On 1 July 2023, 21 new MBS items will be introduced for mental health case conferencing services for patients receiving treatment under the Better Access initiative. Six of these items will be for GPs to organise and coordinate a mental health conference or participate in one as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team.
The case conference must be organised by a medical practitioner (GP, OMP or consultant physician in their specialty of paediatrics or psychiatry) and involve at least two other members of the multidisciplinary case conference team providing different kinds of treatment to the patient.
Case conference participants can attend the conference face-to-face, by telephone, video link or any combination of these.
Medical practitioners can claim the relevant MBS items for organising and coordinating, or participating in, mental health case conferences once every three months for the same patient where clinically relevant.
For further information, please see the MBS Mental Health Case Conferencing fact sheet.
The six new GP items are listed below. Rebates are effective as of 1 July 2023. For the most up to date items and rebates, refer to the RACGP’s MBS online tool.
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Item number
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Descriptor
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Rebate
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930
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to organise and coordinate a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 15 minutes, but for less than 20 minutes
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$77.45
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933
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to organise and coordinate a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 20 minutes, but for less than 40 minutes
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$132.45
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935
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to organise and coordinate a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 40 minutes
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$220.80
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937
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to participate in a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 15 minutes, but for less than 20 minutes
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$56.90
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943
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to participate in a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 20 minutes, but for less than 40 minutes
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$97.50
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945
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Attendance by a general practitioner, as a member of a multidisciplinary case conference team, to participate in a mental health case conference, if the conference lasts for at least 40 minutes
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$162.30
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