Telehealth Consultations

Telehealth Naturopath and Herbal Medicine consultations are claimable with CBHS.

As with face-to-face consultations, the same claiming criteria apply.

The provider must:

• Be a qualified practitioner
• Be registered with an Australian accredited association

The invoice must also include the following details:

• Practitioner’s full name (clearly printed)
• Full practice address and telephone number
• Full name of the patient
• Date and cost of the service
• Description of the service provided
• Provider number

Please note that Nutrition services are not claimable with CBHS.

Medibank and ahm have confirmed that telehealth Nutrition consultations are currently available.

For Nutrition services, telehealth consultations are subject to the same requirements as in-person appointments. Billing Standards, Provider Recognition standards, and Patient Records standards continue to apply.

Nutrition services may be covered via PackageBonus, which is included in some products but not all. Members are therefore advised to confirm their individual claiming eligibility directly with Medibank before booking an appointment, as entitlements vary by product.

Telehealth coverage for Naturopathy and Western Herbal Medicine remains under review and will be confirmed by Medibank and ahm at a later stage.

Australian Unity will only reimburse Nutrition telehealth services if both provider eligibility and invoice documentation rules are met.

Provider eligibility

To be accepted for claims, the practitioner must:

• Hold a Diploma in Nutrition
• Be registered with an approved professional association
• Be set up for telehealth claiming (teleclaims)

Invoice requirements

For a claim to be processed, the invoice must clearly include:

• Provider’s stamped name and address
• Member’s name (the client)
• Date of service
• A clear service description (e.g., “nutrition consultation” or “telehealth nutrition consultation”)
• The fee charged

see-u provides cover for Nutrition Telehealth Consultations, depending on the member’s level of cover. To be eligible, the practitioner must be registered and hold a valid provider number.

For members to submit a claim, an official itemised receipt will be required. The itemised account or invoice must includes:

• Practitioner’s stamp including his or her provider number
• Patient’s name
• Description of service and relevant item number(s)
• Date and time(s) of service
• Cost and Confirmation of payment

Currently available for eligible Telehealth Nutrition consultations. To be eligible for claiming, the practitioner must be registered with Australian Regional Health Group (ARHG) and hold an active ARHG provider number.

Members will require an itemised invoice from their practitioner in order to submit a claim. Provided the member holds the appropriate level of extras cover, no additional eligibility requirements currently apply.

Please note that benefits are not currently available for telehealth Western Herbal Medicine consultations.

As health fund policies may change, we also recommend confirming your individual level of cover and benefit entitlements directly with your fund prior to booking.

Mildura Health Fund does not provide benefits for Telehealth consultations conducted by Nutritionists or Naturopaths. However, we do offer benefits for Telehealth consultations in several other modalities, including Psychology, Dietetics, Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry Therapy, and Exercise Physiology.

To be eligible to claim benefits for these services, members must have the appropriate level of Extras cover with Mildura Health Fund and ensure their payments are up to date. Additionally, the provider must be registered with a valid Medicare provider number. For manual claims, you’ll just need to include a receipt that details the provider’s name and number, the member’s name, the date of service, and the relevant service code.

Telehealth services are available for Nutritionist. The following criteria applies:

• For initial Consults/assessments, the service duration must be at least 45 minutes
• For subsequent consults/treatments, the service duration must be at least 30 minutes
• No benefits are payable for group or class consults
• The service is undertaken in accordance with the relevant association/industry guidelines
• Service deliver must be through use of telephone or video (visual) conference
• The telehealth treatment must be synchronous (i.e. in real time)

The provider must be registered for Nutrition and show as such on the ARHG website.

The Member’s eligibility is based on the level of cover they hold. The Member can confirm this direct with HBF.

Invoices and or accounts must have:

Date of service

• Telehealth Item number or description
• Patients full name
• Provider details – provider name, location, address, and provider number for that location.
• Accounts and receipts must e on the providers official stationer. If not on official stationer, the provider must endorse the account with a stamp that shows the provider’s name and number.

Benefits for Nutrition are payable if the member has benefits available for Nutrition and is covered on their Westfund policy.

This service can be provided in a one-on-one consultation or group setting by a Recognised Provide in person, video and telecommunication.

Providers must obtain a provider number from ARHG who will notify Westfund of the provider number, provider details and all relevant practice information. Westfund will only accept full memberships where the provider has completed diploma qualifications or higher. Associate or student memberships are not accepted.

In order to pay a benefit for an extras service, the receipt must include the following information:

• The name and provider number of the issuing provider
• The date of issue of the invoice
• The name of the patient
• Date of service
• Description of service and any applicable item number.
• Cost of services or services should be shown as individual amounts
• Any amount paid to the provider and date paid, including any discounts given
• Any amount outstanding

Any notations such as ‘Quote’ or ‘Duplicate’ where necessary