The RACGP has warmly welcomed the announcement made by Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, that GPs will now have access to time-based e-health MBS item numbers, no longer tied to complexity requirements.
The announcement made last night in Canberra comes after significant lobbying by the profession for government to appropriately recognise the additional time required by GPs to support patients wishing to create and/or curate a Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR).
Professor Claire Jackson, RACGP President and Chair of United General Practice Australia (UGPA), said together the RACGP and fellow member organisations of UGPA have kept the pressure on government to appropriately acknowledge the vital role GPs will play if a successful national e-health system is to become a reality.
“The announced e-health patient rebates are no longer tied to MBS complexity requirements; this means GPs will be able to prepare both event summaries and shared health summaries with the additional time required counting towards total consultation time,” Professor Jackson said.
In addition to the announced MBS item numbers, Minister Plibersek confirmed the extension of the e-health Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) until May 2013.
“GPs who are yet to set up their practice with e-health capabilities now have more time available to them to get their practice ‘e-health ready’,” Professor Jackson said.
“A shared electronic health record has the potential to improve our patients’ health outcomes and their experience of the healthcare system.
In addition to advocacy efforts, the College has been working hard to develop standards, guidelines and resources to support GPs introduce e-health technologies into their practices.
“We know general practice is central to quality care for patients and our role in this initiative is critical. We thank the Minister for consulting closely with the profession to achieve a positive outcome for all,” Professor Jackson concluded.