MyMedicare

MyMedicare is a voluntary patient registration system that aims to formalise the relationship between patients, their general practice, general practitioner (GP) and primary care teams.

Seeing your GP regularly and formalising the relationship you have with your GP and general practice through MyMedicare can lead to better health outcomes.

By registering as a patient at our general practice and selecting a preferred GP, additional funding will be available from the government to assist your primary care team to deliver the care you need.

It is voluntary and free to register in MyMedicare, and registration is open to Australians with a Medicare card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) card.

MyMedicare is a registration system and won’t hold any of your clinical health information.

Your clinical health information will continue to be stored in your My Health Record, if you have one.

All personal information recorded in MyMedicare, including your chosen healthcare providers, will be kept secure and your privacy will be maintained.  Read the MyMedicare Privacy Notice at health.gov.au/mymedicare-privacy for further information.

You’re eligible to register in MyMedicare with our practice if you have:

• a Medicare card or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) card
• had 2 face-to-face visits recorded at our practice in the past 24-months

People who are facing hardship will be exempt from all eligibility requirements. This includes people experiencing domestic and family violence and homelessness.

Parents/guardians and children can be registered at the same practice if one of them is eligible and registered.

A parent/guardian must register a child under 14 years and provide consent on their behalf.

Young people aged 14-17 years can register and provide consent without a parent/guardian.

Victoria Harbour Medical Centre is registered in MyMedicare.

You can register for MyMedicare from 1 October 2023.

You can register with us as your chosen MyMedicare practice in the following ways:

• Online via this link

or

• Online via your Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app.

Our Practice staff will then accept the registration in the MyMedicare system.

Otherwise:

• Our practice  may start the registration in MyMedicare or you can tell us to do this. This will trigger a registration in your Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app, which you can then complete.

or

• Fill out the MyMedicare Registration Form at our practice. By signing the form, you are giving consent to participate in MyMedicare. Our practice staff will then complete the registration in the MyMedicare system.

A registration in MyMedicare is only successful when both you and your practice have provided consent to formalise your relationship through one of the processes outlined above.

As part of your MyMedicare registration, your chosen practice and GP will appear on your My Health Record. This will make sure all health professionals you see – for example, at a public hospital – will know who to talk to about your regular care.  If you do not wish your MyMedicare registration to appear on your My Health Record, you can choose this option in your My Health Record.

MyMedicare registration will not prevent you from accessing care from other GP practices and healthcare providers.

It is voluntary and free to register in MyMedicare.

When you register in MyMedicare, it will notify your general practice that you have chosen them as your regular care team.  Additional funding will be available from the government to help them provide the care you need.

MyMedicare patients will have access to:

• greater continuity of care with your registered practice or GP which has shown to improve health outcomes
• longer Medicare Benefit Scheme (MBS) funded telehealth consultations with your GP
• incentives for longer MBS telehealth consultations for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders (from 1 November 2023)
• more regular visits from your GP and better care planning for people living in a residential aged care home (from August 2024)
• connections to more appropriate care in general practice for people who visit hospital frequently (from mid-2024)

Longer funded telehealth consultations may be particularly beneficial for people seeking assistance with their mental health, people with disability, older Australians and people in rural or remote Australia.

Further registration benefits for patients will continue to be added as part of the Australian Government’s commitment to strengthening Medicare.

If you choose not to register in MyMedicare, you’ll still be able to access the same quality of care from your healthcare providers.

Talk to your regular general practice or GP about registering in MyMedicare, or find out more at health.gov.au/mymedicare

If you hold both a DVA Veteran Card and a Medicare card, you can register using either. You can only have one registration, which will apply to any relevant Medicare and/or DVA-funded service, regardless of which card you use to register.  If you choose to register in MyMedicare with a DVA Veteran Card, you will need to complete a registration form at your chosen practice.

MyMedicare does not tie you to a particular healthcare provider.

You can change your preferred GP within your registered practice at any time.

You can choose to withdraw from MyMedicare at any time.

You can also register with a different practice if you meet the eligibility requirements and the practice is also registered.

If you register at a different practice, this will automatically withdraw any previous registration and notify the practice.

If you want to withdraw your MyMedicare registration, you can either:

• withdraw from MyMedicare using their Medicare Online Account or Express Plus Medicare Mobile app
• contact your GP or practice and notify them that you want to withdraw your registration from MyMedicare
• contact Services Australia directly and request to have your MyMedicare registration withdrawn

When you register in MyMedicare, your personal information will be kept secure and your privacy will be maintained.

For more information about how we manage your personal information, see the MyMedicare Privacy Notice.

Click here to access MyMedicare patient FAQs. This document answers patients’ questions about what MyMedicare is, why and how to register, eligibility, benefits and more.