Chronic Condition Management in St Kilda.

Chronic condition management is the part of general practice that runs over years rather than weeks. For many people it includes a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, the Medicare plan that replaced GP Management Plans and Team Care Arrangements from 1 July 2025.

What is a chronic condition management plan?

It's a written plan for someone with a chronic or terminal condition, meaning one that has been, or is likely to be, present for at least six months. It sets out your care, what you're working towards, and which other health professionals are involved. Diabetes, arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease and persistent pain are commonly managed this way.

A diagnosis on its own doesn't make someone eligible. Your GP has to decide that a structured plan is appropriate for you, and that any services in it are clinically relevant.

What does a plan give me access to?

With a current plan, Medicare benefits are available for up to five individual allied health services each calendar year, or ten for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. The five are shared across every profession you use, so three physiotherapy visits and two with a dietitian uses the lot.

Eligible professions include physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics, diabetes education and exercise physiology, among others. Allied health providers set their own fees, so ask what you'll pay before you book with them.

Is there podiatry on site?

Yes. The practice has a podiatrist on site. Where podiatry is included in a chronic condition management plan, there is no out-of-pocket cost for those appointments, and reception can book them for you. See podiatry at Chapel Street.

How often is a plan reviewed?

When there's a clinical reason to, rather than on a fixed timetable. A review looks at how the plan is working and at the reports from anyone treating you, and updates the plan where it needs it.

One rule is worth knowing. For allied health services to stay claimable, your plan must have been prepared or reviewed within the last eighteen months. The plan itself doesn't expire, but the services under it can quietly stop being covered if too long passes.

Can I have my plan done here?

Chapel Street Medical Centre is a registered MyMedicare practice. If you're registered with MyMedicare at another practice, the plan has to be prepared and reviewed there rather than here, so it's worth checking before you book. If you aren't registered with MyMedicare, the plan should come from your usual GP.

The full Medicare detail, including how referrals work and what happens to older plans, is in our guide to chronic condition management plans.

Before your appointment

Say when you book that you'd like to discuss a chronic condition management plan. These appointments use their own Medicare items and usually take longer than a standard consultation, so reception needs to know in advance, and can tell you what you'll pay.

Bring an up-to-date list of your medications and the details of any allied health practitioners already involved in your care. If you have an older GP Management Plan or Team Care Arrangement, mention that too.