AMA president Dr Tony Bartone says a proposal to crack down on dodgy care plans by introducing a minimum 40-minute threshold has his in-principle support — if it comes with a boost in funding.

The MBS Review Taskforce’s general practice and primary care committee is recommending rewriting the descriptor for Medicare item 721 so that doctors and practice nurses would be required to spend at least 40 minutes developing a GP management plan (GPMP).

There is currently no time restriction on the item, which has a fee of $144 and is billed by GPs more than 2.5 million times per year.

But although the committee has not released any figures detailing the proportion of care plans drawn up in under 40 minutes, Dr Bartone says the idea sounds reasonable because most GPs should take at least that long.