A forgotten MBS Review Taskforce recommendation to roll out software that deters GPs from making unnecessary imaging requests may finally come to fruition.

The task force’s diagnostic medicine committee made the proposal in January 2019, saying a clinical decision support (CDS) program integrated with GP desktop software was the best option to curb over-testing by giving GPs real-time advice on whether the tests they wanted to order were appropriate for the condition.

The committee also suggested that GPs ordering MBS-funded imaging for indications like lower back pain should have to attest that they used the CDS program.

An alternative idea was to make the system function as an electronic “gatekeeper”, directly controlling access to Medicare rebates for imaging.