Reimbursement

Planning care and using payment schedules

Planning end-of-life and palliative care to support patients with a life limiting illness requires MBS remuneration to support care.

Key points

• Palliative care patients include not just those who are very close to the end-of-life, but others with advanced disease
• A range of item numbers associated with the Chronic Disease Management program are appropriate in the care of palliative care patients
• Multidisciplinary care and case conferences are an important strategy in this population
• To support care and reimbursement consider:
• Setting up reminders for care planning, case conferencing and advance care planning
• Schedule longer appointments for planned services
• Include Advance Care Planning discussion in health assessments and care plans
• Use general consultations to address unplanned care needs
• A practice nurse can assist GPs with planning end-of-life and palliative care services
• Telehealth items may also be an option for care provision
  
  

MBS remuneration to support a planned general practice palliative care pathway