Medicare & RACGP will be at the GPCE in Sydney next month.  I'll be visiting
them both about this issue.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  Pity the AMA
won't be there, but then they never do any good for GP's in any case.

Cedric

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Greg Twyford
Sent: Monday, 16 April 2007 10:18 AM
To: General Practice Computing Group Talk
Subject: Re: [GPCG_TALK] Electronic Medicare Claiming / EasyClaim


Simon James wrote:
> 
> In any case, I expect that Medicare's first priority was to get this 
> system used as widely as possible as quickly as possible. If this 
> system was reliant on clinical software at some stage in the process, 
> I expect the result would have been similar to HIC Online, which took 
> a relatively long time to be accepted/deployed by both practices and 
> software vendors.

Simon,

First they had Medclaims, which took a long while to roll-out, then they 
laboured over HICOnline/Online claiming, which has long been 
under-incentivised, now we have the eftpos device. Same strategy, same 
lack of consultation with practices and testing before announcing the 
"newest, biggest, thing".

I think it will just confuse practices and get people's backs up when 
they realise how badly it suits practice needs, as opposed to the 
government's desire to:

1. reduce the operating costs of bulk-billing

2. find a way to make move away from high rates of bulk-billing to 
private billing more palatable for the electorate.

Attempts to date of the cost-shifting of Medicare running costs has 
already put many practices off. Manual bulk-billing still gets you your 
multi-part carbonised forms. Online claiming means you buy paper and 
toner/ink. More time processing patient's interaction with Medicare for 
them is a significant cost, both for Online Claiming and for the new 
system.

At least the former allows efficient management of practice accounting 
and dealing with errors. The new system is shamelessly geared to keeping 
patients and the government happy.

Greg
-- 
Greg Twyford
Information Management & Technology Program Officer
Canterbury Division of General Practice
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ph.: 02 9787 9033
Fax: 02 9787 9200

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