The AMA has slammed the government for failing to provide enough detail on more than 900 new Medicare items for surgery, saying the “bizarre” implementation would create chaos.

With less than a month to go before 1 July when the old items are axed and new ones introduced, the AMA says it is yet to see information on the descriptors for the revamped MBS items, affecting 594 orthopaedic surgery items,150 general surgery items and 188 cardiac surgery items.

AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid says the association supports the changes, but doctors, private insurers and patients need more time to implement them smoothly. 

“We are seeing the biggest changes to the MBS ever with only a few weeks’ notice and not enough information for doctors to be able to use those numbers properly,” Dr Khorshid told reporters on Sunday.