Oncology and Haematology

How should we interpret the word “access” in relation to the billing of item 14221?

13 July 25

Item 14221 – question regarding the definition of “access”Is access defined as inserting the Huber needle, or does access refer to each instance of the administration of different therapeu…

Do patients have to consent to be bulk billed at each attendance while having daily radiation oncology therapy?

16 June 25

Patients requiring radiation oncology therapy may require daily treatment over several weeks. Are they required to consent to assign their benefit for every radiation oncology appointment?

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If a patient presents at a public hospital outpatient clinic with a named referral from their GP and needs admission but wants to go to a private hospital, is a new referral required?

27 September 24

If I see patients referred to me in the public clinic, and they are unwell and require admission to hospital at presentation to the clinic as patients with chronic disease sometimes are, do I …

Can I bill to Medicare when a patient is in Australia but I am overseas?

8 January 21

Doctor A asked what happens when the treating doctor goes overseas for a week of conference leave while the patient is midway through a course of treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy…

How do I bill for a 3 day course of chemotherapy delivered via a pump?

18 December 20

This very common scenario is billed by oncologists and haematologists when delivering chemotherapy via an infuser pump such as a folfox.

The typical scenario is that the patient…

In a public hospital outpatient clinic does a referral to “Dear Specialist” enable Medicare bulk billing?

21 September 20

Question: If a clinic receives a referral to “Dear specialist” can this be used by anyone in that practice? Or if it comes to a named specialist, can that validly be used by another provid…

Do you get one item 132 and two item 133’s every 12 months?

31 August 20

Doctor A worked in a public hospital outpatient department where they exercised a right of private practice. They thought that they were not automatically permitted to bill item 132 every 12 m…

Can oncologists bill item 14206 and does it come under the supervision rules?

17 August 20

A practice manager for an oncology practice asked whether the oncologists can claim item 14206 even though it is in the assisted reproductive technology (ART) section of the MBS, because it ac…

Can a group of specialists operating under a single brand, but with their own separate practices, agree to charge the same fees?

1 August 20

A group of haematologists in private practice, who operate across various locations under a single brand with a central point of contact, asked if they could agree to all charge the same fees….

If a patient is having chemotherapy at a hospital and the doctor goes on holiday, can we still bill for treatment under that doctor’s provider number because they created and approved the treatment regime?

1 August 20

Question: Wanting to confirm that if a patient is on a chemotherapy regime at a hospital and the doctor goes on holiday, can we still bill the treatment under the doctor’s provider number, as …

If a specialist sees a non-admitted patient in an approved private emergency department, can they bill to Medicare and is the patient entitled to a rebate?

10 July 20

Billing to Medicare for non-admitted patients in public hospital emergency departments is strictly prohibited, even if patients have private health insurance and are happy to use it. This is p…

Can I bill using my provider number when a locum is covering for me?

10 July 20

Doctor A was an oncologist who understood that when on leave with a locum covering, Doctor A could continue billing as usual, even though Doctor B was acting as a locum and was providing all s…

Can we co-claim a consultation every time we do a bone marrow biopsy?

3 July 20

A haematologist said that he and some colleagues were considering personally performing bone marrow aspirates and trephines (items 30084 and 30087) and explained that the MBS rebates for these…

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