MBS item 900: what it is and how the referral works
MBS item 900 is the Medicare item a GP claims for their part of a Home Medicines Review (HMR) — referring the patient, then receiving and reviewing the pharmacist’s written report and agreeing a medication management plan with them. The review itself is free to the patient; it is the GP’s claim, not theirs.
What MBS item 900 covers
Item 900 is the Medicare Benefits Schedule item that sits under the Community Pharmacy Programs and is funded by the Australian Government. It is what the GP claims for their part of a Home Medicines Review: making the referral, then receiving, reading and acting on the pharmacist’s written report. The review is free to the patient and their family — nobody is billed for it. It is the GP’s item, not the patient’s and not the pharmacist’s.
Because MBS item numbers, descriptors and fees are reviewed from time to time, this page deliberately does not quote a dollar figure or repeat the descriptor word for word. For the current fee and the exact wording of what is required, MBS Online is the source to check before you claim.
What you need to do to claim it
Claiming item 900 involves three steps on the GP’s side, and all three matter:
- Refer the patient. You identify a patient who could benefit and send a referral, ideally with a current medicines list and the reason you’d like the review done. The refer a patient page covers what to include and how referrals reach me.
- Receive and review the report. After the home visit, I write up a report and send it back to you. In practice I aim to have that with you within about three business days of seeing the patient, so it is still timely against whatever prompted the referral.
- Agree a medication management plan with the patient. This is the step that actually closes the loop — discussing the report’s findings with the patient, deciding together what, if anything, changes, and documenting that plan in their record.
That third step is worth underlining. The referral alone doesn’t complete the process — item 900 is tied to the GP following through on the report, not just sending the patient off for a visit.
Who can start the referral
The referral for an HMR needs to come from the patient’s GP. Practice nurses and other allied health staff have a real role to play around the edges — noticing that a patient might benefit, pulling together their medicines list, helping prepare the paperwork — but they are not the ones who can originate the referral. It needs the GP’s clinical sign-off. If you run a practice with nurses or allied health staff who regularly flag candidates, it is worth having a simple internal step where those flags come to a GP for the actual referral, rather than assuming the referral can be sent directly. Because who-can-refer rules are set centrally and can be revised, confirm the current position with your practice or MBS Online if anything here doesn’t match what you’ve been told.
When a review is worth considering, and where it sits next to chronic disease planning
There is no rigid checklist, but a few situations tend to come up again and again as good reasons to refer:
- Several regular medicines, especially if more than one prescriber is involved
- A recent hospital admission or emergency department visit
- A recent significant change to the medicine regimen
- Signs the patient or their family is unsure what to take, when, or why
- Use of a Webster pack or similar dose administration aid
- Several ongoing conditions being managed at once
None of that is a formal eligibility test — it is simply the pattern of patients an HMR referral usually suits. The current formal criteria live on MBS Online, and a general overview is on the cost and eligibility page.
A Home Medicines Review is separate from a chronic disease management plan — item 900 stands on its own and doesn’t require a management plan to already be in place. In practice the two often overlap, simply because the patients who benefit most from structured chronic disease planning are frequently the same ones juggling the most medicines. Referring for an HMR doesn’t interfere with a patient’s chronic disease management plan or its own review timing; the two run alongside each other.
One thing item 900 does not cover: patients in permanent residential aged care. That group is served by a different item and a different program, the Residential Medication Management Review, which is not something I currently offer. If a patient of yours is in a residential aged care facility, an HMR referral is not the right pathway.
If you think a patient of yours would benefit from a Home Medicines Review, I’m happy to talk it through before you refer, or you can send the referral straight away. Get in touch via request a review.
Common questions
Does my patient qualify for an HMR?
There is no fixed checklist — whether a Home Medicines Review is appropriate is a clinical judgement you make as the referring GP. Patients who tend to benefit are those on several regular medicines from more than one prescriber, recently discharged from hospital, recently changed onto a new regimen, or showing signs of confusion about what they are taking and when. Current MBS eligibility requirements are set out on MBS Online; a general overview is also on the cost and eligibility page.
Can a practice nurse refer a patient for a Home Medicines Review?
No — under item 900 the referral has to come from the patient’s GP, not a practice nurse or another allied health professional acting alone. A nurse can absolutely flag a patient as a possible candidate, pull together the medicine list, and prepare the referral for the GP to review and sign, but the GP is the one who authorises it. Rules around this can be updated, so it is worth confirming the current position with your practice or MBS Online if you are unsure.
What do I need to include when I refer a patient?
At minimum, the reason for referral and enough clinical context for the visit to be useful — current diagnoses, a medicines list if you have one, and anything specific you want looked at. The refer a patient page sets out exactly what to send and how.
Is MBS item 900 the same as a residential medication management review?
No, they are different items under different programs. A Residential Medication Management Review (RMMR) applies to patients in permanent residential aged care, while item 900 applies to a Home Medicines Review for patients living in the community. I do not currently offer RMMRs, only home-based reviews.
Where can I find the current fee and exact descriptor for item 900?
MBS Online is the authoritative source, since item numbers, descriptors and fees are reviewed and can change. This page describes the general shape of what is involved rather than quoting the descriptor or a dollar figure, precisely because that detail is best checked at the time you are claiming.
Not sure what to do next?
Tell me what’s going on with your family member’s medicines — I’ll call you back, usually the same day, and we’ll work out the next step together. No cost, no obligation.
For GPs & practice managers
Referring is the easy part — I’ve made sure of it.
Template setup guides for Bp Premier and MedicalDirector, a referral form PDF, two-week interview targets and three-day reports. Everything your practice needs is one page away.