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MyMedicare

MyMedicare promotional imageMyMedicare is Australia’s new voluntary patient registration model.

It aims to strengthen the relationship between patients, general practice, GPs and primary care teams, improving equitable access for priority population groups.

Voluntary patient registration is a formal, documented relationship between a patient and their self-nominated regular GP. Under MyMedicare, this relationship will be documented on My Health Record. This allows a patient’s nominated GP to be identified easily by other health care providers and services, facilitating improved communication between providers.

Registration for general practices opened on 1 July 2023. Registration for patients opened on 1 October 2023.

Official resources for practices and their patients

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has published and is regularly updating its resources for general practices and health care providers and for patients. These include:

For practices:

For patients:

What are the benefits of MyMedicare?

  • For practices

    MyMedicare aims to strengthen the relationship between patients, their general practice, GP and primary care teams. It formalises the GP’s role as central care provider, and unlocks significant benefits, including:

    • access to more comprehensive information from other providers about regular patients, and a reduction in the fragmentation of care
    • additional funding that is not restricted by fee-for-service, allowing greater flexibility in providing alternative models of care tailored to patient health needs
    • greater support for practices and others who provide services in aged care homes.
  • For patients

    Registration to MyMedicare helps patients access best-practice care across the health system. Benefits include:

    • being able to choose and remain with a regular GP, strengthening the patient-doctor relationship
    • increasing options for access to a GP and health care team, whether it’s face-to-face or via telehealth
    • improving communication between patients, GP, specialists and hospitals.
  • For the health system

    MyMedicare is an important element in building:

    • greater continuity of care and improving patient outcomes
    • increased capacity for multi-disciplinary teamwork in primary care
    • improved communication between providers and reducing duplication of services
    • targeted support for residents in aged care homes, and patients who frequently present to hospital.

How to register

  • For practices

    To be eligible for MyMedicare, general practices must:

    • Provide Medicare-funded services.
    • Be accredited against the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme. Non-accredited practices will have 12 months to register with an accreditation agency and gain accreditation.
    • Be registered in:
    • Practices registered before 1 October 2023 need to add MyMedicare as a program in their Organisation Register in HPOS, so patients can register with them. This step is incorporated for practices registering after that date.

    An accreditation exemption is available until 30 June 2025 for non-accredited practices (including sole providers) who deliver general practice services through mobile and outreach models:

    • in rural settings
    • in residential aged care
    • in disability residential settings
    • to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients
    • to people experiencing homelessness.

    Resources to help your practice register

  • For patients

    MyMedicare is open for voluntary registration to Australians with a valid Medicare card or a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Veteran card.

    Registering with MyMedicare will tell your general practice that you see them as your regular care team and this will help them to provide you with better care. You’ll be able to access longer telephone telehealth consultations with any GP at your registered practice and they will receive funding from the Australian Government to deliver the care you need.

    The registration process may be different depending on your personal situation and the type of practice you attend. Please visit the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care website: MyMedicare – information for patients to get started.

Key dates and notes

  • November 2023 – MBS items linked to MyMedicare, bulk billing incentives increased

    • Access to levels C and D telephone consultations for registered patients.
    • Access to triple bulk billing incentive for levels C, D and E (video only) telehealth consultations for registered patients under 16 years and Commonwealth concession card holders.
    • Removal of red tape for telehealth: no need to meet the 12-month rule for registered patients.

    Visit MBS Online for more information.

  • July 2024 – General practice in aged care incentive

    • From 1 July 2024, GPs and practices registered in MyMedicare will receive incentives for providing their registered patients who permanently live in a residential aged care home (RACH) with proactive face-to-face visits, regular planned reviews, and coordinated care planning, improving continuity of care and reducing avoidable hospitalisations.
    • RACH residents will be required to be registered in MyMedicare and the GP linked to the patient’s registered practice for GPs to access this incentive.
    • This incentive, to be known as the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive will replace the GP Aged Care Access Incentive from 1 July 2024.
    • The payments are:
      • $300 per patient, per year, paid to the responsible provider.
      • $130 per patient, per year, paid to the practice.
      • The $300 and $130 incentives are per patient, per year, paid quarterly.
    • To receive the $300 incentive, GPs must be registered in MyMedicare and provide a (RACH) patient at least 8 visits over a 12-month period. The consultations must be twice per quarter, in separate calendar months. One of the 2 visits each quarter, however, can be by another GP within the same practice, a registrar, a nurse practitioner, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or worker (see fact sheet here).
    • GPs must also deliver 2 care planning services over a 12-month period, which includes a range of Medicare Benefits Schedule items across several categories.
    • General practices, which can register for the new incentive through MyMedicare from 1 July 2024, will receive $130 per eligible patient.
    • The General Practice in Aged Care Incentive has no limit to the number of patients a GP can visit, unlike the current aged care incentive which is capped at $10,000 a year.
    • PHNs will be funded to work with RACHs to match residents with a regular primary care provider in MyMedicare, if they do not already have one.
    • Program guidelines can be found here.
    • A list of FAQs are also available for GPs and practicesaged care providers, and residents and carers.
  • November 2024 – Chronic disease management items

    • Chronic disease management items will be linked to a patient’s registration in MyMedicare to support continuity of care.
    • Patients who are not registered will still be able to receive these items from their usual GP.
      • Removal of item 723
      • Removal of red tape (for example, fax back)
      • Rebalancing of items 721 and 732 (significant increase in item 732 and slight drop in item 721).
  • 2025 – Futher improvements

    • Additional patient cohorts are expected to be incentivised through MyMedicare in 2025 and beyond. For example: patients experiencing mental ill health, and patients in the first 2000 days of life.
    • Frequent hospital users incentive: New incentives for GPs to provide quality continuity of care to people who frequently attend hospital because of complex chronic disease. The aim is to reduce the likelihood of further admissions through enhanced general practice support.
    • This initiative will be trialled in nine primary health network catchments – yet to be announced – after which it will be progressively introduced over 3 years across the country.
Graphic showing MyMedicare implementation timeline.
The Australian Government supplied this timeline to PHNs in August 2023. Click to download a PDF copy.

Key messages for practice staff when communicating to patients

  • Reception staff

    • MyMedicare registration is voluntary and free.
    • You can still be a patient at this practice without being registered.
    • If you do register at this practice, you may be entitled to longer phone or video (telehealth) consultations that are funded by Medicare.
    • Registration will also help the practice deliver health care services that better meet your needs, including those provided by practice nurses and allied health professionals.
    • You don’t have to see a practice nurse or allied health professional if you would prefer to see your GP.
    • You can still see another GP at another practice should you wish but you won’t be able to access the longer (Medicare-funded) telehealth consultations.
    • We can provide you with a form to register with a GP at this practice.
    • (See resource here)
  • Clinical staff

    • MyMedicare is voluntary and free.
    • I can still provide health services to you if you don’t register with me (or this practice).
    • If you do register with me (or this practice), you will be able to access longer telephone consultations and may be eligible for longer telehealth video consultations.
    • Over time, MyMedicare will help this practice better understand your health needs and provide suitable services.
    • MyMedicare will help ensure continuity of care, provide a greater focus on prevention, and more funding to support a team of health professionals to meet your health care needs.
    • (See resource here)

How can NWMPHN support practices?

NWMPHN can assist practices with the following elements of MyMedicare:

  • registration with PRODA, HPOS, and the Organisation Register
  • practice preparation, including validating active patient lists and analysis of patient demand
  • change management
  • quality improvement activities linked to continuing professional development requirements
  • support for change champions.