13 FEBRUARY 2026 6 NEWS ausdoc. com. au
13 FEBRUARY 2026 6 NEWS ausdoc. com. au
GPs win $ 24 rebate for ECG interpretation
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Jamie Thannoo THE ban on GPs billing Medicare for |
who perform the service”, adding that it would cost taxpayers $ 24 million |
Former health minister Greg Hunt stopped GPs billing Medicare for |
ECGs, but Mr Hunt rejected it, suggesting the collapse in ECG rates could be |
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ECG interpretation is finally being |
over four years. |
ECG interpretation in August 2020 in |
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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undone after more than five years of |
While the Department of Health, |
response to a 2018 MBS Review report |
Another review in 2024 reached |
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campaigning by doctors. |
Disability and Ageing has not given a |
that claimed doctors were performing |
the same conclusion as the first. |
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From March, GPs will be allowed to |
full item descriptor, it has confirmed |
ECG traces and reports unnecessarily. |
RACGP president Dr Michael |
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bill MBS item 11714 for a 12-lead ECG, |
GPs will be allowed to bill the item |
The report had argued that ECGs |
Wright said the funding cut was a mis- |
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trace and clinical note, which attracts |
from 1 March. |
were rising 7 % a year without clinical |
take that had long needed correcting. |
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an 85 % rebate of $ 24.05 but has been |
Currently, GPs can only claim the |
justification. |
“ For GPs and for patients, this |
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restricted to specialists and consultant |
$ 18.25 rebate for item 11707 for an ECG |
But after the changes— which |
made no sense,” he said. |
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physicians. |
that“ does not need to be fully inter- |
blindsided GPs— ECG rates across gen- |
“ Why should patients have to book |
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December’ s federal budget update |
preted or reported on”. A previous |
eral practice and other specialties fell |
an appointment with another special- |
Dr Michael Wright. |
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said the changes would“ more appropriately reflect the responsibility and clinical duty of medical practitioners |
item for performing and interpreting ECGs, item 11700, had attracted a rebate of $ 27.41. |
by 22 % in a year. A 2022 inquiry recommended reinstating funding for GPs interpreting |
ist, often with a significant gap fee, to perform a check that is part of a GP’ s normal practice?” |
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Aussie GPs’ paperwork load lighter |
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RECOGNISE AND REFER 1, 2
References: 1. Juvenile Arthritis Foundation Australia. About juvenile arthritis. Available at: www. jafa. org. au / about / juvenile-arthritis / [ Accessed August 2025 ]. 2. Healthdirect. Arthritis in children Available at: https:// www. healthdirect. gov. au / arthritis-and-children-juvenile-arthritis [ Accessed August 2025 ]. 3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Chronic musculoskeletal conditions: Juvenile arthritis. Available at: https:// www. aihw. gov. au / reports / chronic-musculoskeletal-conditions / juvenile-arthritis # Livingwitharthritis [ Accessed August 2025 ].
Juvenile arthritis – HCP’ s program received grant funding from the Australian Government.
Jamie Thannoo DO Australian GPs have things easy when it comes to the pain of paperwork?
That is the conclusion of US think tank the Commonwealth Fund, which surveyed 10,895 GPs across 10 developed nations for its 2025 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians.
It found that Aussie GPs spent 15 % of their working time on administration, compared with 21 % in the UK, 23 % in the US and 26 % in New Zealand.
Some 32 % of Australian GPs reported being burnt out, of whom a fifth cited their administrative burden as the main reason.
In comparison, 43 % of US GPs reported burnout, with 44 % of these primarily blaming work admin.
Australian GPs may still be surprised to read the report’ s declaration that Australian health IT was responsible for easing admin pain, having enabled“ seamless communication across providers, practices and businesses”.
But Commonwealth Fund senior researcher Munira Gunja said Australia had a bigger focus on streamlining primary care administration than similar countries.
She pointed to services such as Provider Connect Australia, the IT system launched in 2023 so that practices could update doctor and staff details in a single website, with the changes automatically flowing through to accreditation services, secure messaging programs and government programs.
The report urged the US to adopt a similar system.
“ The US healthcare system is incredibly fragmented, and so it would be difficult to set up a similar program— but not impossible,” Ms Gunja said.