New Telehealth numbers came into effect on 1 July 2021.

The MBS change fact sheet published includes the statement:

A patient must assign their right to a Medicare benefit to an eligible provider by signing a completed assignment of benefit form.

The FAQs then address the question:

Can a patient assign their MBS benefit without a physical signature if they come into the practice?

Yes, with Medicare Easyclaim, a patient assigns their right to a Medicare benefit to the practitioner by pressing the ‘OK’ or ‘YES’ button on the EFTPOS terminal in the practice. Additionally, a patient can assign their benefit to an eligible provider by email or through the signature of a ‘responsible’ third party.
Until 31 December 2021, a practitioner can record the agreement for assignment of benefit in the patient’s clinical notes then mark the box on the DB020 form that indicates a patient is ‘unable to sign’. The reason for a signature not being obtained can be given as ‘COVID-19/highly infectious pandemic/risk of exposure to COVID-19/etc’.

Dr John Deery, AGPA Chair commented:

This is Monty Python-esque. We cannot comply with this rule. It is a telehealth consult. How is it possible for the patient to sign the form in the practice? They can’t even assign their right using a Medicare easy claim terminal as they aren’t in the practice. 

So they are either: making every GP in Australia non-compliant with this anachronistic rule
OR
wanting us to not bulk bill any telehealth items and have us charge an out of pocket expense so they don’t need to ‘sign the form’.

The solution of an email on file requires receptionists to request and receive the assignment of benefit email prior to the consult and for it then to be filed with the clinical notes. A solution created by someone who has never had to pay the costs of reception staff and who does not realise the cost of additional administrative burdens.

You have been warned.