Let GPs Order MRI Under Medicare, Australia

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 22 Jul 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Patients would spend less time waiting for medical testing and treatment if the Government introduced Medicare rebates for GP-referred MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and diagnostic testing in GP surgeries, the AMA said today.

AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, used GP Week to urge the Government to reconsider its decision to axe funding for GP-referred MRI.

Dr Pesce said the move would improve access to care because patients would no longer have to wait for specialist appointments before being referred for MRI.

"Using MRI where clinically appropriate reduces the cost to the health system of inappropriate tests and would allows GPs to provide better care for patients," he said.

"It also avoids unnecessary patient exposure to ionising radiation in CT scanning, and reduces the number of tests ordered, thus ensuring diagnostic service capacity is best utilised."

A report prepared for the AMA by the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney found allowing GPs to order MRI under Medicare could save the Government up to $42 million a year because GPs would order fewer CT Scans.

Dr Pesce said the Government needed to improve patient access to MRI machines, provided the machines met appropriate standards.

The AMA also said that patient care would also be improved if Medicare rebates for point-of-care testing - where patients are tested within or close to surgeries - were introduced.

The recently released results of the Point of Care Testing (PoCT) Trial in General Practice - which looked at the clinical and cost effectiveness of managing diabetes and hyperlipidaemia, and anti-coagulant therapy - showed PoCT would improve the management of chronic conditions.

Source
Australian Medical Association

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