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The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) has 3 payment streams:
- quality stream
- capacity stream
- rural support stream
Each incentive falls under one of these payment streams.
Quality stream
Quality stream incentives support practices and practitioners to improve patient outcomes and deliver best practice care.
The following table shows the payment types for the PIP Indigenous Health Incentive (PIP IHI).
| Payment | Description |
|---|---|
| Sign on payment | This is a once only payment. Practices agree to undertake specified activities to improve the care of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with a chronic condition or mental disorder. |
| Outcome payment Tier 1 | A payment to practices that meet the requirements of the Tier 1 Outcome payment within a 12 month assessment period. |
| Outcome payment Tier 2 | A payment to practices for providing a target level of care for a registered patient within a 12 month assessment period. |
To access information about the Outcome payments made to the practice, you must register your Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients for the PIP IHI.
To find out more, including payment amounts, read the Indigenous Health Incentive Guidelines.
A payment to practices to undertake continuous quality improvement by collecting and reviewing practice data. Practices work with their local Primary Health Network to collect and review practice data.
Amount: $5.00 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) capped at $12,500 per quarter.
Find out more about the Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement Incentive - Guidance on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
Capacity stream
Capacity stream incentives aim to enhance the capacity of general practices and practitioners and improve access and health outcomes to patients.
The following table shows the levels and payment amounts for the After Hours Incentive.
| Payment | Description | Payment amount |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Participation payment | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 1. This includes having formal arrangements in place to ensure patients have access to care in the complete after hours period. | $1 per SWPE |
| Level 2: Sociable after hours cooperative coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 2. This includes participating in a cooperative arrangement and other formal arrangements. This is to make sure patients have access to care in the sociable and unsociable after hours periods. | $4 per SWPE |
| Level 3: Sociable after hours practice coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 3. This includes providing after hours care directly through the practice and through formal arrangements. | $5.50 per SWPE |
| Level 4: Complete after hours cooperative coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 4. This includes participating in a cooperative arrangement. This makes sure patients have access to care throughout the complete after hours period. | $5.50 per SWPE |
| Level 5: Complete after hours practice coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 5. This includes the practice providing after hours care directly to patients throughout the complete after hours period. | $11 per SWPE |
To find out more, read about the After Hours Incentive under Apply for the Practice incentive program.
Practices must meet each of the 5 requirements to qualify for payments through this incentive.
Amount: $6.50 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) capped at $12,500 per practice per quarter.
To find out more, read about the eHealth Incentive under Apply for the Practice incentive program.
Payment to practices for providing teaching sessions to eligible medical students. Practices can claim payment for up to 2 sessions per GP per day.
Practices can only claim teaching sessions provided after their date of approval for the PIP
Payment amount: $200 per session.
To find out more, read about the Teaching payment under Apply for the Practice incentive program.
Rural support stream
Rural support stream payments aim to encourage quality patient care in rural and remote areas.
The following table shows the tiers and payment amounts for the Procedural GP Payment.
| Payment | Description | Payment amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who provides at least one procedural service in the 6-month reference period. The service must meet the definition of a procedural service. | $1,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 2 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $2,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 3 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $5,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 4 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $8,500 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
Practices must be in a rural or remote location to apply and be eligible for the Procedural GP payments. To find out more, read about the Procedural General Practitioner Payment under Apply for the Practice incentive program.
Practices whose main location is outside a metropolitan area will be paid a rural loading payment. The Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Area (RRMA) Classification system is used to determine the rurality of the practice.
Once all incentive payments are added, the rural loading amount is applied.
The following table shows the RRMA classifications and the associated loading for the Rural Loading Incentive Payment.
| RRMA classification | Loading |
|---|---|
| RRMA 3 | 15% loading |
| RRMA 4 | 20% loading |
| RRMA 5 | 40% loading |
| RRMA 6 | 25% loading |
| RRMA 7 | 50% loading |
To find out more, read about the Rural Loading Incentive under Apply for the Practice incentive program.