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What is the Health Insurance Act? In 1973 the Parliament of Australia introduced Medicare, a universal healthcare plan. It provides for payments by way of Medical Benefits and Payments for Hospital Service for other purposes. What is 19AB and who is affected? To be eligible to claim Medicare benefits, Overseas Trained Doctors (OTDs) and Foreign ...

When first enrolled in an accredited Medical School*, were you a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand? If Yes, then Section 19AB does not affect you. If No, then did you hold medical registration in Australia before 1st January 1997? If Yes, then Section 19AB does not affect you. If No, then you are subject to the restrictio...

It’s so disappointing when we research a Doctor and see negative reviews that on further investigation point only to disgruntled patients who had to sit in the waiting room for too long. Does this make a Doctor ‘a bad Doctor’? Of course not! But unfortunately, your average patient is not aware of the patient that you just spent an extra 20 minut...

The first question everyone has asked themselves when looking through the Medicare Review Taskforce’s proposed revamp of GP items is the same. Is it bad practice, poor care or some sort of rort to draw up a care plan having spent less than 40 minutes with the patient? The suggested minimum time limit on item 721 — one of the care plan items whos...

Dr Tony Bartone, AMA President AMA president Dr Tony Bartone says a proposal to crack down on dodgy care plans by introducing a minimum 40-minute threshold has his in-principle support — if it comes with a boost in funding. The MBS Review Taskforce’s general practice and primary care committee is recommending rewriting the descriptor for Medicar...

The MBS Review Taskforce has finally released its draft plan for general practice, with proposals to introduce major reforms to GP management plans and a call to cut the funding for medication reviews. After two years of closed-door deliberations, and months of leaks and rumours, GPs and the wider public have been given a first full look at the ...

Australian HIV specialists say that although HIV diagnoses have dropped among gay and bisexual men, new data signals a worrying increase among heterosexual people. There were just 963 new HIV diagnoses across Australia in 2017, the lowest number since 2010, according to data from the Kirby Institute. But the report, presented on Monday at the Au...

RACGP councillors are potentially owed back pay of more than half a million dollars between them and are relying on members to approve it at next month’s annual general meeting. The college’s financial report, released last week, revealed that payments for ‘professional and technical’ services — such as advocacy, hosting events or talking to med...

Stroke patients recover better if they are treated for sleep apnoea as soon as possible after the cerebrovascular event, a study suggests. Speech, neurological functioning, walking and other physical functions all improve significantly when patients are diagnosed and treated for sleep apnoea after a stroke or TIA compared with usual care, result...

GPs final column discusses 'bollocksology' and cherishing thank-you cards. A BMJ columnist has wrapped up her final column for the journal with musings on life as a GP, including advice to doctors to call out ‘bollocksology’, that appalling workloads won't be cured by resilience and why you should cherish all your thank-you cards. In her last ‘N...