What is MyMedicare, and why is it necessary to register?

MyMedicare is a government initiative which responds to the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce of July 2022. It is a voluntary patient registration system for general practice which aims to deliver stronger relationships between patients and their healthcare teams. Through MyMedicare, patients will be able to formally link themselves to their general practice and their GP, providing greater continuity of care and better coordinated care between your GP and other care teams. Patients will also be able to access longer telehealth consultations with their registered practice, as well as superior visibility for all treating clinicians across the health network, accessible through MyHealth Record. For example, if you are admitted to hospital and are registered to a GP through MyMedicare, the hospital will be able to view your GPs contact details through MyHealth Record, enabling ease of communication between health professionals. Patients wishing to view their privacy protections can access this through the Department of Health and Aged Care and Services Australia websites.

MyMedicare will allow patients to register to their general practice and GP from 1st October 2023. Patients are able to register for any practice they choose, so long as they have been seen at the practice for a face-to-face consultation at least twice in the previous 24 months. Children will be able to register to a general practice without meeting these requirements, so long as they have a parent who is registered. Should patients have a general practitioner who they see across multiple locations, they will have to choose a location where they see their GP most often. Patients will also be free to change their registered practice or GP if required.

Patients can register through the Express Plus Medicare mobile app or through Medicare Online services, accessible via myGov. Alternatively, we can register a patient on their behalf should they not have access to the abovementioned methods or scan the QR code below to fill out the form.