Referring Your Patient for Psychological Treatment
To make a referral you or the patient may phone the receptionist to schedule an appointment with one of our Clinical Psychologists. However if you wish to speak to the Principal Clinical Psychologist, Anne Antonios, before scheduling the appointment, please phone her directly.
Medicare and Mental Health Care Plans
If you think that a patient may be suitable for referral under the Mental Health Care Plan items, but require further information about how to make the referral please refer to the information below or contact the St George Division of General Practice.
Better Access to Mental Health
The goal of the Better Access to Mental Health Initiative is to create affordable treatment for people suffering from mental disorders, by improving their access to psychiatrists and allied health professionals. Under this scheme the role of the GP is to assess, plan and review the progress of treatment through a “Care Plan”. It encourages a multidisciplinary approach to mental health care by helping to structure the communication and liaison between mental health care workers and GPs. The Medicare Mental Health Care item numbers are listed below.
GP Items
Item No. 2710 - Preparation of Mental Health Care Plan
Item No. 2712 - Review of Mental Health Care Plan
Item No. 2713 - GP Mental Health Care Consultation
Psychiatrist Items
Item No. 296-299
Paediatrician Items
Item No. 104 – 109 (specialist paediatrician) or
Item No.110 – 131 (consultant paediatrician)
Psychology Items
Clinical Psychologists: Item No. 80000- 80020
Psychologists: Item No. 80100 – 80120
Patient Eligibility
All patients with a mental disorder are eligible to receive treatment under the scheme. A “mental disorder” is defined as a “clinically diagnosable disorder that significantly interferes with an individual’s cognitive, emotional or social abilities” and includes the following conditions:
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Approved Treatments
The Medicare approved treatments are those considered to be “evidence based therapies”, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy.
Psychological Treatment Sessions
Medicare rebates are available for up to 12 individual and 12 group services per calendar year. In exceptional circumstances (see below) a patient may be eligible for an additional six sessions. However the Centre for Psychological Services is a bulk billing practice which means there are no upfront costs to the patient.
Structure of Treatment
Psychological treatment is delivered in two sets of six sessions (Item 2710). An additional set of six sessions may be claimed in exceptional circumstances following a second review (2712). To access the exceptional circumstances provisions, the patient’s treatment should have fundamentally changed during the course of treatment. The GP is required to perform a second review session (Item 2712) and make notes of the cause of the circumstances in the patient’s notes as well as advise the provider of the existence of the exceptional circumstance.
Reporting Requirements for Psychologists
Under this Medicare Scheme, the treating Psychologist is a required to provide a written report to the referring GP providing the following information at the end of the sixth and 12th session OR on completion of the course of treatment. The patient information provided to the GP should include assessment, treatment and future recommendations.