Health checks resulting in a follow-up
Overview
This chapter presents the number and proportion of health check patients who received a First Nations follow-up service in the 12 months following their health check, by the year that their health check was delivered (or ‘follow-up percentage’). The most recent year of health check delivery covered is 2020–21. Follow-up activity for health check patients from 2021–22 was not ready to assess at the time of this analysis, due to lag in processing some MBS claims.
The MBS data collection does not include any information about the outcomes of a health check. This means that it is not known how many people actually required follow-up care after their health checks. Not all First Nations people who have a health check will need follow-up services. Consequently, variation in follow-up percentages (for example, by age group or geographic regions), may partly reflect differences in health status, need for follow‑up care and whether people are willing or able to attend recommended follow-up services.
For background information on First Nations health checks, see Health checks section.
For background information on First Nations follow-up services, see Follow-up services overview section.
List of subchapters
- National use of follow-ups
- State and territory comparisons
- Primary Health Network (PHN) comparisons
- Remoteness Area comparisons
- Greater Capital City Statistical Area (GCCSA) comparisons
- Indigenous Region (IREG) comparisons
- Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) comparisons
- Comparison of areas grouped by socioeconomic similarity
- Comparison of areas by socioeconomic ranking
- Cumulative follow-ups
This chapter presents information on the use of the following MBS items:
MBS item no. | Description | Mode of delivery |
|---|---|---|
715 | Health check provided by a GP | Face-to-face |
228 | Health check provided by a medical practitioner other than a GP (available from 1 July 2018) | Face-to-face |
92004 | Health check provided by a GP (available from 30 March 2020) | Videoconference |
92016 | Health check provided by a GP (available from 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2021) | Telephone |
92011 | Health check provided by a medical practitioner other than a GP (available from 30 March 2020) | Videoconference |
92023 | Health check provided by a medical practitioner other than a GP (available from 30 March 2020 to 30 June 2021) | Telephone |
10987 | Follow-up provided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner or Practice Nurse on behalf of a GP | Face-to-face |
93200 | Follow-up provided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner or Practice Nurse on behalf of a GP (available from 20 April 2020) | Videoconference |
93202 | Follow-up provided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner or Practice Nurse on behalf of a GP (available from 20 April 2020) | Telephone |
81300 | Follow-up provided by an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker (with referral from a GP) | Face-to-face |
81305 | Follow-up provided by a Diabetes Educator | Face-to-face |
81310 | Follow-up provided by an Audiologist | Face-to-face |
81315 | Follow-up provided by an Exercise physiologist | Face-to-face |
81320 | Follow-up provided by a Dietitian | Face-to-face |
81325 | Follow-up provided by a Mental health worker | Face-to-face |
81330 | Follow-up provided by an Occupational therapist | Face-to-face |
81335 | Follow-up provided by a Physiotherapist | Face-to-face |
81340 | Follow-up provided by a Podiatrist | Face-to-face |
81345 | Follow-up provided by a Chiropractor | Face-to-face |
81350 | Follow-up provided by an Osteopath | Face-to-face |
81355 | Follow-up provided by a Psychologist | Face-to-face |
81360 | Follow-up provided by a Speech pathologist | Face-to-face |
93048 | Follow-up provided by any eligible allied health professional (with referral from a GP) (available from 30 March 2020) | Videoconference |
93061 | Follow-up provided by any eligible allied health professional (with referral from a GP) (available from 30 March 2020) | Telephone |
Note: Outside of MBS item descriptions for health checks, the term 'GP' is used as a generic reference to all medical practitioners providing primary health care services.
The data include First Nations MBS items billed to Medicare by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) or other First Nations health services, as well as by mainstream GPs and other health professionals.
Note that the data are limited to First Nations MBS items billed to Medicare, and do not provide a complete picture of health checks or follow-up services provided to First Nations people. For example, First Nations people may receive similar care through: mainstream MBS items (that is, items that are not specific to First Nations people); through MBS items delivered in residential aged care; through the Child Health Check Initiative (CHCI) under the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) that ended in June 2012; through a health care provider who is not eligible to bill Medicare; through follow-up items for patients with team care arrangements, a shared care plan, or a multidisciplinary care plan; or may have chosen to use private health insurance cover instead of Medicare. Those have not been included in this report.
The minimum time allowed between health checks is 9 months. People can therefore receive more than one health check in a year.
For items relating to follow-up services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner or Practice Nurse on behalf of a GP (10987, 92300, 93202), patients can receive up to 10 of these follow-up services in a calendar year.
For allied health items (81300–81360, 93048, 93061), patients need a referral from their GP, following a First Nations health check or mainstream health check (MBS items 701, 703, 705 or 707). Patients can receive up to 5 of these allied health services in a calendar year.
- For analysis of the number of people who received a follow-up service by year, see the chapter, Follow-up services overview.
- Throughout the report, ‘First Nations follow-up service’ is used interchangeably with ‘follow-up service’ and ‘follow-up’ to assist readability.
- People who received an MBS service are referred to as ‘patients’.
- Throughout this chapter, ‘the proportion of health check patients who received a First Nations follow-up service in the 12 months following their health check’ is used interchangeably with ‘follow-up percentage’ to assist readability.
- All people who received a First Nations MBS service are assumed to be First Nations people.
- MBS health check patients in this chapter are reported by date of service, which was not necessarily the date that the service was processed by Services Australia. MBS services in this chapter were processed on or before 30 April 2023.
- Some records from a small number of service providers have been excluded due to data quality concerns.
- A single follow-up service may follow (within 12 months) more than one health check, across consecutive years in some cases.
- For patients with more than one health check in a given year, the 12-month follow-up window applies to both health checks.
- Patients may move to a different location in Australia, move abroad or die in the 12 months following their health check. Age and place of residence are based on information at the time of their health check.