GPs will soon be able claim a Medicare item for point-of-care HbA1c testing to monitor their patients with existing diabetes.

The new item will be introduced in November, with the move already being hailed as milestone for general practice which has long argued that Medicare should be funding a range of point-of-care tests in primary care.

There are currently no details on the rebate or the rules for claiming the item.

Given the need for other pathology tests for monitoring diabetes patients, uptake is also likely to be limited, with the Federal Government saying that it expects to fund 190,000 tests over four years.