Reporting to the Minister for Health, the Taskforce consists of a cross-section of private and public practitioners, academics and consumer representatives, Via the Taskforce, clinical committees and working groups are required to make recommendations as to whether MBS items are obsolete and should be removed, as well as identify any services that require priority reviews, develop a program considering the balance of the MBS services and identify any other relevant issues.
As part of the open consultation process, the Australian public as well as health practitioners, are invited to comment on the draft recommendations. The open consultation process provides the public with the reports by the relevant clinical committees, draft recommendations, consumer summaries and a feedback questionnaire for consumers specific to the draft recommendations. Consultations that are currently open for comment include endocrinology, intensive care and emergency medicine, pathology (endocrine) and cardiac services.
Consultation is open until 4 October 2017, and are available here and here.
It is anticipated that the next round for public consultation will include anaesthetics and oncology, with future consultations including orthopaedics, pathology, gynaecology, diagnostic imagining, diagnostic medicine, and GP & primary care. Whilst many clinical committees and working groups have already been established, nominations remain open for many specialities. Health care practitioners are invited to become involved.
