MBS Review Taskforce NewsletterMessage from the Chair

Welcome to the fifth issue of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review newsletter.

The Taskforce has continued to progress our work on the MBS review and the second round of recommendations from our Clinical Committees are nearing completion and will soon be released for public consultation.

Six of the Taskforce’s Clinical Committees will release the following Clinical Committee reports for public consultation:

Report from the Gastroenterology Clinical Committee Report from the Obstetrics Clinical Committee First report from the Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee - Low Back Pain Second report from the Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee - Bone

Densitometry Report from the Thoracic Medicine Clinical Committee First report of the Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery Clinical Committee on

Tonsillectomy, Adenoidectomy & Insertion of Grommets.

At the same time the Principles and Rules committee appointed by the Taskforce will be releasing the First Report of the MBS Principles and Rules Committee with draft recommendations on the rules and regulations underpinning the MBS to make ensure they are up-to-date and support contemporary clinical practice.

It’s important to note that the recommendations contained in these reports are not final and will be publicly released so that we can gain broad stakeholder feedback for the Taskforce to consider before presenting any final recommendations to Government.

The Taskforce will continue to release draft recommendations on different areas of the MBS regularly over the next year. It will also develop an ongoing system of review to make sure the MBS remains up-to-date after the current Review is completed.

Over the past several weeks I’ve had the opportunity to hear further feedback through stakeholder forums held across rural and remote Australia and with representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations, to ensure we’re considering the needs and challenges of the entire Australian community during the Review process.

The Taskforce continues to press forward to complete the remaining two thirds of our work in the areas of endocrinology, anaesthetics, dermatology, orthopaedics and many other specialty areas throughout the rest of 2016.

Until our next update, if you have any questions or require further information, please email the MBS Review team.

Bruce Robinson

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Public Consultation – Tranche One Reports

As mentioned above the draft reports from tranche one Clinical Committees are nearing their completion and will soon be released for public consultation.

Reports from tranche one includes the following Clinical Committees:

Obstetrics Gastroenterology Thoracic Medicine Diagnostic Imaging

o Low back paino Bone densitometry

Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery

And the:

Principles and Rules Committee

The Review to date has been a robust process with good working collaboration amongst a range of health professionals and consumer representatives to make sure that the interests of the patient are at the centre of deliberations.

The MBS Taskforce considers the public consultation process to be a critical part of the MBS Review to ensure recommendations are more broadly circulated and considered by stakeholders before final recommendations are presented to Government.

The consultation process will run for four weeks where submissions can be submitted via an online survey.

We welcome and encourage your input into the draft recommendations and look forward to further collaboration during this process.

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Rural and remote stakeholder consultations

During July and August 2016 further stakeholder consultations took place across rural and remote Australia to discuss the unique challenges these regions encounter with the MBS and healthcare in general.

As there isn't a specific committee dedicated to rural and remote issues these consultations were held with a focus on integrating rural and remote health issues into future committee deliberations across the board.

Consultations took place across locations from Northern Territory to Queensland including Darwin, Alice Springs, Cairns and Atherton and were held with a range of general practitioners, physicians and surgeons, including clinical psychologists, exercise physiotherapists, diabetes educators and practice nurses.

These consultations have highlighted the diversity of needs of patients in urban and rural and remote Australia and the need for different methods of supporting clinicians of all types and their patients as they access care. There was also overwhelming support for the benefits in improving access to MBS data to better understands the range and types of services patients are receiving in these areas.

Overall the discussions were positive with a range of opinions and experiences shared which will be helpful additions into future committee discussions and recommendations.

We would like to thank the Primary Health Networks in these areas for their support in organising the forums.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholder consultations

Consultations also included forums with representatives from a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations and site visits including to the Wuchopperen Health Service and the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH).

Discussions ranged from progress on the Governments ‘Closing the gap’ momentum and how better clarity around rules and items in the MBS could further complement this work.

We would like to thank the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT), the Queensland Aboriginal & Islander Health Council (QAIHC) and Northern Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Alliance (NATSIHA) for their support and assistance in organising these visits and forums.

Stakeholder Consultations – Upcoming

We’ll be holding further consultations focussing on rural and remote Australia later into 2016 and you’re invited to participate in these events – targeted at clinicians, organisations, consumers and the public.

More information on future consultations will be available on our website.

Alternatively you’re welcome to advise us of any consultations or forums you believe we should undertake in the future, just email the MBS Review team.

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Stakeholder Consultations - Cairns

Left to right: Dr Richard Malone (GP), Dr Sandra Hirowatari (GP), Prof Bruce Robinson and

Dr Roxanne Wu (Vascular Surgeon).

Left to right: Dr Elizabeth Jackson (Obstetrician), Dr Grant Withey (Radiologist), Prof Bruce

Robinson, Dr Roxanne Wu (Vascular Surgeon) and Mr Robin Moore (NQ PHN).

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Left to right: Dr Rod Catton (GP), Prof Bruce Robinson and Dr John Ombiga (Gastroenterologist).

Left to right: Juan du Buisson (Director Business Development & Operations), Prof Bruce Robinson, Julianne Boneham (Chairperson) and Bridget Carrick (Dept of Health) at the Wuchopperen Health Service, Cairns.

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Stakeholder Consultations – Alice Springs

Left to right: Jill Litzman, Tony Commins, Jakob Teitelbaum, Morgan Wilson, Georgie Corrie and Prof Bruce Robinson.

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Clinical Committees and Working Groups

The next set of Clinical Committees to be established later in 2016 includes:

Spinal surgery Anaesthetics Gynaecology (includes IVF) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Orthopaedics Urology Neurology Vascular surgery

The Taskforce is currently determining the Chair and membership of these Clinical Committees.

If you’re interested in nominating yourself or someone else to a Clinical Committee, please email the MBS Review team.

Alternatively, you’re welcome to contact us for any further updates on current or future committees and reports.

For more information

To keep up-to-date on the important work of the MBS Review Taskforce or for more information you can visit the Department of Health’s website.

Alternatively you can contact the MBS Reviews Unit.

To subscribe or unsubscribe from this mailing list please email MBSReviews@health.gov.au