Please visit Practice Incentives Program (PIP) of Medicare for further information
What is the Practice Incentives Program (PIP)
Entry Requirements and Eligibility
PIP Incentives
Formula for Calculating Payments
PIP provides a range of incentives that aim to encourage general practices to improve the quality of care provided to patients.
It aims to recognise general practices that provide comprehensive, quality care, and which are either accredited or working towards accreditation against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' (RACGP) Standards for General Practices.
Payments focus on aspects of general practice that contribute to quality care and are mainly dependent on practice size, in terms of patients seen, rather than on the number of consultations performed.
The PIP Quarterly News Update provide essential information regarding important updates and reminders on all things PIP
Practices joining the PIP will need to be accredited or registered for accreditation when they join the program and be fully accredited within 12 months of joining.
A practice must hold public liability insurance and all medical practitioners at the practice must have current professional indemnity insuance.
New applicants must fill out the application form enclosed in the PIP information package and supply the required supporting documentation.
Contact Practice Incentives Program enquiry line 1800 222 032 for the PIP information package.
The Program comprises the following elements. Practices may qualify for any or all of these:
For more detailed information on activity requirements and payment structures for each of the PIP incentives, please visit PIP Payments and Calculations on the Medicare website.
Most components of the PIP payments are proportional to practice size. Practice size is calculated using a measure of patient load at the practice that is independent of the number of services provided to patients. This measure is called the Standard Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE).
If the application is successful, the practice will receive its initial payment in the first payment quarter after approval. Thereafter, the practice will receive quarterly payments, providing it continues to meet the eligibility criteria.
Payments are generally made in February, May, August and November.
Medicare Australia will automatically calculate practices' entitlements for payments from information provided to it, either directly, or through the application form.
Payments are made by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
