Participating Midwives MBS Item Changes

From 1 March 2022, there will be changes to participating midwives’ items. The changes are a result of the MBS Review Taskforce recommendations and extensive consultation with stakeholders.

The changes include a restructure of intrapartum items that will result in the creation of four new items (82116, 82118, 82123 and 82127) and amendments to two existing items (82120 and 82125). This change allows for management of labour in and out of hospital for maximum of 30 hours and better reflects the model of care that participating midwives provide. These changes will contribute to increased patient safety by allowing a participating midwife to better manage their fatigue through the earlier handover of care to another participating midwife.

The maternity care plan item 82115 will be amended to instances where the patient’s pregnancy has progressed beyond 28 weeks and there have been at least two antenatal attendances with the claiming participating midwife in the preceding six months. This item cannot be claimed if items 16590 or 16591 have been claimed for the same pregnancy, except in exceptional circumstances (as outlined in the explanatory note). This change will ensure the provision of high quality patient care based on the midwifery continuity of care model.

The postnatal attendance items 82130, 82135 and 82140 will be amended to reflect modern terminology by changing the term ‘delivery’ to ‘birth’.

Details of these changes can be found in the factsheet and quick reference guide.

Changes to Participating Midwives’ items