Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Health, in writing, on 02 December 2019:

(1) Has the Government undertaken a formal investigation into the benefit of telehealth psychiatric services during and following natural disasters such as drought or floods; if not, why not.(2) What steps, if any, is the Government taking to encourage the use of telehealth psychiatric services in rural, regional and remote communities.(3) What financial incentives, if any, does the Government make available to telehealth providers who offer psychiatric services to rural, regional and remote communities.

(4) Does Item 288 of the Medical Benefits Schedule (telehealth) encourage providers to offer telehealth services; if not, why not.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Telehealth psychiatric services are currently being considered by the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce (the Taskforce). The Taskforce includes independent clinical and consumer representatives, and is reviewing all Medicare items to ensure that they align with best clinical practice. The Taskforce is expected to provide its final recommendations about specialist services, including telehealth psychiatry, in early 2020.

(2) Medicare rebates which support non-metropolitan patients' access to telehealth psychiatry services are a long-standing feature of the MBS, introduced in 2011.

In response to the bushfire emergency affecting many rural, regional and remote communities, new bushfire MBS items have been made available for MBS-subsidised psychological services for people who have been adversely affected by bushfire in 2019-20. Items commenced on 17 January 2020 and provide MBS rebates for up to 10 individual mental health services per calendar year. People can self-refer to an eligible allied mental health professional (GPs, psychologists, social workers and occupational therapists) and do not have to have a diagnosed mental illness or a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan to access support.

This complements patients' entitlements through the existing Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the MBS (Better Access) initiative, and the GP mental health and well-being telehealth services for bushfire-affected patients introduced on 10 January 2020.

(3) The Medicare rebates for telehealth psychiatry provide an additional 50% loading on the relevant face-to-face MBS attendance item.

(4) Medicare data indicates that the uptake of telehealth services has increased every financial year since the introduction of the first telehealth items in 2011. Over this time, the proportion of specialist psychiatry telehealth services (MBS item 288) has increased from approximately 24.5% to 40.8% of all specialist telehealth services (see table below).

Table: MBS specialist telehealth services by year

Source: Department of Health analysis of unpublished MBS data

* MBS item 288

** MBS items 112, 113, 114, 149, 16399, 17609, 2799, 2820, 288, 3015, 6016, 6025, 6026, 6059, 6060, 99