Private Billing Schedules

Add fee schedules for private billing.

Use File > Reference Tables > Private Billing > Fee Schedule to list private billing fee items and the corresponding linked MBS items for private billing.

Link a fee item to a Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item so a patient can claim a Medicare refund for the linked MBS item. For example, a Private practice short consult can be linked to MBS Item 3 - Brief Consult Level A. You can link a maximum of 2 MBS items to each fee item.

For each fee item, you can set a different fee for each billing type. For example, a private practice might charge $50 for a Standard Consultation to an individual and $75 for Workers Compensation because of the administrative tasks involved.

If you didn't add your MBS Favourites when you activated the Private Billing module, add each billing item individually.

To add a fee item:
  1. Select File > Reference Tables > Private Billing > Fee Schedule.
  2. In the Fee Schedule window, click Add iconAdd.
  3. In the Fee Schedule Details window, in the Item Code field, enter a code for the fee item which can be a combination of characters and numbers.
  4. In the Descriptor field, enter an item name.
  5. If you want to link the fee item to an MBS item, in the MBS Item Number field, click Ellipsis and select the related MBS item from the MBS Browser window. The MBS schedule fee is added to the Schedule Fee field.
  6. Add a billing type:
    1. Click Add iconAdd.
    2. From the Billing Type Name list, select a billing type. If the required billing type is not listed, add it. See Billing Types for more information.
    3. Set the fee for the item. Either:
      • In the Item Fee field, enter the private fee.
      • If the private fee is linked to the MBS fee, set Schedule Fee. If you set this option, and the private fee is linked to an MBS item, the fee is automatically updated to the latest MBS Schedule Fee when you do an MBS Import.
    4. If the item incurs the GST, set Taxable. If set, a 10% GST is calculated from the amount set for the Item Fee (ensure that the Item Fee includes the 10% GST). The private billing invoice displays the GST component for the selected billing type of the fee item.
  7. Repeat step 6 for each billing type associated with the fee item.
  8. Click Save iconSave.

The new fee item is added to the fee schedule.

In the Fee Schedule window, you can search for a fee item using any text displayed in the Fee Schedule window. In the Search field, enter an item code, descriptor, MBS item number or schedule fee to limit the items listed. Delete the search phrase to display all items again.

If you added your MBS Favourites when you activated the Private Billing module, you can edit these records to add a private billing fee. You can also update fee items that you have added. To update a fee item:
  1. Select File > Reference Tables > Private Billing > Fee Schedule.
  2. In the Fee Schedule window, double-click the fee item you want to update.
  3. In the Fee Schedule Details window, click in any field you want to edit and update the value.
  4. If required, to remove a billing type, select it in the Billing Type table, and click Remove iconRemove.
  5. Click Save iconSave.
If a fee item is not in use by another record, you can delete it so that the item cannot be used for future billing. To delete a fee item:
  1. Select File > Reference Tables > Private Billing > Fee Schedule.
  2. In the Fee Schedule window, select the fee item you want to remove.
  3. Click Remove iconRemove.
  4. In the confirmation window, click Yes.

The fee item remains in the database so that there is no impact on existing records that are linked to that fee item.

To view deleted fee items, in the Fee Schedule window, set Show Deleted.