MyMedicare is a new voluntary registration method now available for patients and practices.
What Is MyMedicare?
MyMedicare is a new voluntary patient registration model aimed to strengthen the relationship between patients and their general practice, general practitioner (GP) and primary care teams by facilitating better coordinated and continuous healthcare.
Announced as part of the 2023-24 Budget, the initiative will receive $19.7 million of funding over four years. It is being implemented alongside a range of other health reforms, including funding for practice nurses to improve team-based care and new incentives to increase bulk billing rates.
Registration in MyMedicare is free for patients, practices and providers, and you can choose to register at any time.
Medical professionals can register their practice early through the Organisation Register in Health Professional Online Services (HPOS). From 1 October 2023, patients can now register for MyMedicare through their Medicare Online Account and registered practices can add the program to their practice registration.
Registration Benefits For Practices
By registering, practices will have access to more accurate and up to date information about their patients that link them as their usual GP.
Benefits include:
- More information about regular patients, making it easier to tailor services to fit the patient’s needs
- New longer telehealth items linked to MyMedicare mentioned below
- The General Practice in Aged Care Incentive which will support regular health assessments, care plans and regular GP visits for people in residential aged care homes (from 1 August 2024)
- New blended funding payments to support better care in the community for people with complex, chronic disease who frequently attend hospitals (from the 2024–25 financial year)
- Chronic Disease Management items linked to a patient’s registration in MyMedicare to support continuity of care for people with chronic and complex conditions (from 1 November 2023). Patients who are not registered in MyMedicare will still be able to receive Chronic Disease Management items from their usual GP.
Practices should be mindful of the impending changes and what MyMedicare practices will have access to.
For more information on practice registration, refer to the below links:
MyMedicare Practice Registration - FAQs
Services Australia - Register Your Practice Now
Registration Benefits For Patients
By registering, patients indicate to their practice and GP that they are their regular health team, which will help to ensure continuous care. Their linked information will also display in their My Health Record, making it easier for other health professionals, such as hospital staff, to know who to contact about your regular care.
Benefits include:
- Greater continuity of care with their registered practice, improving health outcomes
- Longer MBS-funded telephone calls with their usual general practice
- Triple bulk billing incentive for longer MBS telehealth consultations for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders
- For those living in a residential aged care home, more regular visits from their GP and better care planning (from 1 August 2024)
- For those who visit hospital frequently, connections to more appropriate care in general practice (from the 2024-25 financial year)
For more information, refer to the MyMedicare Patient Registration - FAQs resource.
Unsure of your practice eligibility or want professional advice about registering contracted doctors in your practice? Speak to one of our medical accounting experts today.
