Doctor lodges his own MSAC application for $563 ‘virtual colonoscopy’ rebate
Including CT colonography for cancer detection on Medicare will reduce waitlists and improve access in rural areas, says Associate Professor Tom Sutherland.
After his first battle with the Medical Services Advisory Committee lasted seven years, Associate Professor Tom Sutherland doubted he had strength for another.
But the months-long waitlists for optical colonoscopy persuaded the director of medical imaging at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital to lodge a rare one-man application for a new Medicare item.
He has asked the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) to support GP-referred CT colonography, also called ‘virtual colonoscopy’.
“It is frustrating when colleagues overseas use CT colonography (CTC) for 20-30% of all colonic examinations and Australia is being left behind,” he says.
