Find the relevant item descriptions, fact sheets and explanatory notes on the MBS Online website.
A health assessment looks at your patient’s health, physical, psychological and social function.
There are MBS items covering health assessments for specific target groups.
Health assessments aren’t available to hospital in-patients. They’re also not available to patients in a residential care home except for comprehensive medical assessments.
Health assessment items
When billing and claiming health assessments you should consider all the following:
- time taken to complete the assessment
- complexity of your patient’s needs
- specific requirements for each target group.
The following table provides service descriptions, item numbers and the time required for each MBS item.
| Item numbers | Item name | Item description | Time required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 224, 701 | Brief health assessment | A simple health assessment | 30 minutes or less |
| 225, 703 | Standard health assessment | An assessment for when the patient needs more than a brief assessment, but doesn’t have complex health issues | More than 30 but less than 45 minutes |
| 226, 705 | Long health assessment | An extensive assessment for when the patient has complex health issues | At least 45 but less than 60 minutes |
| 227, 707 | Prolonged health assessment | A complex assessment of a patient with significant, long-term health needs managed through a comprehensive preventative healthcare management plan | 60 or more minutes |
| 228, 715, 92004, 92011 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health assessment | A health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients | No time requirements |
| 177, 699 | Heart health assessment | A health assessment for patients with cardiovascular disease or at risk of developing cardiovascular disease | At least 20 minutes |
| 695, 19000 | Menopause and perimenopause health assessment | A health assessment for patients with menopause or perimenopause symptoms | At least 20 minutes |
Learn about the common principles that apply when using MBS time-tiered health assessment items on MBS Online.
Frequency of service limits
Each health assessment has specific item requirements and frequency limits that apply to the relevant patient group.
| Target group | Frequency of service |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health assessment | Once every 9 months |
| Comprehensive medical assessment for a patient in a residential care home | Once every 12 months |
| Heart health assessment | Once every 12 months |
| Medicare Healthy Kids Check patients aged 3 | Once only |
| Menopause and perimenopause health assessment | Once every 12 months |
| Patients aged 45-49 at risk of developing a chronic condition | Once only |
| Patients aged 75 years and older | Once every 12 months |
| Patients with an intellectual disability | Once every 12 months |
| Refugees and other humanitarian entrants | Once only |
| Type 2 diabetes risk evaluation – patients aged 40-49 | Once every 3 years |
| Veterans’ health assessment | Once only |
Find out more about frequency of service limits on MBS Online.
Claiming limits
In some cases, you can do a subsequent health assessment in the same 12-month period. You can do them if your patient is eligible for another health assessment under a different target group.
To help us assess your claim, you need to tell us:
- which target group the health assessment claim is for
- the date the patient entered the residential care home, if you’re claiming a comprehensive medical assessment.
If you don’t specify that the subsequent health assessment was for a different target group, we’ll reject your claim.