Patient and doctors’ groups warned there would be a drop in bulk-billing and higher costs for patients – claims dismissed by the government.

In what Treasurer Wayne Swan (pictured) described on Tuesday night as a “realignment”, the annual indexation increase – usually around 2% – will be scrapped for November and held back until July next year.

From then on, MBS rebates will be indexed at the start of the financial year, the budget 2013 papers say.

The measure rips out $160 million from Medicare in 2013-14, and will save a total of $664 million over four years.

Health minister Tanya Plibersek said the effect would be “relatively modest”, resulting in the lost of an increase of around 60 cents on a standard GP consult.

She told The Australian newspaper that GPs could absorb the impact without having to opt out of bulk-billing – currently a record levels.

Suggestions on Tuesday that the indexation freeze would apply only to doctor rebates and not rebates for nurses and allied health items appear to be wrong.

In other reforms, from November 2015 GPs will be banned from claiming MBS rebates for a standard consultation and a chronic disease management plan at the same time in a bid to end alleged double dipping – a move that is predicted to save $120 million in GP rebates over four years.

And the annual general threshold before the Extended Medicare Safety Net kicks in, will also rise from $1,222 to $2000 from next year.

Under the scheme, Medicare pays 80% of out-of-pocket costs once the threshold has been reached.

AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said: “The government is getting sick people to help fix the budget black hole. People will pay more for their health care every time they visit the doctor. The sicker you are, the more you will pay.

“Even veterans will be hit. The freeze will hit health services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

The Consumers Health Forum said the heavier costs currently faced by patients was “fuelling the emergence of a two-tiered health system — one for those who can afford to pay and one for those who cannot”.

“Medicare is already under strain. We expect to see GP bulk-billing drop and even greater pressure on doctors to speed up patient consultations,” it warned.

Ms Plibersek said: “By targeting funding, prioritising spending and making tough but responsible decisions, we are ensuring that health spending is focused where it can be of greatest help to Australians most in need and at most risk,”

She stressed that spending on GP services under Medicare – despite the cuts – would still increase.

“The government is expecting to invest $1.3 billion over the next four years in additional funding for Australians to visit a GP.

“An additional 14.1 million GP services will be funded through the government’s universal health care system over the next four years,” she said

Source: http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/budget-2013-health-round-up?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Australian%20Doctor%20Breaking%20-%20send%20-%3E%2015/05/2013%2010:26:24%20AM&utm_content=&spMailingID=6146899&spUserID=MzAxNTg4NjEzOTUS1&spJobID=73569836&spReportId=NzM1Njk4MzYS1

Practices that see hundreds of patients a day could find that their doctors become the target of investigations by Medicare Australia as part of a planned crackdown on billing rorts.

Medicare has expressed alarm at the emergence of “new business practices” in general practice, so it is planning to closely examine any practice with four or more doctors who “may” have provided in excess of the 80/20 rule.  This benchmark refers to the provision of 80 professional services on 20 or more days during a 12-month period.

A benchmark known as the 80/20 rule will be used by Medicare to measure inappropriate claiming practices. To escape possible sanction, doctors will be called upon to prove they were practising in exceptional circumstances — for example, during a local flu outbreak.  Media reports suggest that Medicare has so far identified “at least” 60 clinics for investigation, despite the relative rarity of 80/20 breaches in general practice,

In the past Medicare has usually targeted individual doctors, holding them wholly responsible for Medicare claims.  But now the focus on doctors working in the same practice is being seen as a veiled attempt to target corporate practices and the perceived influence their management exerts over the doctors working in those practices.

Under its powers, Medicare can already target owners and operators who are legally responsible for recklessly, negligently or knowingly allowing the doctors they employ “to engage in conduct that constitutes inappropriate practice”.

However, Medicare has denied its new compliance program, which will run until July 2015, specifically targets corporate practices.  In a recent statement, it said “The focus of the project is on practices where four or more health practitioners are co-located.  There are a range of ownership structures and business arrangements associated with these practices. Corporate practices are one such arrangement and are not a specific area of focus for this project.”  The statement went on to comment on the results of anecdotal evidence from the Department of Human Services, which indicates that there has been “inappropriate billing and other examples of unacceptable practice by health practitioners” in some practices where four or more health practitioners are co-located.

Doctors found breaching the 80/20 rule will be referred to the Professional Service Review.  However, over the past three financial years only 22 doctors have been referred to the PSR for such breaches.

Source: http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/rort-investigation-targets-prolific-doctors?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Australian%20Doctor%20Newsletter%20-%20send%20-%3E%2024/04/2013%202:12:22%20PM&utm_content=&spMailingID=6014917&spUserID=ODE3MTI5NDI1MwS2&spJobID=71895802&spReportId=NzE4OTU4MDIS1

Medical Recruitment successfully launched a new Job-Board interface that provides the best possibilities in assisting candidates with many opportunities within Australia.  The new technology provides candidates the flexibility of finding the latest jobs and saving them for later review and the new Smart Keyword Search makes your vacancy easier to find.

Visit Medical Recruitment website and experience this new Job Board and its feature on www.medicalrecruitment.com.au

Register your vacancy now and be a part of the future!

John invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn’t help but notice how John and his roommate Julie looked at each other. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between the two and this only made her more curious. By the end of the evening she was convinced there was more between them than met the eye.

Reading his mom’s thoughts, John volunteered, “I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Julie and I are just roommates.”

About a week later, Julie went to John saying, “Ever since your mother came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?”

John said, “Well, I doubt it, but I’ll email her just to be sure.”

So he sat down and wrote: “Dear Mother, I’m not saying that you ‘did’ take the gravy ladle from my house, I’m not saying that you ‘did not’ take the gravy ladle but the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner. Love, John.”

The next day, John received a response from his mother that read: “Dear Son, I’m not saying that you ‘do’ sleep with Julie, and I’m not saying that you ‘do not’ sleep with Julie. But the fact remains that if she were sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now. Love, Mum.”

The gift of music for this Mother’s Day.  While wine and flowers might not last forever, Mum will be humming tunes from this concert all day long!  Major Ivan Cocking will lead the St John Ambulance Concert Band in a tribute to all mothers.  Located at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Bandstand.

When: Sunday, May 12, 2013, 2 – 3pm
Venue: Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha
Venue address: Mount Coot-tha Road, Mount Coot-tha
Cost: Free

More info: http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/featured/Events-in-Brisbane/index.htm?trumbaEmbed=search%3Dmothers%2520day%26-index#/?i=1

Mums skate free on Mother’s Day with any full paying entry! Share this moment with your Mum taking her ice skating. Enjoy a great day together with this different attraction.

When: 12/05/2013 to 17/05/2013
Public skate times on Sunday are 9am to 10pm. Voucher is valid from Mother’s Day until Friday 17 May. For public skate times on other days, please visit website.
Venue: Medibank Icehouse
Venue address: 105 Pearl River Road, Docklands VIC 3008
Cost: Mums skate free with any full paying entry

Simply print the special Mother’s Day card from http://www.icehouse.com.au/images/stories/medibank_icehouse_mothers_day_card1.pdf, fold and give to your Mum to take in and redeem.

Contact details: 1300 756 699

More info: http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Whatson/FortheKids/Festivals/Pages/955561a2-ceb6-4e9f-a6f1-baf54bc07e85.aspx

Celebrate Mother’s Day on the best Harbour in the World with Abba. Spectacular Costumed Professional Abba Tribute Show
• Delicious Buffet Lunch Selection
• 3 Hour Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise
• Sensational Abba Tribute Show
• Freshly Brewed Tea and Coffee
• Great views of the Sydney Harbour

A different way to have lunch with your mum and share this special moment.  Enjoy a cool glass of wine, some tasty food and the live ABBA tribute act. Finish off with some beautiful photos taken from our top-deck with the icons of the harbour in the background.

When: Sunday, 12 May – from 11.45 to 15.00
Venue: Darling Harbour
Venue address: Darling Harbour Sydney 2000
Cost: Ask for City of Sydney discount
Contact details: 02 9879-3942, Allan Berkopec (Rhythmboat Cruises)

More Info: http://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/16968-mothers-day-lunch-cruise-on-spectacular-sydney-harbour

This is a variant on the standard Scottish Potato Scone. It is baked in the oven and not fried like a pancake. This recipe perfectly suits a family & friends gathering.

Ready in 45 minutes
Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (185g) plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter or 64 gm
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/8 cup (90ml) full cream milk or pouring cream
• 125g cold mashed potato
• 3 eschallots, finely chopped and lightly fried
•  Good grounding of black pepper
• flour, for kneading
• butter, for spreading

Optional tweak:

• 2 small rashers of bacon diced
• 30g of gorgonzola cheese

Preparation method:

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together then rub in the butter with your fingertips (or slightly melt in a microwave).
2. Beat the eggs and milk together and add to flour mixture to make a firm dough.
3. Stir in finely mashed potatoes and pepper.

OPTIONAL: Add lightly fried bacon cubes and small pieces of gorgonzola cheese

1. Knead the dough on a floured surface and roll to a fat log. Slice into rounds.  This is a very soft dough which you can shape easily.
2. On a flat baking tray, spray the surface with oil spray cover with a sheet of baking paper, spray the baking paper and place slices on a tray.
3. Bake at 230C for 30 minutes (not fan forced oved) or 200C fan forced for 30 minutes.
4. Split open while hot and spread with butter to serve.

Medicare funding is in line for a major overhaul to identify ways MBS chronic disease cash can been spent ‘more efficiently’.  The Federal Government will target the ‘cherry-picking’ of MBS management plans.

One source was quoted to say, “It’s a big story. Medicare items for chronic disease underpin the viability of most practices and we don’t want to see that damaged.  One of the issues [for the government] has been about cherry-picking [by rival practices].  The evidence is mainly anecdotal but we all have stories of patients coming back from the skin cancer clinic with a managements plan and you wondering what it is all about.”

Re-jigging the rebate levels for the basket of CDM items, with the department raising the option of boosting rebates for patient reviews, possibly at the expense of the management plan consultation is one of the considered options.

“[Another] option is tightening up the item descriptors and making sure that the plans are put together by the patient’s usual GP rather than someone else,” the source went on to say.

That may mean more audits tracking doctors’ Medicare claims to ensure they have a proven history of providing care to the patient being offered a management plans.  The review comes amid increasing debate on the so-called ‘primary care home’ – where patients needing chronic care are tied to individual GP practices.

Leading the push for the primary care home, RACGP also wants voluntary patient registration and senior health officials have said the ‘time is coming’ for this policy to be introduced.   The college has also called for the introduction of “CDM plus” where enrolled patients with complex conditions, would have access to more Medicare-funded allied health services.  Doctors who are managing their care would also receive increased payments under this scheme.

However, the last major review of chronic disease management lead to major funding cuts to GP services, which resulted in harsh backlash from the profession.  Both the AMA and RACGP are concerned that further funding cuts would restrict access to ‘quality treatment’ for some patients.

Dr Steve Hambleton, the current AMA President, said, “If there are cuts then the government faces problems. There is a very real risk of seeing a blowout in hospital costs. One of the main reasons people are living longer and healthier lives is because of the care being given to them by their usual GPs.”

Source: http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/overhaul-of-chronic-disease-mbs-items-on-way?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Australian%20Doctor%20Breaking%20-%20send%20-%3E%206/03/2013%201:08:31%20PM&utm_content=&spMailingID=5725706&spUserID=MzAxNTg4NjEzOTUS1&spJobID=67875541&spReportId=Njc4NzU1NDES1

Recent research inspired Medical Recruitment to realign the company’s future marketing directions.  On February 15^th we officially launched the restyled branding with subtle final touches.  This was just the first big step-forward.

New Logo

The 2013 brand strategies have already achieved significant growth and Medical Recruitment deserved a new visual for the Head Office in Brisbane and on March 4^th the company installed new venue signage.

Before

After

It is not just about looking pretty. This month the company is launching a new look Job Board that will assist candidates to extract more opportunities from the Medical Recruitment website!  Check out this new Job Board on our website: www.medicalrecruitment.com.au and register your vacancy now to be a part of this exciting change.

And it doesn’t stop there.  Watch this space for exciting news to come!