The first question everyone has asked themselves when looking through the Medicare Review Taskforce’s proposed revamp of GP items is the same.

Is it bad practice, poor care or some sort of rort to draw up a care plan having spent less than 40 minutes with the patient?

The suggested minimum time limit on item 721 — one of the care plan items whose funding probably represents the last proper investment in general practice care — is already becoming a hugely controversial proposal, despite the soothing, no-worries commentary offered by the AMA president yesterday.

The task force’s expert primary care committee, whose members will be familiar to anyone following the GP policy debate over the past decade, is also suggesting Medicare payments for enrolling patients.