Doctors sometimes request that an account be billed with the 'AMA rate'. Access Anaesthetics does not use the AMA schedule, but rather includes the ASA RVG schedule published by the Australian Society of Anaesthetists. The ASA schedule is also incorporated into the AMA schedule.

 

The ASA recommends that anaesthetists determine their own fee that they deem appropriate in the circumstances, up to the ASA's published 'Maximum recommended unit value'. If there is a complaint about fees, the ASA will support anaesthetists who charge up to this maximum recommended rate. This rate is usually the same as the rate used in the AMA schedule. Hence it is often referred to as 'AMA rates'.

 

The maximum recommended unit value is updated by the ASA each year in November. The November 2010 rate was $70 per unit, and November 2011 rate $73 per unit, November 2012 $75 per unit. Note that there is no requirement to use this rate, you can charge whatever you like, up to this rate.

 

In Access Anaesthetics, the history of the maximum recommended rate is stored in Options > Unit Values. From here you can insert your chosen rate into the fields for MyOwn, ASA RVG, Third Party and/or Workers Comp. This figure will be used as the default for new accounts. The rate can be changed for any individual account.

 

From version 7.8, Access Anaesthetics will automatically calculate the ASA maximum rate for each item that has a unit value, and display it on the Items tab in the rightmost column.