ENHANCED PRIMARY CARE PLANS

What Is An Enhanced Primary Care Plan?

An EPC is a plan on the Medicare Benefits Schedule. The Commonwealth Government, through the Chronic Disease Management initiative, aims to improve coordination of care and provide a more systematic approach to the care of patients with chronic conditions and complex care needs.

An EPC allows for a total of up to 5 rebated consults, to any referred allied health practitioner, per calendar year. That can include a physiotherapist, podiatrist, psychologist, dietitian, etc. The 5 consults can be split amongst the different allied health practitioners, as needed.

An EPC can be renewed each calendar year, but you will need a new referral from your GP each year to access the rebated consults.

Summary

1   To access a Medicare rebate, you must meet certain criteria, and that is generally centred around ‘chronic’ conditions, meaning something you have had for more than 3 months.

2  You need to have the appropriate EPC referral from your GP.

3  Advise the reception staff that you have an EPC when making a booking. If booking online, please advise of the EPC in the notes section.

Please note:

Medicare rebates and Private Health Insurance benefits cannot both be claimed for these consults. Patients must choose whether to access one or the other.