Starting 1 November 2023, Hunters Hill Medical Practice will be introducing a Gap fee for telehealth consultations. This will include both Phone and Video telehealth consults. Such a fee was previously flagged to be introduced in February 2023, but was delayed by 6+ months while the changes were communicated to patients.

With telehealth now a permanent offering post-pandemic, there has been an increased shift towards electronic consultations with these requiring the same time as in-person consults and thus occupying quite a large slice of a doctor’s appointment book. Many practices including local practices currently charge a gap for telehealth consultations. Such consultations currently attract a Medicare rebate for Medicare eligible patients.

Are telehealth consults bulk billed?

Doctors working from HHMP have accommodated online consults during the height of the pandemic by only accepting telehealth Medicare rebate (bulk-billing). The main focus was on patient access and service delivery for the community. We continued this service for 3 years now which has been a significant strain on doctors and practice resources. Such

Telehealth bookings block 15 minutes in the doctor’s day, yet by bulk billing these, the doctor is accepting less than half their usual fee. In order to continue to focus on quality, a desire to allocate appropriate time and significant cost inflation makes universal bulk billing no longer possible.

Please be assured that staff and doctors working at HHMP understand that patients face the same inflationary pressures and have spent a long time working out ways on streamlining this process and trying to keep gap costs to a minimum. As such, telehealth consult gaps will on average be about 15% below the usual in-practice gap fees. Consultations will be able to be booked by using the booking link on our website, by downloading the AMS connect App (Apple or Android) or by calling 9817 2080. Please see the example below for more information.

An example of how the fees will work for a standard consult from November 2023

The most common consult both in person or via telehealth when you see a GP is the “Standard Consult”. The example below will help you understand the gaps.

The Medicare rebate for a standard consult is about $42.

The doctor’s fee at HHMP for an in-person standard consult is $105 (so $110 – $42 = $68 gap).

The doctor’s fee at HHMP for a telehealth standard consult will be $90 (so $95 – $42 = $53 gap).

Those in need will continue to be bulk-billed ($0 gap) using a tighter criteria that will be constantly reviewed.

Other consultation types

These gaps will be smaller than the example noted above (less than $50) for a brief consult and larger (more than $50) for longer consults or mental health plans and the like.

The fees and gaps are proportionate to the length of the consult and resultant Medicare rebate.

New fees for Prescription and referral renewals without  a consultation will start 1 November 2023

The other significant change to fees is that doctors working from HHMP will begin charging for Prescription requests and referral requests conducted without a consultation. Such a change was flagged to begin in February 2023, but again this was delayed by 6+ months while this was communicated with patients.

Prescription and referral renewals can be requested via our home page by clicking on the appropriate button or by using the AMS Connect App (Apple or Android). A set of rules will be displayed to make sure that prescriptions and referrals are issued in a professional and safe way. Some examples of the rules are listed below

• Only current practice patients can make such requests (not suitable for new patients).
• Patients need to have been seen in the last year.
• The referral of prescriptions is one that the patient has been given before.
• No referrals to new practitioners, antibiotics for acute illness, benzodiazepines, opioids or the like would be issued.
• No more than 3 prescriptions or referrals would be issued at any one time (prescriptions and referrals are charged separately).
• The usual turn around time in 72 hours (3 days) and urgent requests are done in about 24 hours (1 day).

What are the costs for prescriptions and referrals

Costs will be affected by the delivery method (electronic vs pick up vs mail) of the request and the urgency of the request (72 hours vs 24 hours).

Prescriptions (for up to 3 scripts): $20 for electronic delivery (SMS or email patient or pharmacist), $25 for pick up from practice and $30 for snail mail or same day request.

Referrals (for up to 3 scripts): $20 for electronic delivery (email patient or specialist), $25 for pick up from practice and $30 for snail mail or same day request.

Credit card details will need to be entered in-advance into a secure payment gateway (we do not hold your credit card details) and the patient will only be billed if the request is issued. If the request is declined patients will not be billed. Patients will receive an SMS advising them if their scripts or referrals have been issued or declined and an appointment is required.

In the interest of quality care and safety, the doctors working from the HHMP rooms have agreed to a relatively strict criteria. You may have a request declined, in that case, it is because your doctor feels it is best for your health / care for you to make an appointment for example if not seen recently enough, if a blood test is required before a script is issued or if a prescription has been discontinued etc.

We are here to help

Doctors working at HHMP have always focused on quality of care and providing patients with the time they need to properly address their concerns, no matter if they are privately billed or bulk-billed.  It is impossible to provide a quality service with a focus on medical excellence without charging a gap. That said, the staff and doctors at HHMP endeavour to assist those in need with reduced fees or bulk billing for select patients on a case by case basis. Please discuss this with your doctor.

If you have general questions about billings please speak to our reception team. Specific issues should be discussed with your doctor. Please call us on 02 9817 2080.

Starting in early February 2023, Hunters Hill Medical Practice will be introducing a Gap fee for telehealth consultations.

With telehealth now a permanent offering post-pandemic, there has been an increased shift towards electronic consultations. Such consultations currently attract a Medicare telehealth rebate for Medicare eligible patients.

Are telehealth consults bulk billed?

Doctors working from HHMP have accommodated online consults during the height of the pandemic by only accepting telehealth Medicare rebate (bulk-billing). The main focus was on patient access and service delivery for the community. This was complimented by such services as our highly successful local vaccination clinic. The provision of these bulk-billed telehealth consults to patients for over 2 years now, has been a significant strain on doctors and practice infrastructure. Recent cuts to longer consults make this even more challenging.

Telehealth bookings block 15 minutes in the doctor’s day, yet by bulk billing these, the doctor is accepting a 150% discount to their usual fee. This is no longer viable in light of our continued focus on quality and desire to allocate appropriate time and resources to patient consultations. As such, from February 2023, telehealth consults will incur a private fee, meaning patients will have a gap following the Medicare rebate.

Please be assured that staff and doctors working at HHMP understand that patients face the same inflationary pressures and have spent a long time working out ways on streamlining this process and trying to keep gap costs to a minimum. As such, telehealth consult gaps will on average be about 15% below the usual in-practice gap fees. Please see the example below for more information.

An example of how the fees will work for a standard consult from February 2023

The most common consult both in person or via telehealth when you see a GP is the “Standard Consult”. The example below will help you understand the gaps.

The Medicare rebate for a standard consult is about $40.

The doctor’s fee at HHMP for an in-person standard consult is $105 (so $105 – $40 = $65 gap).

The doctor’s fee at HHMP for a telehealth standard consult will be $90 (so $90 – $40 = $50 gap).

Those in need will continue to be bulk-billed ($0 gap) using a tighter criteria that will be constantly reviewed.

Other consultation types

These gaps will be smaller than the example noted above (less than $50) for a brief consult and larger (more than $50) for longer consults or mental health plans and the like.

The fees and gaps are proportionate to the length of the consult and resultant Medicare rebate.

Telehealth is not always best

The best way to interact with your doctor is an in-person consultation. This applies even when you are ill as the ability to properly examine a patient (with appropriate PPE if needed) is paramount for a correct diagnosis and treatment. As such, there may be times where the doctor may ask you to attend in person for examination during a telehealth consult. If this were to occur, you will only incur 1 private fee, not 2.

Telehealth consults are especially appropriate for a known patient with a known issue. For example, giving blood or scan results, discussing referrals or reviewing a mental health plan.

If patients have not been seen in the practice for more than 1 year, then they do not meet the Medicare “recent service” criteria to be able to obtain a Medicare rebate. These patients face paying the whole cost out of pocket or presenting in person. Paying the whole cost out of pocket may at times not activate special item numbers such as a mental health plans and at such times an in person review is in the best interests of the patient.

We are here to help

Doctors working at HHMP have always focused on quality of care and providing patients with the time they need to properly address their concerns, no matter if they are privately billed or bulk-billed.  It is impossible to provide a quality service with a focus on medical excellence without charging a gap. That said, the staff and doctors at HHMP endeavour to assist those in need with reduced fees or bulk billing for select patients on a case by case basis. Please discuss this with your doctor.

If you have general questions about billings please speak to our reception team. Specific issues should be discussed with your doctor. Please call us on 02 9817 2080.

Starting in early February 2023, Hunters Hill Medical Practice will be introducing some new charges for the following:

• Telehealth consultations (will have a gap, so no longer bulk billed)
• Prescriptions without a consult (a $20 fee will be introduced)
• Referral without a consult (a $20 fee will be introduced)

With telehealth becoming a more permanent feature of the medical landscape, there has been an increased shift toward electronic consultations and electronic requests for prescriptions and referrals. Doctors working from HHMP have accommodated this as much a possible during the height of the pandemic with a focus on patient care and service delivery. The provision of bulk-billed telehealth to patients for over 2 years now, has been a significant strain on these doctors and the practice infrastructure as a whole. Recent cuts to longer consults make this even more challenging.

The Problem with Bulk-Billing

As many already know, bulk-billing is not a viable way to run a quality medical service that allocates appropriate time and resources to patient consultations. It also makes it harder to attract quality doctors to work from our clinic. This coupled with the recent world-wide inflation leading to significant increases in input costs: equipment, consumables and staff has meant, that the introduction of fees or gaps to the above services can no longer be delayed.

The introduction of a fee for scripts and referrals is also needed as these require time to create and send. Completing scripts and referrals in a timely and safe way adds many unpaid doctor and staff hours. A quick Google Search of similar practices will show that such fees and gaps have been a common feature of the General Practice landscape for the last few years.

Please be assured that staff and doctors working at HHMP understand that patients face the same inflationary issues and have spent a long time working out ways on streamlining this process and trying to keep out of pocket costs to a minimum. Over the next few weeks, multiple posts will be added that explain the above in more detail and set out the rules for each.

Supporting those in need

Doctors working at HHMP have always focussed quality of care and providing patients with the time they need to properly address their concerns, no matter if they are privately billed or bulk-billed.  It is impossible to provide a quality service with a focus on medical excellence without charging a gap. That said, the staff and doctors at HHMP endeavour to assist those in need with reduced fees or bulk billing for select patients on a case by case basis. Please discuss this with your doctor.

Do you have any questions

If you have general questions about billings please speak to our reception team. Specific issues should be discussed with your doctor. Please call us on 02 9817 2080.

HHMP has always focused on quality of care and improving services to the local community. With many families from the local Hunters Hill, Ryde and surrounding areas, we were very pleased to be featured on the Ryde District Mum’s Website.

A few quotes from the blog include:

“Making sure care is integrated and providing continuity of care is really important to Hunters Hill Medical Practice and is one of the factors that help them stand out and create lasting relationships with patients.”

“A comfortable environment makes going to the GP that bit easier, especially when kids are involved!”

“We also think it’s worth mentioning their big accessible bathroom with a baby change table and enough room for a double pram. Things like this make all the difference.”

“In terms of connected care, HHMP has it down to a fine art. This multi-disciplinary practice not only has GPs, but also specialists and allied health all under one roof.”

Ryde District Mums Instagram

The Ryde District mums team also did a great little HHMP Instagram Story. Please give them a like, we did!

Do you have any questions

The team at HHMP is here to help. If you have any questions, please contact us.

From the 1st of July 2022, the fees for most consultation types at HHMP will be increasing.

We have kept our fee increase to about 5% for most items. This is despite the fact that over the last last few years costs have increased significantly and in the case of some items by over 50%. Such increases have been widely flagged in the media and are the result of the increased costs over the last few years and the fact that the Medicare rebate has failed to keep up with the true costs of providing quality services.

HHMP has always focused on quality of care and providing patients with the time they need to properly address their concerns.  It is impossible to provide a quality service with a focus on medical excellence without charging a gap. That said, the staff and doctors at HHMP endeavour to assist those in need with reduced fees or bulk billing for select patients on a case by case basis.

Fees for the most common consultation types 

The above are the most common consultation types only. Fees vary depending on several factors, including, but not limited to, consultation time, complexity and procedure type. Procedures may attract significantly higher fees but will usually also attract higher rebates.

Bulk-billing is available for some Health Care Card Holders on a case-by-case basis and DVA patients. All billing is at doctor’s discretion.

Payment is requested at the time of consultation please.

Do you have any questions

If you have general questions about billings please speak to our reception team. Specific issues should be discussed with your doctor. Please call us on 02 9817 2080.