The following ‘tips and tricks’ for organisations wanting to access the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI) was provided by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
- Bulk billing, fees and charges are determined by the participating GP and general practices.
- The practice must be registered in the Services Australia systems for the following:
- Provider Digital Access (PRODA)
- Health Professional Online Services (HPOS)
- the Organisation Register
- eligible GPs need to be linked to the Organisation Register
- practices must first be registered for MyMedicare and add their banking details to then register for the incentive.
- practices will register through the Organisation Register tile in HPOS. Further guidance on this is available on the Services Australia website to guide practices through the registration process.
- There is a specific list of GPACI-eligible MBS/DVA service items, subject to all other normal rules and guidelines.
- GP and practices are eligible for the incentive from the start of the quarter in which the patient’s incentive indicator was added.
- Make sure your patients always have a nominated Responsible Provider.
- Quarterly servicing requirements:
- 2 regular visits per quarter, each in a separate calendar month
- At least 1 visit by the responsible provider
- If providers don’t manage to deliver the required services in a quarter, don’t forget to make them up during the 12-month care period so you can still qualify for the Q4 payment
- Annual servicing requirements:
- Eight regular visits
- Two care planning visits
- Going through a sale, merger or relocation? Contact Services Australia to discuss any potential impacts on GPACI payments.
- GPACI vs ACAI (Aged Care Access Incentive):
- GPACI has no cap (the current Aged Care Access Incentive is capped at $10,000 per year)
- additional benefits under MyMedicare, including rural loadings and triple bulk billing signals a shift away from volume-based incentive to one t hat incentivises proactive, planned and continuous care.
- signals a team-based approach to care as some services provided by practice team members will be eligible as long as the majority are provided by the G (the responsible provider) that the patient registers.
- At least one of the regular visits within the quarter must be provided by the responsible provider. A second visit within the quarter can be delivered by another care team member, including:
- an alternate provider within the same practice
- GP registrar
- nurse practitioner
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or health worker.
Disclaimer: This article was provided by Department of Health and Aged Care. While every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate, North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network does not warrant or represent the accuracy, currency and completeness of any information or material included within.
