Posted on Nov 1, 2011
The three telephone fees (G10001, G10002, G10003) have been designed to increase Specialists’ capacity and improve patient access to Specialist expertise. The goal is to improve office efficiency, save Specialists time by ensuring you see appropriate patients, and cut down on patient waits for Specialist advice. Expected outcomes from using the phone to provide advice include:
- Better and more timely patient access to care
- Timely identification for patients who require urgent assessment.
- Improved efficiency and capacity for physicians
- Improved collaboration and consultation between providers
Click here to see some practical examples of telephone use and what to bill.
In the first seven months of 2011/12, uptake of the three telephone fees increased significantly over the same period in 2010/11. The number of billing physicians is 15% higher and the amount paid is 48% higher.
For Specialist Telephone Advice within two hours:
1,475 physicians billed this fee at a cost of $1,647,360 demonstrating a 16% increase in physician usage from the previous year.
For Specialist Telephone Advice within one week:
683 physicians billed this fee at a cost of $142,360. The number of physicians went down by 4% from the previous year though there is a 2% increase in the number of patients and 3% increase in the amount paid.
For Specialist Telephone Patient Management/Follow Up:
1,069 physicians billed at a cost of $648,780 showing an 11% increase in physician usage over the previous year.
