Team Care Arrangements (MBS 723): the second half of every GPMP nobody talks about

A GPMP on its own gets the patient nothing extra from allied health. The thing that unlocks five Medicare-subsidised dietitian, exercise physiologist, podiatrist or diabetes educator visits per calendar year is the Team Care Arrangement — MBS item 723.

It pays $130.25 to the GP for drafting. It takes about ten minutes. And it's missed roughly half the time alongside the GPMPs it should accompany.

When you need a TCA

Any patient with a chronic condition and complex care needs who would benefit from coordinated allied health input. In practice, that's most GPMP patients — diabetes, heart failure, COPD, chronic pain, mental health, post-stroke, chronic kidney disease.

The requirement is two contributing professionals other than the GP. For diabetes, that's typically a CDE and a dietitian. For mental health, often a psychologist plus a social worker. The threshold isn't high; the documentation just has to identify both team members and their contribution.

Why patients miss out

If the TCA isn't drafted, the patient simply doesn't qualify for the subsidised visits. They can still see the dietitian — at full private cost ($120–$180 per session). For most chronic-disease patients, that means they won't go.

Five subsidised visits per year, with a $54 patient gap, is the difference between an annual nutrition follow-up and a single panicked one in year three.

The team-coordination side

The 723 isn't just paperwork — it triggers the GP's ability to bill referral updates and care-team coordination items. Once the team is identified, the rest of the chronic-care MBS items become claimable around them.