Coroner backs GP’s call to slash Medicare red tape on doctors case conferencing
GPs avoid mental health case conferencing items because the rebates are too low and the rules too restrictive, says Dr Anita Munoz.
GPs are calling for better-funded and less restricted Medicare items for mental health case conferencing after the death of a woman who was on 10 different medications.
Emma Terrill, 41, died from aspiration pneumonia in 2020. A Victorian coroner heard this month that the tramadol and benzodiazepines she had taken may have caused respiratory depression.
Ms Terrill had an eating disorder, major depression, severe anxiety, bipolar disorder, fibromyalgia, chronic dental infections and other conditions.
Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald said two GPs were prescribing for Ms Terrill under a psychiatrist’s guidance.
