Practice Incentive Programs
The Practice Incentive Program (PIP), administered by Services Australia on behalf of the Department of Health, encourages general practices to provide quality care to improve access and health outcomes for patients.
The content on this page has been derived from published information by the Australian Government, Department of Health, Disability and Aging, as well as Services Australia.
On this page
How do PIPs work?
To qualify for the Practice Incentives Program, general practices must be accredited or working towards accreditation as per the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Standards for General Practices.
Payments are calculated based on practice size and patient demographics. All PIP payments (excluding teaching and procedural GP) are paid according to the Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) for the practice.
Practice incentive payments differ to Service Incentive Payments (SIP) as they are paid to the practice rather than an individual provider. Service Incentive Payments are paid in addition to the normal Medicare benefit for a specific item and require specific trigger MBS item numbers to be billed.
Requirements for the practice’s entitlements are different for each incentive. However, all PIP or SIP payments occur each year in February, May, August and November.
Eligibility for PIPs
For general practice to be eligible for PIP, they must:
- meet the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) definition of General Practice
- meet the PIP definition of an open practice (where one or more registered medical practitioners provide face-to-face medical or health services to patients at a physical location)
- maintain at least $10 million in public liability insurance cover for the main location and each additional practice location (legal liability is not public liability).
- make sure all general practitioners and nurse practitioners have the required minimum of $10 million professional indemnity insurance cover · be accredited, or registered for accreditation, as a general practice against the RACGP Standards for general practices by an agency approved under the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme. Accreditation must cover the entire quarter the practice is applying in and be maintained thereafter. Practices must be registered for and achieve accreditation against the RACGP Standards within 12 months of joining the PIP Program.
Types of PIPs
There are three types of payment streams under PIP that each incentive falls under. These are Quality, Capacity and Rural Support Streams.
Guidelines for Individual Incentives
While there are overall criteria for PIP eligibility, there are also requirements for each individual incentive. General Practice must understand these guidelines before applying to ensure they are meeting the requirements. Guidelines
Education for health professionals
Service Australia has eLearning programs, simulations and other resources to support general practice staff in understanding how the Incentive Programs work.
Support
If you have any questions relating to Practice Incentive Programs (PIPs), please contact our Primary Care Engagement Officers.
e. qi@westvicphn.com.au
t. 1300 176 271
Request a visit from your Primary Care Engagement Officer here.