Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Counselling MBS Services

Temporary MBS Services for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Counselling

Page last updated: 23 July 2021

From 21 July 2021, there are 18 new temporary items available for patients to access through General Practitioners (GPs) and Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs) which relate to nicotine and smoking cessation counselling. The new temporary items include six face-to-face, six telehealth and six phone services. These items are temporary and will be in place until 30 June 2022.

The introduction of these items aligns with the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) decision that, from 1 October 2021, e-cigarettes containing nicotine will be up-scheduled to a prescription only (schedule 4) medicine.

The new items allow Medicare benefits to be paid for telehealth health care services relating to nicotine and smoking cessation counselling without the requirement for the patient to have an established clinical relationship with the GP or OMP.

PDF version of FAQ Smoking Cessation (210 KB)

Word version of FAQ Smoking Cessation (93 KB)

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