November 2010 - Australian Optometry article
Common item numbers can be confusing
Medicare Australia is committed to helping you claim correctly, so we have identified some common item numbers that may be confusing.
- If you are claiming Item 10907, you need to make sure you have provided a comprehensive eye examination. This item number is not for a brief consultation.
- To claim Item 10940, there has to have been a presence of relevant ocular disease or suspected pathology of the visual pathways or brain. This item is not for doing the computerised perimetry as a routine part of the consultation.
- Item 10918 is not equivalent to a brief consultation. The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) does not specify a length of time for an attendance under this item, so it can apply to a consultation of any duration, including a comprehensive examination. This item should be used when a patient has to have one or more subsequent attendances related to a course of attention. However, if a new course of attention is required, then items 10912, 10913, 10914, 10915 or 10916 can be used, as long as a the patient's condition and the type of consultation satisfy the relevant item descriptor.
To access the MBS online, go to www.mbsonline.gov.au. The full explanatory notes relating to these item numbers are contained in section O6 of the explanatory notes on MBS online. We encourage you to stay up-to-date with the descriptors and the relevant explanatory notes.
For more information call Medicare Australia on 132 150*.
* Call charges apply.
Last updated: 7 July, 2011