Message from the MBS Review Taskforce Chair

Welcome to the third issue of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS)Review Newsletter.

Garnering feedback from stakeholders has been extremely valuable, and engagement with the health profession, as well as health consumers, will remain central to this review.

Thank you to the more than 1500 respondents who contributed to the online survey. We are pleased to see strong consensus on the need for the MBS review, with 93 per cent of the 585 health professionals who responded agreeing that parts of the MBS were out-of-date and required review.

In early December, I attended the second consumer forum hosted by the Consumer Health Forum (CHF) in Sydney. I would like to thank the CHF for their engagement in this process to date, and look forward to working with them throughout this Review.

Following on from our initial phase of consultations, including the online survey, stakeholder forums, and formal written submissions, the Taskforce is finalising its interim report to Government outlining the process for this Review.

2016 looks set to be a very busy year for the Taskforce. In addition to the existing five clinical committees and associated working groups, we are creatinga further six clinical committees which will start work soon. Over the course of the Review, we expect another 20 clinical committees will be established to cover the full range of MBS items. We appreciate the high level of interest in assisting with the review of MBS items.

I look forward to further consulting with a lot of you over the next year as we continue the important work of the Taskforce to achieve better health outcomes for all patients.

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

Bruce Robinson

Consultation on obsolete items

A number of MBS items have already been identified by the Clinical Committees as obsolete. That is, these items or services which have no clinical purpose in contemporary practice, the services identified are better covered under other items, or the items are no longer used for the purpose for which they were introduced.

There are 23 MBS items recommended for removal in this first stage of work, and as we mentioned in a previous communication, we would like your views on this first set of recommendations before final decisions are made. You are invited to provide feedback using the Citizen Space online consultation tool. Consultations close on Monday 8 February 2016.

Clinical Committees & Working Groups

The second tranche of Clinical Committees to be established in early 2016 are:

  • Cardiac Services
  • Dermatology and Allergy
  • Endocrinology
  • Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine
  • Oncology
  • Renal Medicine

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

We have received a large number of nominations for membership to the Clinical Committees. The membership of other Clinical Committees and Working Groups are outlined below.

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.

List of the members of the Clinical Committees

Principles and Rules Committee

Name / Position/Organisation
Professor Michael Grigg (Chair) / Executive Clinical Director, Surgical Services, Eastern Health Melbourne
Past President, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Private Practice
Dr Michael Coglin / Chief Medical Officer, Healthscope Limited
Dr Matthew McConnell / Public Health Physician, Country Health SA Local Health Network
Dr Eleanor Chew / General Practitioner
Member, Queensland Faculty Board, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Associate Professor Ken Sikaris / Pathologist, Sonic Healthcare
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Melbourne University
Associate Professor Alex Hunyor / Vitreoretinal Surgeon, Sydney Eye Hospital
Chair, Medicare Advisory Committee, Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists
Dr Penny Browne / General Practitioner
Senior Medical Officer, Avant
Mr Michael Jones / Diagnostic Radiologist
Chairman, Diagnostic Economic Committee, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
Dr Gerard Ingham / General Practitioner
Deputy Director, Professional Services Review
Ms Debra Kay / Consumer Representative

Pathology Clinical Committee

Name / Position/Organisation
Associate Professor Peter Stewart (Chair) / Director of Pathology, Sydney South West Pathology
President, The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
Professor Rita Horvath / Clinical Director, South Eastern Area Laboratory Services, NSW Health Pathology
Dr Debra Norris / Pathologist in Charge - Histology & Medical Director, QML Pathology
Dr Michael Harrison / Chief Executive Officer/Managing Partner & General Pathologist, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
Associate Professor Ken Sikaris / Pathologist, Sonic Healthcare
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Melbourne University
Dr Melody Caramins / National Head, Genetics, Specialist Diagnostic Services, Primary Health Care Limited
Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Medical Sciences, University of NSW
Chair, Genetics Advisory Committee, Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
Dr John Rowell / Director of Haematology, Pathology Queensland
Professor Dominic Mallon / Clinical Immunologist & Chief Pathologist, PathWest
Clinical Professor, School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Western Australia
Dr Peter Roberts / Director Of Emergency Department, Ryde Hospital
Associate Professor Anthony Landgren / Pathologist, Healthscope Pathology
Associate Professor Mary-Jo Waters / Director of Microbiology, St Vincent's Pathology
Professor Richard MacIsaac / Director, Endocrinology / Diabetes, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne
Dr Gary Lum / Medical Advisor, Department of Health
Ms Valerie Hanrahan / Consumers Health Forum of Australia
Dr Robyn Lindner / Client Relations Manager, Health Technologies, NPS MedicineWise

Pathology Business Group

Name / Position/Organisation
Dr Michael Harrison (Chair) / Chief Executive Officer/Managing Partner & General Pathologist, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
Mr James Bateman / General Manager, Pathology, of Primary Health Care Ltd
Dr Ian Clark / Chief Executive Officer, Australian Pathology, Sonic Healthcare
Mr James Davison / Chief Financial Officer, Australian Clinical Labs
Mr Paul Cray / Managing Director, Roche Diagnostics Australia
Ms Melinda McGrath / Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Australian Clinical Labs
Mr John McKechnie / Chief Executive Officer, QML Pathology
Ms Virginia Lloyd-Tait / Chief Pathology Officer, Sonic Healthcare
Ms Jenny Sirkoski / Chief Executive Officer, National Coalition of Public Pathology
Clinical Associate Professor Narelle Hadlow / Network Director of Regional Services & Consultant Pathologist, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA
Mr Paul Schneider / Laboratory Director & Partner, Perth Pathology
Mr Adrian Sutton / National Director of Operations, Pathology, St John of God Pathology
Mr Fred Humphries / Business Development Manager, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Associate Professor Peter Stewart / Director of Pathology, Sydney South West Pathology
President, The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia

Bone Densitometry Working Group (under the Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee)

Name / Position/Organisation
Associate Professor Rachael Moorin (Chair) / Associate Professor, Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Curtin University
Principal Researcher, Health Centre of Excellence, Silver Chain Group
Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Western Australia
Dr William Macdonald / Executive Director, Imaging West
Head, Nuclear Medicine, Fiona Stanley Hospital
President, Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists
Dr WalidJammal / Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney
Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney
Private practice
Professor Paul Glaziou / Professor, Evidence-Based Medicine, Bond University
GP, Private practice
Dr Peter Downey / Flinders University
Dr Merle Wigeson / Diagnostic Radiologist, PRS
Associate Professor Nicholas Pocock / Senior Staff Specialist, Nuclear Medicine, St Vincents Hospital
Associate Professor, University of New South Wales
Dr Simon Vanlint / Senior lecturer, Discipline of General Practice, University of Adelaide
Private practice

Imaging for pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis Working Group (under the Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee)

Name / Position/Organisation
Professor Alex Pitman (Chair) / Director of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Lake Imaging
Adjunct Professor, Medical Imaging, University of Notre Dame
Dr WalidJammal / Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney
Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney
Private practice
Clinical Associate Professor Taryn Bessen / Senior Staff Radiologist, Royal Adelaide Hospital
Associate Professor John Troupis / Consultant Radiologist, Monash Health
Associate Professor Mark Howard / Director, Victorian Respiratory Support Service, Austin Health
Board Member, Australasian Sleep Association
Associate Professor David McClure / Supervisor, Vascular Surgical Training, Barwon Health, Deakin University
Director, Geelong Vascular Service
Dr Harry Gibbs / Medical Director, Vascular Laboratory, Alfred Hospital

Imaging of the knee Working Group (under the Diagnostic Imaging Clinical Committee)

Name / Position/Organisation
Associate Professor Stacy Goergen(Chair) / Director of Research, Monash Imaging
Clinical Adjunct Professor, Southern Clinical School, Monash University
Dr Richard Ussher / Director of Training, Radiology, Ballarat Health Services
Director, Grampians BreastScreen
Dr WalidJammal / Clinical Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney
Conjoint Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney
Private practice
Dr Evan Ackermann / University Medical Centre, Southern Cross University
General Practitioner, Private practice
Associate Professor Duncan Mortimer / Centre for Health Economics, Monash University
Associate Professor Rachael Moorin / Associate Professor, Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Curtin University
Principal Researcher, Health Centre of Excellence, Silver Chain Group
Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Western Australia
Dr Sanjay Dhupelia / Radiologist, Queensland X-Ray
Professor Rachelle Buchbinder / Director, Monash Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Cabrini Hospital
Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Monash University
NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow
Director,Monash Department of ClinicalEpidemiology, Cabrini Hospital
Department of Epidemiology andPreventive Medicine,School ofPublic Health & Preventive Medicine,Monash University
Joint Coordinating Editor, CochraneMusculoskeletal Group
Dr Andrew Boyden / Clinical Adviser, NPS MedicineWise
Private practice
Professor Julian Feller / Orthopaedic Surgeon, Epworth Richmond
Clinical Professor, School of Medicine, Deakin University
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University
Professor John North / Clinical Director, Queensland Audit of Surgical Mortality & Northern Territory Audit of Surgical Mortality, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

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