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There are eligibility rules for patients and health professionals who act on your behalf for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health assessment follow-ups.
Health professional eligibility
Either of the following health professionals can provide follow-ups on your behalf:
- a practice nurse
- an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner.
They can provide up to 10 follow-ups per calendar year. Once they provide the follow-up, you can claim Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item10987.
Patient eligibility for referred allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing services
You can refer your patient for up to 10 allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing follow-up services per calendar year. The 10 services can include:
- 10 of the same service type; for example, physiotherapy
- a mix of different service types; for example, one dietetic, 4 podiatry and 5 physiotherapy services.
In-patients of hospitals aren’t eligible for follow-up items.
Patients in the community are eligible for items 81300 to 81360.
You can claim an attendance item for your follow-up consultation with your patient.
Referral requirements for referred allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing services
For your patient to access follow-up allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing services, you must do all the following:
- Identify which services are appropriate for your patient.
- Refer your patient to the relevant allied health or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care professional.
- Write a referral letter.
You’ll need to write a separate referral letter for different service types.
You can read the relevant MBS item descriptions and explanatory notes and find out more about referred follow-up services on the MBS Online website.
Reporting requirements
Allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care professionals must provide a written report for you, including details about all of the following:
- Investigations, tests and assessments performed on your patient.
- Treatment provided.
- Future management needed for your patient’s condition or problem.
Where allied health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care professionals provide multiple follow-up services, they must provide a report at either of the following times:
- after the first and last service
- more often, if clinically necessary.
Where they provide only a single service, they need to provide a report after that service.