Therapeutics

The AMA has advocated for pathology members in numerous areas over the last six months. Key areas are highlighted below.

Pathology funding 

On 11 April 2011, the Government signed an agreement with the pathology sector.

Although the AMA is not a party to the agreement, it secured membership of the Demand Management Advisory Committee, one of the three subcommittees of the Pathology Agreement Advisory Committee that oversees implementation of the agreement. The AMA Vice President Professor Geoffrey Dobb is our representative.

The AMA continues to lobby on behalf of all medical practitioners for medical services to be adequately supported by funding arrangements so that MBS rebates are increased, out of pocket costs for patients are reduced, and bulk-billing levels are maintained in order to allow for better access and better informed patient care.

Pathology requests form legislation

Both referring medical practitioners and pathologists would by now be aware that the requirement for pathology requests to be made to specific providers in order to attract a Medicare rebate was removed in December last year.

Members will recall that the AMA was successful in securing an amendment to the Health Insurance (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010 to accommodate the situation when a treating medical practitioner wants a specific pathologist to perform the service.

However, given that most patients will be able to take their request form to any pathology service, it is even more important for medical practitioners and pathology providers to ensure that up-to-date business and after-hours contact details are available for local medical practitioners in case critical results need to be communicated urgently.

More recently, the AMA provided advice to the Department of Health and Ageing on appropriate wording for the ‘patient choice advisory statement’ that must appear on all pathology request forms by 1 July 2012.

The Department has since advised that the statement that will appear in regulations is:

Your doctor has recommended that you use [insert name of provider]. You are free to choose your own pathology provider. However, if your doctor has specified a particular pathologist on clinical grounds a Medicare rebate will only be payable if that pathologist performs the service. You should discuss this with your doctor.

It will be an offence for pathology providers to produce or distribute branded request forms that do not contain this statement. However, patients who present these will still be eligible for their Medicare benefit.

AMA representation on pathology policy committees

The AMA has ongoing membership of several committees providing advice to the Government on pathology funding and quality issues, in addition to Professor Dobb’s membership of the Demand Management Advisory Committee as noted above.

Dr Beverly Rowbotham, the AMA Federal Council pathologist representative, is a member of the Pathology Services Table Committee and the Quality Use of Pathology Committee.

Member of the AMA Doctors in Training Committee Dr Andrew Hutchinson also represents the AMA on the Quality Use of Pathology Committee providing junior doctor perspectives.

Dr Eva Raik represents the AMA on the National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council.