MyMedicare and telehealth: what registration unlocks

MyMedicare is a voluntary patient registration model that formally links a patient to their usual general practice and GP. For telehealth, that link matters: registration unlocks longer telephone consultation items and stronger bulk billing incentives that aren’t available to unregistered patients (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing).

If you’ve wondered why some clinics ask you to “register with the practice”, this is usually what they mean — and it has real billing consequences for telehealth.

What MyMedicare is

MyMedicare is designed to strengthen the relationship between patients, their practice and their primary care team, with the goal of better continuity of care (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). It’s voluntary for patients, practices and providers alike, and a patient can be registered with only one practice and one nominated GP at a time.

Registration doesn’t change your right to see any doctor you like, or to be bulk billed elsewhere. It simply nominates a “home” practice, which unlocks certain MBS items and incentives tied to that ongoing relationship.

How patients register

There are two straightforward paths (Services Australia):

1. Online, yourself — sign in to myGov, select Medicare, open the MyMedicare quick link, then search for your practice and choose your preferred GP.
2. Through your practice — the clinic sends a registration request to your myGov, and you consent (or decline) from there.

Either way, registration is free and you can withdraw at any time. You need to be enrolled in Medicare, and you’ll generally need to have an existing relationship with the practice you’re registering with.

There’s no cost and no lock-in. If you move, change practices, or simply change your mind, you can update or cancel your registration and register elsewhere — remembering that you can only be registered with one practice at a time. Registering doesn’t stop you seeing other doctors or being bulk billed elsewhere; it only governs the MyMedicare-linked items at your nominated practice.

Registration is voluntary and reversible, but it’s not just paperwork — for telehealth it’s the switch that turns on longer phone items and enhanced bulk billing incentives at your registered practice.

What it unlocks for telehealth

This is where MyMedicare becomes concrete for telehealth.

Longer phone consultations. Registered patients can access longer MBS-funded telephone consultation items (Levels C and D) with their registered practice (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). Without registration, phone consultations are generally limited to shorter items — so registration is what makes a substantive phone consult claimable. How these items sit within the broader schedule is covered in telehealth MBS item numbers.

Stronger bulk billing incentives. There’s an enhanced (“triple”) bulk billing incentive for longer telehealth consultations (Levels C, D and E) for children under 16, pensioners and concession card holders registered with the practice (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). That makes it more viable for practices to bulk bill those longer telehealth consults. For how bulk billing itself works, see how does bulk billing work.

Because item settings and incentive rules are updated over time, confirm the current arrangements on the Department of Health MyMedicare pages before relying on a specific item or amount.

MyMedicare and the 12-month rule

It’s worth separating two things that sound similar. The 12-month existing-relationship rule determines whether a GP telehealth service is claimable at all. MyMedicare registration is a separate, formal enrolment that unlocks additional items and incentives on top of that.

In practice they overlap: a patient registered with your practice through MyMedicare has, by definition, a relationship with it. But registration is not a substitute for meeting the specific eligibility rules of the item you’re claiming — you still need to satisfy those. Think of the 12-month rule as the baseline for GP telehealth, and MyMedicare as the layer that adds longer phone items and stronger incentives.

Who benefits most from registering

Registration is worth most to patients who use general practice regularly and want continuity, including:

• people with chronic or complex conditions who see the same practice often
• patients who rely on phone consultations and would benefit from longer phone items
• concession card holders, pensioners and children under 16, who attract the enhanced bulk billing incentive for longer telehealth
• people in residential aged care or who are frequently hospitalised, where continuity programs apply

For someone who only sees a GP occasionally, the benefits are smaller — but registration is free and reversible, so there’s little downside to enrolling with a practice you already consider your usual one.

Why it matters beyond billing

MyMedicare is broader than telehealth. Registration also underpins other continuity-focused programs — including arrangements for patients in residential aged care and those who are frequently hospitalised, and links to chronic condition management items (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). The telehealth benefits are one part of a wider push to reward ongoing relationships over one-off visits.

For practices

Practices register through Services Australia systems (PRODA, HPOS and the Organisation Register), must be Medicare-eligible and, in general, accredited under the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme, with some exemptions for particular rural and outreach settings (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing). Once set up, the practice can send registration requests to patients and start claiming the MyMedicare-linked items.

Where the platform fits in

MyMedicare governs eligibility and billing; it doesn’t dictate your software. Once a patient is registered, a longer telehealth phone or video consult still needs a reliable way to connect. MedCall is made for Australian clinicians and lets the patient join a secure video consult by tapping a texted link — no app, no account — while registration, notes and billing stay in your existing practice-management system. The registration lives with Medicare and the practice; the platform just carries the consult.

The bottom line

MyMedicare is voluntary registration that links a patient to their usual practice and GP. For telehealth, it unlocks longer phone consultation items and enhanced bulk billing incentives for eligible groups at the registered practice. Patients register through myGov or via their practice; practices register through Services Australia. Because the linked items and incentives change, check the current Department of Health and Services Australia guidance before you rely on the specifics.