COVID-19 Temporary MBS Telehealth Services

Note: Updated information outlining the MBS telehealth items available from 1 July 2022 is published on the ‘MBS Telehealth Services’ page here.

Commencing 13 March 2020 and extending until 31 December 2021 temporary MBS telehealth items have been made available to help reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide protection for patients and health care providers.

The temporary MBS telehealth items are available to GPs, medical practitioners, specialists, consultant physicians, nurse practitioners, participating midwives, allied health providers and dental practitioners in the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
A service may only be provided by telehealth where it is safe and clinically appropriate to do so.

It is a legislative requirement that GPs and Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs) working in general practice can only perform a telehealth or telephone service where they have an established clinical relationship with the patient. There are limited exemptions to this requirement.

GP and OMP COVID-19 telehealth services are eligible for MBS incentive payments when provided as bulk billed services to Commonwealth concession card holders and children under 16 years of age. All providers are expected to obtain informed financial consent from patients prior to charging private fees for COVID-19 telehealth services.

From 16 July 2021, the list of exemptions to the ‘usual medical practitioner’ rule have been changed to apply a nationally consistent approach. The current test for exempting patients who have their movement restricted by a State and Territory public health order have been replaced with three separate criteria; the patient is in COVID-19 isolation because of a State or Territory public health order; the patient is in COVID-19 quarantine because of a State or Territory public health order; the patient is located in an COVID-19 hotspot as declared by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer.

Commencing 15 September 2021, 40 new temporary MBS telehealth items (20 video and 20 phone) will be available when the admitting specialist medical practitioner is unable to attend their patient in hospital due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Recent COVID-19 outbreaks have meant that some medical specialists are required to isolate or quarantine for a period of time, limiting their ability to provide face-to-face Medicare consultations with their admitted private patients.

All other temporary MBS telehealth items are for out-of-hospital patients only.

Factsheets