The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) welcomes certainty that the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review can recommend new MBS items numbers for consideration.
The MBS Review is an opportunity to modernise Medicare to ensure the system prioritises the delivery of high quality, safe, patient care and new item numbers, in addition to revised items numbers, must be a core component of the review to reflect this.
RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones reiterated the RACGP’s stance that the review must not be about cost-cutting or budget balancing.
“News the MBS Review will consider and recommend new item numbers is a positive step for Australia’s healthcare system,” Dr Jones said.
“We have repeatedly said the review must focus on modernisation first and foremost and that if efficiencies are found, the savings must be directly and transparently reinvested in to the health system.
“We look forward to participating in the MBS Review and providing recommendations on new and amended item numbers to better support a range of general practice patient services including chronic disease management, telehealth, and prevention.”
Collectively, GPs see more than 80% of Australians each year but general practice spending represents less than eight per cent of the overall Government healthcare budget.
The RACGP recently released its Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system, which calls for an overhaul of current general practice funding and sets the tone for delivering more efficient and sustainable healthcare.