Health department backs huge MRI Medicare expansion for GPs
The staged expansion proposes at least 11 new MBS items for GPs.
GPs could order a range of new MRI scans under Medicare, including foot, ankle, hip and shoulder scans, based on recommendations from a Department of Health, Disability and Ageing review.
The department is proposing a staged expansion of GPs’ MRI requesting powers under Medicare, including potentially 11 new items, such as a $552 item for thoracolumbar spine MRI and a $402 item for foot or ankle MRI.
Currently, GPs can only access four items for patients aged 16 and over, for limited indications.
This status quo reflected an outdated view of MRIs as an “exotic study”, the chair of the RACGP Expert Committee on Quality Care, Professor Mark Morgan, told AusDoc.
