For Medicare Bulk Bills, how do you obtain lodgement consent?

Do you deliver bulk billed services? Wondering how to obtain patient consent for lodgement of bulk billing claims for Telehealth and other exemption scenarios?

A helpful guide on Bulk Billing procedures is published by the Department of Health and Aged Care here: https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/08/medicare-bulk-billing-and-additional-charges.pdf

Notably, Bulk Billed claims require a provider to issue the patient an Assignment of Benefit form (DB4) and have the patient sign the form for them to take with:

"A patient is required to sign a Medicare assignment of benefit form for a bulk-billed professional service, unless using an online system such as Medicare Easyclaim or any other system that allows the patient to digitally sign an electronic assignment. The patient must be offered a digital or paper copy of the assignment of benefit form to retain."

And there are significant penalties for failing to issue and properly complete an Assignment of Benefit form:
"A penalty of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to three months, or both, may be imposed on any person who obtains a patient's signature on a direct-billing form without the obligatory details having been entered on the form before the person signs, or who fails to cause a patient to be given a copy of the completed form."

For Telehealth and other exemption scenarios, Services Australia has published guidance on how providers can satisfy the signature requirement for Assignment of Benefit forms: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assignment-benefit-signature-requirements-and-exemptions?

Tyro Health offers both Easyclaim EFTPOS terminal and Medicare Online options for submission of bulk bill claims with required Assignment of Benefit supporting processes:

In Tyro Health Online, and via integrated PMS partners, we support generation of the Assignment of Benefit forms. This form is automatically generated for every Bulk Bill claim. You can download and print or download the PDF version for inclusion in electronic patient correspondence. Just click the Print Statement button at the bottom of each claim.
For our Tyro Easyclaim enabled terminals, consent from the patient, the patient's parent, guardian or other responsible person is acceptable. Press the OK button on the Tyro EFTPOS machine when submitting an Easyclaim transaction.