New phone items for ‘subsequent’ consults with consultant physicians and specialists will be added to the MBS from 1 November, health officials say.

While full details are yet to be released, the Medicare funding will be available for nine phone items for consultations that occur after an initial consult, which often require longer consultations for ongoing treatment or for more complex follow-up, according to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

The restored phone items mark a reversal of the government’s decision to axe funding for phone services back in 2022, despite loud protests from the sector.

A spokesperson for the department told the limbic that while these MBS items were currently available either as face-to-face or video consultations, introducing the phone items would support patients and practitioners by giving them more flexibility around telehealth consultations.

The change was recommended by the MBS Review Advisory Committee (MRAC), which was commissioned by Minister for Health Mark Butler to re-examine the full raft of telehealth funding offered under Medicare since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MRAC found that while face-to-face care remained the preferred standard of care, patients should be able to access telehealth through video or phone if clinically appropriate. The committee also highlighted that clinicians must balance patient needs and preferences with regulatory requirements, clinical safety and effectiveness when deciding whether to offer telehealth and which modality to use.

The committee’s public consultation received over 450 submissions.

The RACP welcomed the decision to bring back phone items for subsequent consultations, describing the outcome as a win for patients and doctors.

“It’s a powerful outcome of our collective advocacy, ensuring telehealth remains a practical, reliable option alongside video and face-to-face consultations,” the college said on its website.

A college spokesperson told the limbic the former phone items, which had been introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, had served as a lifeline for underserved priority communities, particularly beyond metropolitan cities, and for those unable to travel, with mobility, financial or other barriers to in-person visits.

They said the items also opened physician access for patient communities without the means or technology capacity for video consultations.

The college, which at the time of the items’ axing labelled the decision “a backwards step for healthcare”, has long advocated for a reversal including through consultations and making telehealth restoration the centre of its pre-budget submission.

The department spokesperson said a factsheet detailing this change would be available in the coming weeks at MBS Online.