional time that clinicians can spend with patients to improve health outcomes.

This new two-day program is designed to cover all aspects of the MBS with day one covering the basics essentials to save patients money, and day two covering compliance and more in-depth components of health care, mental health, and at-risk patient groups.

Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided on both days. Dietary requirements need to be communicated at least seven days prior to the event. Late ticket purchases cannot be guaranteed dietary requirements.

The MBS book for General Practice can be purchased with an additional booking fee but will be available at a discounted price of $44 (50 per cent off normal price). Limited of one per attendee.

All slides and notes will be provided to workshop attendees after the event via a drop-box link.

Day 1: Registrations open 7.45am; Workshop from 8.30am-5pm

Introduction to the MBS book for General Practice, categories, groups, and explanatory notes. Assisting Doctors, Practice Managers, and Practice Nurses understand where to find the requirements that need to be met for each item number. We teach combination billing, billing processes, bulk-billing incentives, and split billing to provide patients with additional rebates for services.

Explaining the Medicare Safety Net to practice employees and General Practitioners allows them in turn to assist patients in maximising their benefits by ensuring registration and compliance with billing practices. Private health insurance and the benefits patients can access, many of whom are unaware.

GP Management Plans, Team Care Arrangements, Case Conferencing, and new material on Health Assessments 699, 701-707, and 715. Telehealth and Televideo item numbers and minimum requirements for patients to access. Documentation, short-cuts, autofills, and templates with an entire session dedicated to compliant patient notes and documents created for use of an MBS item number.

Day 2: Commences 9am-4.30pm

This session will cover Mental Health Consultations, Care Plans, and Reviews, and various additional item numbers that can be utilised for mental health patients. The new eating disorder item numbers and accessing ongoing services will also be covered.

Learn the correct billing of skin cancer item numbers as well as the latest updates on skin cancer treatment and dedicated item numbers. We will continue with procedure room item numbers that are frequently forgotten.

Understanding the audit processes of Medicare, knowing how to respond to a nudge letter, the Practitioner Review Program and dealing with Professional Services Review (PSR) will provide you with the confidence to know when you are compliant, simple responses and compliance acknowledgment is most important.

Medication reviews provide the practitioner an opportunity to maximise the patients benefits from Medication, reduce out of pocket costs, and improve health outcomes.

Reproductive and sexual health billings will be introduced including aspects of mental health services and item numbers. We will discuss smoking cessation item numbers, item numbers for Aboriginal Health and Nursing home patients

Finally, we finish off with information for doctors caring for DVA patients and benefits they can access above and beyond the normal Medicare item numbers.

Presenters

Dr April Armstrong is the Founder and Director of Business for Doctors and has been providing MBS education since 2017. She has presented at over 300 workshops, seminars, and conferences. April is a Fellow of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine with an academic AST and currently studying for her Masters at UNSW with plans to do a PhD in Medical Education. She continues to work as a locum General Practitioner as well as having her own practice in Western Australia. As a mentor to medical practitioners, practice managers and nurses who have become MBS tutors she continues to be passionate about the "Business of Medicine" and provides regular updates on MBS changes via social media.

Karen Pearn has over 20 years experience in General Practice with the last 13 years in Practice Management of 2 large busy privately owned practices. She understands the complexities of managing a business in health care including but not limited to managing the revenue cycle, overseeing different budgets, and ensuring that the practice has all the necessary resources to continue operating effectively and profitably. Karen has also worked as a receptionist and as a registered nurse has also held a Practice Nurses role. Having worked in different aspects of General Practice has given her the empathy and ability to demonstrate and encourage leadership and teamwork. She has been involved in 7 accreditation cycles at a management level and has a clear understanding of implementing standard policies and procedures that keep the practice running smoothly, while also responding to any unexpected issues that regularly crop up.

Dr Kathryn Eikenhorst graduated from University of Wollongong in 2011 completing her MBBS as a post-graduate student with an undergraduate degree in Bachelor or Natural and Complementary Medicine. In 2018 she obtained fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practice. She is a committed rural clinician having worked in rural NSW for eight years and more recently in remote locations practicing skin cancer medicine. She is now undertaking training sub-speciality training in skin cancer medicine and has a passion for preventative medicine and Nutrigenetics.

Dr Casey Going is a Queensland General Practitioner and graduate of the University of Queensland. He is currently completing his Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He has a special interest in internal medicine, Cardiology and emergency medicine and works at the Condamine Medical Centre and St Andrews Hospital in the Darling Downs. He is also completing his Masters of Internal medicine through the University of Sydney and has completed his Masters of Business Administration through the Australian Institute of Business. Casey is a toastmaster and enjoys public speaking which complements his educational lectures and presentations. Casey has a keen interest in the business side of General Practice and how to improve it for both GPs and patients.

Last updated: Thursday 15 December 2022