Almost all patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis will soon be eligible for publicly funded transcatheter aortic valve implantation even if they are at low risk for open heart surgery.

From 1 July, access to the minimally invasive procedure will be expanded to include those at low risk of death or morbidity from surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with the creation of new MBS item 38522.

It follows the recommendation by the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) last year, which deemed transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) to have “acceptable safety and effectiveness” compared with SAVR over a 5-10-year period.

But to prevent inappropriate use, the item descriptor will state that the procedure should be intended for patients with severe native calcific aortic stenosis.