Medicare Benefits Schedule - Item 13950

Parenteral administration of one or more antineoplastic agents, including agents used in cytotoxic chemotherapy or monoclonal antibody therapy but not agents used in anti-resorptive bone therapy or hormonal therapy, by or on behalf of a specialist or consultant physician—attendance for one or more episodes of administration

Note: The fee for item 13950 contains a component which covers the accessing of a long-term drug delivery device. TN.1.27 refers

Fee: $118.90 Benefit: 75% = $89.20 85% = $101.10

(See para TN.1.12, TN.1.27 of explanatory notes to this Category)

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Following a recommendation of a National Health and Medical Research Council review committee in 2005, Medicare benefits are no longer payable for professional services rendered for the purpose of administering microwave (UHF radiowave) cancer therapy, including the intravenous injection of drugs used in the therapy.

Related Items: 13950

Intent

The intent for item 13950 is to provide services through Medicare for private patients undergoing antineoplastic therapy. Specifically, Medicare benefits will be paid under item 13950 where the patient is administered with an antineoplastic agent or agents via parenteral route, by or on behalf of a specialist or consultant physician, for antineoplastic treatment (including; cytotoxic chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody therapy). 

Item 13950 is not intended for treatment via the administration of agents used in anti-resorptive bone therapy or hormonal therapy. 

For the purpose of claiming benefits under MBS item 13950, administration of antineoplastic agent/s commences with the establishment of the parenteral route, and ends with the disconnection of the infusion, regardless of the time expired between the commencement and end.  

Irrespective of the number of antineoplastic agents administered, medical practitioners can only bill item 13950 once each time the patient presents for treatment, but may be billed on successive treatment days. 

Further information relating to antineoplastic therapy services listed on the MBS can be directed to the Department of Health’s AskMBS e-mail service at askmbs@health.gov.au. AskMBS responds to enquiries from providers who seek advice on interpretation of MBS items, explanatory notes and associated legislation. The advice is intended to assist health professionals, practice managers and others to understand and comply with MBS billing requirements. AskMBS works closely with policy areas within the Department of Health, and with Services Australia, to ensure enquirers receive accurate, authoritative and up-to-date information.

Administration 
Parenteral administration refers to the delivery of a therapeutic agent via injection, as opposed to administration via the alimentary tract or topically (e.g. application of creams or ointments). 

Examples of suitable parenteral routes for the administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or monoclonal antibody therapy include: 

intravascular; 
intramuscular; 
subcutaneous; 
intrathecal; and
intracavitary.  

Multiple instances of administration in a single day 
Item 13950 covers the administration of one or more antineoplastic agents, and whilst it is not expected that there would be multiple claims for item 13950 on the one day, there are clinical instances where this might occur. In these circumstances, the medical practitioner will need to assure themselves that these instances represent separate and distinctly relevant services and annotate the patients account or Medicare claim form that the services were 'separate occasion', 'separate attendance' or 'separate times' for multiple services provided on the same day'. 

Irrespective of the number of antineoplastic agents administered, medical practitioners can only bill item 13950 once each time the patient presents for treatment. 

Professional Attendances 
An appropriate professional attendance item (such as item 116 for example) may be co-claimed with item 13950, so long as the provisions of the professional attendance are met. For example, in situations where the patient requires ongoing medical practitioner oversight, as a result of ongoing clinical consequences or side effects of the antineoplastic therapy, then the billing of a professional attendance item would be considered appropriate.  

Item 13950 should not be claimed in circumstances where the physical act of parenteral administration of antineoplastic agents does not take place. For example, where a patient is admitted to hospital for a period of several days, the oversight of the patient, post administration of an antineoplastic agent/s, is more appropriately covered under a professional attendance item (so long as the provisions of the professional attendance item are met). 

By or on behalf of 
In modern practice, a nurse typically performs the administration of antineoplastic agent/s, with the medical practitioner maintaining the overall responsibility for the oversight and care of the patient.  

The descriptor for item 13950 does not preclude remote or off-site administration of antineoplastic therapy. It is considered appropriate to bill item 13950 where the administration of the antineoplastic agent or agents occurs at a location other than where the consultant physician or specialist is attending, so long as the claiming consultant physician or specialist is satisfied that the administration of the antineoplastic therapy is being performed with the level of supervision which is generally accepted by the profession as necessary for the appropriate treatment of the patient.  

The specialist or consultant physician, who is undertaking or supervising the procedure, will bill the service using the provider number associated with the service location.  

For item 13950, a service is taken to be rendered on behalf of a medical practitioner if, and only if, it is rendered by another person who is not a medical practitioner, and who provides the service in accordance with accepted medical practice, and under the supervision of the medical practitioner.

Accessing long-term implanted delivery devices 
Accessing a long-term implanted device, such as a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line, for the purpose of administering an antineoplastic agent at the time of administering the antineoplastic agent, is considered an integral component of this service, and therefore should not receive a separate MBS benefit. Item 14221 cannot be claimed in these circumstances.

Providers should note that the fee for item 13950 includes a component for accessing a long-term implanted drug delivery device when administering antineoplastic agents, and should be mindful of this when billing patients for services not specifically listed on the MBS. Note that billing against item 14221, for any reason (e.g. flushing or taking of bloods), is not permitted when the device is accessed for the purpose of delivering the service associated with item 13950.  

However, it is recognised that the clinical need for access to an implanted device exists beyond the administration of antineoplastic therapy, for example, flushing a long-term intravascular access device in order to maintain patency during prolonged periods of disuse or giving antibiotic therapy or transfusing blood products or taking a blood sample. Billing against item 14221, in these situations, is considered clinically relevant and appropriate, so long as these services are not associated with the visit by the patient for a course of antineoplastic therapy under item 13950.  

Where item 14221 is claimed on the same day as item 13950 for a separate and distinct clinically relevant service, the account for item 14221 must be annotated with ‘separate attendance’ or ‘separate service’ to enable the claim to be appropriately assessed. It would be expected that the account would be annotated with time of the attendances to demonstrate that separate services were provided to the patient. 

Pumps and other devices 
The loading of pumps, reservoirs or ambulatory drug delivery devices can be billed under item 13950 (so long as the conditions described in the item descriptor are met). For the purpose of claiming benefits under MBS item 13950, administration of antineoplastic agent/s commences with the establishment of the parenteral route, and ends with the disconnection of the infusion, regardless of the time expired between the commencement and end.  

Irrespective of the number of antineoplastic agents administered, medical practitioners can only bill item 13950 once each time the patient presents for treatment. 

Under the MBS, there is no item that specifically covers the disconnection of a pump or device as part of or following the administration of antineoplastic agents.

Item 14221 was amended on 1 November 2020 to clarify that it cannot be claimed in association with the administration of antineoplastic agents for which item 13950 is being claimed, as the MBS fee for item 13950 contains a component to cover accessing of a long-term implanted device for delivery of therapeutic agents.  

Item 13950 cannot be claimed where the patient is receiving the infusion at home via a pre-loaded pump or ambulatory delivery device. 

If, at the attendance to disconnect a pump or device, the practitioner further administers antineoplastic agents under a service described by item 13950, then item 13950 may be claimed for that episode of treatment. The administration of antineoplastic agents during the attendance to disconnect the pump or device is considered a separate attendance from the claim associated with the initial loading of the pump or device. Item 14221 cannot be claimed in these circumstances, as item 14221 cannot be claimed in association with a claim for item 13950.  

Alternatively, if at the attendance to disconnect a pump or device there is no service provided under item 13950 (i.e. no further administration of antineoplastic agents), then item 14221 may be claimed for a service associated with the accessing of a long-term implanted device for delivery of therapeutic agents, but only under circumstances where the long-term implanted device is accessed for the purpose of delivery of therapeutic agents (e.g. line maintenance for future access). Item 14221 should not be claimed merely for the disconnection of the device. 

Therapies 
The parenteral administration of antineoplastic agents, including cytotoxic chemotherapy and monoclonal antibody therapy, can be claimed under item 13950.

Item 13950 cannot be used for claims related to the administration of pharmaceuticals used as part of hormonal therapy nor for the administration of colony-stimulating factors. Also, the administration of anti-resorptive bone therapy is not covered under item 13950.  

The administration of pharmaceuticals given as part of a treatment regimen for a non-malignant disease cannot be claimed under item 13950. For example, item 13950 cannot be used for claims related to the treatment of multiple sclerosis or for the treatment of arthritis. 

Related Items: 13950