South Western Sydney patients are no longer exempt from the “existing relationship requirement” for MBS telehealth services after the region was taken off the Commonwealth-declared hotspot list on Monday, 18 October.
The temporary MBS telehealth items put in place to reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide protection for patients and healthcare providers, will continue to be available until 31 December 2021.
Under current requirements, GPs can only perform a telehealth or telephone service where they have an established clinical relationship with the patient.
There are limited exemptions to this requirement, including:
- the patient is in COVID-19 isolation because of a State or Territory public health order
- the patient is in COVID-19 quarantine because of a State or Territory public health order
- the patient is located in a Commonwealth-declared COVID-19 hotspot
This means that people who are not in isolation or quarantine, and are in a location which is no longer a Commonwealth-declared hotspot, are no longer be regarded as in a COVID-19 impacted area for the purposes of being exempt from the existing relationship requirement.
The MBS items for people in COVID-19 hotspots which are no longer in effect in South Western Sydney are 92746 and 92747.
What is COVID-19 isolation?
A person with COVID-19 or suspected to have it must enter mandatory isolation.
What is COVID-19 quarantine?
When a person is well but may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, they are required to isolate from other people to prevent the spread of the virus. The quarantine period is 14 days from when they may have been in contact with the virus.
What is a Commonwealth-declared hotspot?
The list of hotspots declared by the Chief Medical Officer is available on the Department of Health website.
Download COVID-19 Temporary MBS Telehealth Services factsheet