A new pathway – ‘Guide to MBS Items’, has been added to HealthPathways, capturing on one page frequently used Medicare Benefits Schedule item numbers for general practice, including those related to COVID-19.
HealthPathways Clinical Editor, Dr Kate Allan, said the page was designed as a quick reference guide to the MBS. Its information applies Australia-wide, and updates will be applied when changes to the MBS occur.
Dr Allan said initially two pathways covered the relevant information, but they had been combined.
One of those – ‘COVID-19 MBS Items’, was developed at the beginning of the pandemic to guide GPs on the new telehealth numbers. The other – ‘Guide to MBS Items’, had the standard item numbers used by GPs when seeing patients face-to-face. The pages have now been retired.
The combined ‘Guide to MBS Items’ includes the latest information and item numbers, the most recent being ‘Telephone Assessment for Oral Antivirals for COVID-19’, which was added in the past week.
‘It’s kept very up to date,’ Dr Allan said. ‘All the common GP MBS item numbers can be found on this page. It also explains when you can and cannot use item numbers together.’
Other recent changes to the COVID-19 pages include:
- The ‘Acute Respiratory Infections (COVID-19 and Influenza) in Residential Aged Care’ has been updated to reflect the current environment for clinically managing both COVID-19 and influenza.
- The ‘COVID-19 Telehealth’ pathway has been retired and incorporated into the ‘Telehealth’ pathways.
- ‘COVID-19 Active Case Management’ – title will change to ‘COVID-19 Management’.
- Antiviral information on ‘Active Case Management’ pathway has been updated with the correct streamlined authority codes for July. New codes for August will be published on the pathway on 1 August.
- ‘COVID-19 Referrals’ – updated to include Local Health District restriction on dispensing of antivirals in preference to community pharmacies.
- ‘COVID-19 Self-Care Patient Triage and Support’ pathway has been retired.
- In development – a separate ‘COVID Antiviral Medications’ page.
Red Eye pathway update
Assessment and management guidance for conditions causing a red eye on a number of HealthPathways pages has now been combined in the one location – ‘Red Eye’.
‘The Red Eye pathway has a lot of good examination information – all the things to think about when you’re examining someone’s eye,’ Dr Allan said.
‘There’s really comprehensive management information for all the common red eye problems that you might see in general practice.
‘That includes the different topical and oral medication and the relevant doses, as well as information about how long you might need to use something before you would think about referring to an ophthalmologist.’
Mid and North Coast Localised Pathways
manc.communityhealthpathways.org
Username: manchealth
Password: conn3ct3d