Under the Better Access initiative, if your patient has a clinically diagnosed mental disorder requiring at least moderate care support, they can access Medicare benefits for selected mental health treatment services provided by eligible:
- general practitioners (GPs)
- prescribed medical practitioners (PMP)
- clinical psychologists
- registered psychologists
- social workers
- occupational therapists.
You should register with us if you’ve completed the mental health skills training accredited by the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration. Once you’ve registered, you can provide GP focused psychological strategies (FPS) services.
Learn about the rules for patient eligibility for mental health treatment plans.
The preparation of a MHTP, referrals for treatment and reviews of a MHTP must be provided by either the patient’s usual medical practitioner or a GP or PMP at the patient’s MyMedicare registered practice.
If your patient has a previous MHTP, then you can either:
- ask your patient if they have a copy of the previous MHTP
- with your patient’s permission, ask their previous GP, PMP or treating allied health professional for a copy.
A MHTP does not expire. A new MHTP should not be created unless exceptional circumstances exist. An exceptional circumstance is when a patient has a significant change in their mental health condition, or you are unable to obtain a copy of their MHTP.
You can learn about billing mental health services.
You can check eligibility and look up item numbers through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items online checker in HPOS. Learn about the relevant MBS item descriptions on the MBS Online website.
GPs and PMPs may be able to claim for services under the Better Access initiative for a patient’s mental health care including:
- preparing a MHTP
- reviewing a MHTP
- referring a patient for mental health treatment services
- managing a patient’s mental health condition
- providing FPS services (if eligible).
There are rules on how often you can claim these services. What you can claim depends on both your and the patient’s eligibility.
Learn about these Better Access requirements on the MBS Online website.
You can learn more information and view infographic resources about mental health treatment plans on the Health Professional Education Resources (HPE) website.
Once you have completed a patient’s MHTP, you can refer them for a range of mental health treatment services, including:
- psychological therapy services provided by an eligible clinical psychologist
- FPS services provided by an eligible registered psychologist, occupational therapist or social worker
- FPS services provided by an eligible GP or PMP with appropriate training.
You can learn about allied health referrals for mental health care plans.
You can review a patient’s previous plan if it’s been in place for more than 4 weeks.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances, a review should not occur more than:
- once every 3 months
- within 4 weeks of a MHTP being prepared.
Typically, you will not need to do more than 2 reviews each calendar year.
Learn more about these GP MHTP and consultation requirements and using time-tiered professional attendance items on the MBS Online website.