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Volume 12 No 4 I September 2016 29
Access to Quality Services
In the lead up to the recent election
the Turnbull Government made a major
election commitment to diagnostic
imaging (DI). This announcement is
a great policy win for the College,
the Australian Diagnostic Imaging
Association (ADIA) and other key
stakeholders who have worked together
to bring this about. It follows months of
work to persuade the Minister for Health
and subsequently the Prime Minister’s
Office to revise the changes to the bulk
billing incentive into a wider package of
DI reforms. (Cessation of the bulk billing
incentive for DI for non-concession
card holders had been announced in
the 2015 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal
Outlook.)
The main points of the government’s
commitment are:
• Commitment to implement the
Quality Framework
• Bulk billing incentive will cease from
1 Jan 2017 (instead of 1 Jul 2016) for
all non-concession card holders and
people over 16 years
• Investment of $50 million into the
sector, allocation will be determined
where the rebate is low compared to
the cost of providing the service
• MBS Taskforce Review will continue
without change
• No change to Diagnostic Imaging
Services Table, excluding MBS
Taskforce Review, for next three years
without consultation and agreement
from the sector
• DI indexation will resume when
GP indexation resumes, currently
scheduled for 2020.
Now that the results of the election are
confirmed we will realign our advocacy
efforts to press for implementation of
the Quality Framework reforms. This will
occur in several stages, the first of which
will cover:
1. Patient access to Medicare-funded
imaging services provided in a
comprehensive practice where a
specialist radiologist is on site to
attend the patient during normal
working hours.
2. Patient access to Medicare-funded
CT services in radiologist supervised
comprehensive practices which
also offer ultrasound and X-ray as a
minimum.
The current rural and remote
exemptions will continue without
change for the time being.
This reform will enable patients to
benefit from consistent professional
supervision and clinical input from
clinical radiologists as required to
ensure that patients receive the most
appropriate diagnostic imaging for their
clinical circumstances, thereby reducing
inappropriate imaging and waste in the
system. This is a significant step towards
true recognition of the role and value
of the clinical radiologist in healthcare
services.
The second stage of the Quality
Framework reform will focus on
ultrasound and rural and remote service
provision, these include:
3. Patient access to radiologist
supervised diagnostic mammography
and MSK ultrasound is improved.
4. Remote reporting will meet quality
protocols to preserve the clinical
chain of responsibility across all
service components and rural
patients will have real time access to
supervising radiologists.
5. All comprehensive diagnostic
ultrasound services will be performed
by qualified practitioners.
The College will continue to update
members on key developments
as implementation of the Quality
Framework progresses.
Big Win for Diagnostic Imaging
Determined advocacy results in pre-election
commitment by the Coalition
If you would like further information
about this, please contact Prof
John Slavotinek c/oMelissa Doyle,
Manager of Policy via