MyMedicare is a new voluntary patient registration model. It aims to strengthen the relationship between patients, their general practice, general practitioner (GP) and primary care teams.
MyMedicare patients will have access to:
- Greater continuity of care with registered practice, improving health outcomes
- Longer MBS-funded telephone calls (Level C and D) with their usual general practice
- Triple bulk billing incentive for longer MBS telehealth consultations (Levels C, D and E) for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders.
- If they live in a residential aged care home, more regular visits from their GP and better care planning, from August 2024.
- If they visit hospital frequently, connections to more appropriate care in general practice, from the 2024 – 25 financial year.
MyMedicare practice will have access to:
- More information about regular patients, making it easier to tailor services to fit the patient’s needs.
- The new longer telehealth items linked to MyMedicare outlined above.
- The General Practice in Aged Care Incentive from 1 August 2024, which will support regular health assessments, care plants and regular GP visits for people in residential aged care homes
- New blended funding payments to support better care in the community for people with complex, chronic disease who frequently attend hospitals. These arrangements will roll out progressively across the country over three years from the 2024 – 25 financial year.
- Chronic Disease Management items linked to a patient’s registration in MyMedicare from November 2024, to support continuity of care for people with chronic and complex conditions. Patients who are not registered in MyMedicare will still be able to receive Chronic Disease Management items from their usual GP.
Patients can register for MyMedicare from 1 October 2023.
Patients will be able to register with their regular general practice, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service or Aboriginal Medicare Service and select their preferred GP at the practice.
MyMedicare registration will not prevent patients from accessing care from other practices and healthcare providers. The longer MBS telehealth items and new aged care and frequent hospital users incentives will be linked to the new patient’s registered practice.
Patients can complete registration in one of the following ways:
- Patients can commence the registration process in their Medicare online services (Medicare Online Account or the Express Plus Medicare mobile application) and the practice staff can then accept or decline the registration in MyMedicare.
- Practice staff can start the patient registration process in MyMedicare. The patient will then complete and provide consent for the registration in their Medicare online services.
- Patients can fill out a registration form at the practice (or provided by their visiting GP), and sign the form to provide consent. The practice will then enter the patient’s registration details into the MyMedicare system to complete the registration.
Patients who register with the DVA Veteran Card will need to fill out a registration form at the practice as registration via Medicare online services can only be completed using a Medicare card.
A parent/guardian will need to register a child under 14 years and provide consent on their behalf.
Young people aged 14 – 17 years will be able to register and provide consent without a parent/guardian. It is important to note that registration for a child under 14 years will need to be completed at the practice.