A care plan or care plan review visit is an appointment booked by Cygnet Family Practice when you have a long-term condition such as diabetes, asthma and heart disease. There are certain criteria that need to be met for Medicare to fund the cost of these appointments. Since changing to private billing in August last year, we have promoted this appointment to help reduce the out-of-pocket cost for you. There is some confusion about what is covered by these appointments. Let me explain. These appointments with our nurses and doctors provide an hour where your long-term conditions are reviewed to ensure you are getting the best care. It isn’t for things like a new issue or concern. We check your medications, your blood pressure and pulse, review specialist letters and organise referrals to allied health. If you do have new issues, our nurses will make note of them and an appointment will be booked especially to talk about those issues. They are not “long-term issues’ and the bulk billing part of Medicare doesn’t apply to these issues.
For more information, please discuss with your nurses and doctors at your next visit.