EPC MBS ITEMS
Information regarding the Medicare Budget for the EPC MBS items can be obtained from the Commonwealth website.

Enhanced Primary Care Medical Benefits Schedule (EPC MBS) item numbers.
There are 21 MBS Items which became available in November 1999:

• 700-706 Health Assessments
• 720-728 Care Planning
• 740-773 Case Conferences
  
  

Additional Items November 2000 Schedule
Additional items were issued in November 2000. A summary of the changes to the EPC items was released as well as the November 2000 Medicare Benefits Schedule.
The latest Medicare Benefits Schedule Book can be obtained by contacting AusInfo Shop telephone 132 447.

November 2001 Schedule - Tracked Changes
There are changes to the explanatory notes for the EPC items for the November 2001 schedule. The only change to the items is to Item 722 where the item missed the reference to it being a discharge item in the current schedule. Changes to explanatory notes have also been made and have been sent as an edited version for you to be able to identify the changes.

The issue of carer involvement in the EPC MBS items was raised during the post-implementation review of the items in July 2000. The specific issue was whether a patient's informal or family carer should be able to count as one of the minimum three members of a multidisciplinary care planning or case conferencing team. There were different views on this matter and the Department undertook to consult with carer representatives.

A working group was established earlier this year with representatives of the Carers Association and the Department's Aged and Community Care, Health Services and Health Access and Financing Divisions. Following consideration by the working group and consultation with representatives of GP groups, amendments have been made to the EPC MBS explanatory notes to clarify the involvement of carers with the EPC items (see What's New, showing amendments in track changes mode).

The explanatory notes now describe informal or family carers (in similar terms to the Carer Information Kit) and give guidance on how they may be involved in the EPC MBS items. The working group has also discussed the content of guidance for GPs in providing EPC services for patients with carers. Such guidance could eg:

• Highlight the value of carer involvement in multidisciplinary care teams;
• Outline the benefits to GPs of including carers in the management of patients with chronic conditions and multidisciplinary care needs;
• Provide GPs with information on how to involve carers in the EPC items; and
• Include case studies/scenarios.

Domiciliary Medication Management Review - Guidelines
DMMR will also be known as the Home Medicines Review. Guidelines have been sent to SBOs to be distributed to divisions as advanced notice. Collet te Murray spoke about the new item at the EPC Network meeting on the 17th of August. The new MBS item 900 has been approved and will be included in the November 2001 Medicare Benefits Schedule. It is likely that the new item will be gazetted to be avail able from 1 October.

This Guidance is currently being finalised for design, printing and distribution. It is expected that initial copies of the Guidance will be distributed through Divisions of General Practice. The Guidance will also be a key resource for Medication Management Review Facilitators who will be employed in Divisions to support the operation of DMMR.

Practice Incentive Payment
The former Minister for Health and Aged Care, Dr Wooldridge, announced a new practice incentive payment which will reward GPs who provide Care Planning and Case Conferencing services to their patients who would benefit from them.

Care Planning Discussion Paper
Helen Yaacoub from Whitehorse Division has prepared a discussion paper identifying the issues expressed by GP members about the Care Planning Incentive Payment.

Kits and Brochures
RACGP kits can be obtained by contacting Graham Clark at g.clark@gpdv.com.au.

Consumer and Allied health brochures can be obtained by contacting Karen Large at the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

Frequently Asked Questions
The EPC MBS Items have generated many questions. GPDV will have an ongoing roll in providing a Helpdesk to divisions to seek answers to questions about the items. GPDV is advocating through ADGP and the EPC task force for the Commonwealth Medicare Branch to regularly update the question and answers website.

Visit the Commonwealth website for Question and Answers. (Please note this site is not regularly updated)

Also, a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions collated by QLD SBO which may be more current.

GPDV has collated a series of questions and answers for the previous 6 months:
August 2001 Recently Asked Questions

To view the Portable Document Format (PDF) files, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click on the "Get Acrobat Reader" button to download it for FREE!