MBS updates to introduce new chronic care phone items
05 Oct 2026
The new chronic condition management items — 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064 — will allow GPs and prescribed medical practitioners to prepare or review a chronic condition management plan by phone.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said the changes would give GPs more flexibility when providing ongoing care.
He said some patients may have their first assessment in person, while follow-up reviews could be suitable for telehealth when appropriate.
The new items follow changes to the chronic disease management framework introduced in 2025. These changes replaced separate items for preparing and reviewing GP management plans and team care arrangements with a single GP chronic condition management plan.
Another major change is the introduction of the Medicare Healthy Kids Check for three-year-old children.
From November, GPs will be able to provide the assessment using the existing time-based health assessment items 701–707. Other prescribed medical practitioners will be able to use items 224–227.
The assessment has been supported by the RACGP and recommended by the Thriving Kids Advisory Group to help identify developmental delays and neurodevelopmental differences earlier.
Dr Wright said the RACGP had been calling for the return of a three-year-old health assessment and welcomed the focus on early access to care.
Other MBS changes from 1 November include:
- Expanding ambulatory blood pressure monitoring item 11607 to cover blood pressure measurements and thresholds for children and adolescents.
- Allowing immunomodulating treatment under item 14245 to be provided by a qualified health practitioner on behalf of the prescribing medical practitioner.
- Allowing participating nurse practitioners to refer patients for bone mineral densitometry services under items 12306–12322.
- Allowing services under item 45518 to be provided outside a hospital setting.
- Updating item 18360 to give treating clinicians access to Xeomin as a third pharmaceutical option for moderate and severe focal spasticity caused by neurological disorders.
- Expanding the definitions of ‘eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker’ and ‘health professional’ for services covered by item 73813 for detecting certain sexually transmitted infections.
Further changes to diagnostic imaging and pathology services have also been announced.
MBS updates to introduce new chronic care phone items
Source: MBS Online; RACGP newsGP