New items on AMA Fees List include Telehealth items
In response to telehealth items being made permanent on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) on 1 January, 2022, the AMA Fees List has now been updated to provide corresponding AMA items and fees. The June update includes changes to a total of 277 items.
In response to telehealth items being made permanent on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) on 1 January, 2022, the AMA Fees List has now been updated to provide corresponding AMA items and fees. The June update includes changes to a total of 277 items.
The Fees List previously had only three main generic telehealth items and a number of telepsychiatry, general practice and ‘secondary consultations’ items. These have now been updated or replaced with specific specialist consultation items which align with the MBS telehealth items.
In addition, a limited number of private billing items (ie where no MBS item is available) are also included in the Fees List in response to submissions from craft groups, upon advice from the AMA Fees List Committee or where an AMA previously existed.
After years of lobbying for these reforms the AMA welcomed the announcement in December. The AMA will seek to work with the new Government to review the operation of these items and ensure that there are no service gaps for patients, including with respect to access to telephone-based items where clinically appropriate.
The current update also includes changes to three cardiac attendance and procedural items to reflect changes to the MBS items on 1 January 2022.
Changes to an additional seven items remaining from 1 November 2021 are also included in this update: four new items for Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS); 2 new items for Faecal Calprotectin testing for the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease; and one for Continuous Ambulatory Blood Pressure recording.
There are changes to a total of 277 items, with two changed item number and descriptor, seventeen deleted, ten descriptors amended, thirteen relocated to another group, 117 new items, one revised fee and 117 administrative changes (including corrections to spelling, grammar and/or formatting).
The 1 March 2022 MBS changes (including pain management and gynaecology items) are currently undergoing craft group consultation and will be reflected in the AMA Fees List as soon as possible. For information on the MBS changes please visit here:
Draft fees for some items that are yet to be published are available by contacting the AMA Fees List team at feeslist@ama.com.au.
For any enquiries regarding the Fees List please email feeslist@ama.com.au.
