Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title Calls to delay changes to B12 testing Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet NewsGP Media type Web Country/Territory Australia Date 4/12/24 Description Potential changes to item descriptors, fees and claim frequencies are scheduled for July, but doctors are calling for further consultation, saying ‘additional red tape for GPs should be avoided’....
Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care Professor Mark Morgan said further consultation must be done before any changes are made.
‘It is important that batteries of tests are not requested as a form of poorly targeted population screening,’ he told newsGP.
‘Tests cost money, damage the environment and often are the precursor to low-value care or patient anxiety. It goes without saying that tests should only be requested for sound clinical reasons.
‘Using levers such as updated “appropriate use criteria” and “appropriate frequency criteria” helps reduce over testing.
‘The levers are a blunt instrument because there are often exceptions to general rules.’
Ultimately, Professor Morgan said clinician discretion is important.
‘There should be a way for clinical details accompanying requests to override restrictions on test indication and frequency,’ he said.
‘This would allow some flexibility while not opening flood gates to inappropriate testing. I don’t have a clear idea of how this could be operationalised without soaking up too much clinician time.
‘GP time is valuable and ultimately costs patients’ money. GPs need to focus on patient needs. Additional red tape for GPs should be avoided.’..
Here, Professor Morgan said, the MBS Review committees were presented with information about the volume of requesting and demographics about who was being tested and what other tests were requested at the same time.
He said there was a ‘complete absence of answers about why testing was being requested’.
‘How could the MBS review make reasonable suggestions to manage what looks like unwarranted increases in use of some item numbers for pathology testing and imaging without a clear understanding of what proportion of tests are clinically appropriate?,’ he said.
‘Frequency criteria seems a clunky way to reduce MBS spending because it is often not clear to the patient, requesting clinician or pathology provider if the test has been done before.’
Producer/Author Michelle Wisbey URL https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/calls-to-delay-changes-to-b12-testing?utm_source=racgpnewsgpnewsletter&utm_campaign=newsgpedm&utm_medium=email Persons Mark Morgan