For the first patient attended during one attendance by a general…
Professional attendances · Group A35 — Services for patients in residential aged care facilities
| Benefit | Amount | Gap to fee |
|---|---|---|
| 100% | $65.80 | — |
Benefit amounts as published in the schedule, not recalculated.
Fee current from 1 Jul 2026.
The flag fall is claimable ONCE per facility visit, for the first patient only. Billing it against each patient seen on the round is incorrect. If you have to return to the same facility later the same day and the second visit is not a continuation of the first, a further flag fall applies to that visit.
AN.35.1 Flag fall amount for residential aged care facility attendance by a general practitioner · reviewed 1 Nov 2023
Last reviewed: 1 November 2023
Medicare item 90001 provides a flag fall fee for the initial attendance by a general practitioner at one RACF, on one occasion, applicable only to the first patient seen on the RACF visit.
The Medicare benefit for the single flag fall fee and the associated general consultation (Levels A to E) applies only for patients within a RACF who have a general consultation with a doctor in person.
If doctors do not bill the single flag fall fee, the benefit will not be paid.
If a doctor has to return to the RACF facility twice or more on the same day and the attendances are not a continuation of an earlier episode of treatment, another flag fall fee would apply per subsequent RACF visit.
When claiming the new attendance items there is no longer a requirement to transmit the number of patients seen. A doctor would claim each attendance item like any other consultation service.
MBS items 90001 is not to be used with existing derived fee services such as for afterhours, urgent afterhours, or telehealth (video and phone) services. The bulk billing incentive only applies to the attendance item, not to the single flag fall fee.
| Item number | 90001 |
|---|---|
| Category | 1 — Professional attendances |
| Group | A35 — Services for patients in residential aged care facilities |
| Subheading | — |
| Item type | S |
| Fee type | N |
| In schedule since | 1 Mar 2019 |
| Fee current from | 1 Jul 2026 |
| GP scope | Yes · tier 3 |