COVID-19 resources: MBS items and billing services

MBS item numbers

The Australian Department of Health has released the new item numbers for bulk-billed telehealth consultations and pathology services. Details are available here. PMS vendors are now implementing the new numbers in their software.

MBS explainers

Synapse Medical CEO and MBS expert Margaret Faux is providing daily updates for Australian doctors and practice managers about how to use the new COVID billing items and to whom they are applicable. Anyone can sign up to receive her daily newsletters every evening, not just clients, and they are also available on the Synapse website. There have been 30 bulletins posted as of April 20.

Margaret Faux's explainers on MBS items

Telehealth billing for individuals

Synapse Medical Systems has launched a COVID-19 “survival pack” for the use of individual GPs and allied health practitioners who have moved their practices to home-based telehealth operations. The pack uses Synapse's medical billing app and allows practitioners to send claims straight to Medicare from their phones.

Synapse says the pack means that solo practitioners literally only need their phone for both consulting and billing, with the rebate paid directly into their bank account. It is a fully serviced package that uses Synapse to follow up rejected claims, ensure billing rules are correct and MBS items are updated.

Synapse can also provide this package to public hospitals that are moving their outpatient clinics to COVID telehealth, but they need to contact the company to discuss their needs. The company's CEO and MBS expert, Margaret Faux, is continuing her free daily MBS items explainer bulletins, which now number 28.

COVID-19 survival pack

Claiming.com.au

Claiming.com.au is a specialist provider of Medicare integration services and is offering its API endpoints to developers of telehealth solutions who are rolling out applications to help with the COVID-19 crisis.

Claiming.com.au says it is able to assist developers of telehealth and other applications to fast-track the integration of online claiming capabilities into telehealth and related software.The Australian government has released new Medicare-funded telehealth items for both COVID-19 and general consultations.

Claiming.com.au has a simple set of API endpoints that developers can use to quickly add functionality for verification of patient details with Medicare, DVA and health funds; submission of bulk bill, DVA and ECLIPSE claims; and retrieval of processing and payment reports.

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details on the fast-track for COVID-19 applications.

Claiming.com.au API walkthrough

Synapps MBS

Synapps MBS is a completely mobile medical billing system developed by billing specialists Synapse Medical Services. The app can be used to help practices wanting to set up a bulk-billing COVID-19 clinic, whether on-premises or in a car park.

Synapse founder and CEO Margaret Faux says the app has the only compliant bulk bill function in Australia and it has all of the COVID MBS items updated in it. Users can sign up online, then download the app from App Store or Google Play and be billing within hours.

Synapse will then Medicare to switch the user's provider number over to Synapps and they can begin to bill.

Synapse website

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