Medicare benefits are available for video and phone telehealth services. They are provided by:
- general practitioners
- medical practitioners
- specialists
- consultant physicians
- consultant psychiatrists
- nurse practitioners
- participating midwives
- allied health professionals
- dental practitioners in the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery.
They’re also available in eligible aged care facilities and Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) throughout Australia.
Read more about MBS Telehealth Services on the MBS Online website.
General practitioners and prescribed medical practitioners
If you’re working in general practice, you can only use telehealth items for patients:
- you have an existing relationship with
- who’ve visited your practice for a face-to-face service in the last 12 months.
There are exemptions to this rule if a patient is:
- in isolation or quarantine for COVID-19 due to a state or territory public health order
- experiencing homelessness
- under 12 months of age
- treated at an AMS or an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS)
- in a natural disaster area
- needing mental health support
- requiring urgent after hours service in unsociable hours
- undergoing eating disorder support or pregnancy counselling
- receiving blood borne viruses, sexual or reproductive health consultations
- getting MyMedicare attendance service items 91900, 91903, 91906, 91910, 91913 or 91916
- getting an eligible service from an eligible urgent care clinic.
Video conference services are preferred when a patient is unable to attend a face-to-face consultation. Health professionals can also offer audio-only services through telephone where clinically appropriate.
Separate items are available for the audio-only services. No specific equipment is required to provide Medicare-compliant telehealth services. Health professionals must ensure they meet the clinical requirements and satisfy privacy laws. The MBS telehealth items have the same clinical requirements as the corresponding face-to-face consultation items.
A health professional with a Medicare provider number can also be with the patient during the telehealth consultation to provide clinical support. This is a supported consultation. Only limited health professionals can claim a Medicare item for this service.
Telehealth areas
Check the item description for the service being provided.
Geographic requirements may refer to either or both of the following situations:
- the patient is at least 15km by road from the health professional at the time of their telehealth appointment
- the patient is in a telehealth eligible area.
To check if a location is eligible, use the DoctorConnect Health Workforce Locator map on the Department of Health and Aged Care website. Select Modified Monash Model and enter the address of your patient’s location during the consultation.
There may be exceptions to geographic requirements if a patient is any of the following:
- living in an eligible residential aged care facility
- at an eligible AMS
- at an eligible ACCHS.
To be considered an eligible AMS or ACCHS, the practice must hold a current exemption granted under section 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
To learn more about s19(2) exemptions, see COAG Section 19(2) Exemptions Initiative on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.