Margaret and other health professionals call on the government to give greater powers to the Professional Services Review Agency to conduct national medical records audits.
Anaesthetist Joanna Sutherland (chair of the Safety and Quality Committee of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), described the anaesthesia billing system as unfit for purpose and said “it was open to misapplication and misinterpretation”.
Another excellent article published by ABC Investigations supports the need for greater transparency in the Medicare system. The whole Medicare billing system, not just anaesthesia billing lacks transparency, checks and balances. This statement is now beyond dispute. For example, one patient’s health fund and Medicare was billed (and paid) for an anaesthetic that didn’t take place because there was no surgery. Ultimately, whether this was deliberate or an error is irrelevant. With a pressured health budget, it has to stop. We should not continue to tolerate misuse by some medical professionals. This impacts trust for all of us and is why transparency is in the best interest of doctors and patients.
Dr Peck, Dr Sutherland and myself have called on the government to give the Professional Services Review Agency (the Medicare watchdog) more powers to conduct sweeping national medical records audits.
Dr Margaret Faux (PhD) – Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Synapse Medical Services
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