Minority Report by Coalition Senators
The Coalition Senators
note the implementation concerns with this Bill. Whilst there is general
support for patient choice, this needs to be balanced with the practicalities
of providing high quality medical care, patient safety and the legal
responsibilities of practitioners providing care.
Timeliness is of
particular importance in relation to pathology services. There are a number of
implementation concerns to ensure the accurate and timely dissemination of
pathology results which still need to be addressed by the Government.
Evidence and
submissions to the Committee demonstrate that there is variance in the range of
services offered by pathology practices. Differences in laboratory
technologies, the expertise of pathologists and laboratory teams, and the range
of tests provided mean that there are circumstances where the needs of some
patients are best met by certain pathology practices.
The degree of urgency
by which results are required also greatly varies. Therefore, it may be
appropriate in times of clinical need for referring practitioners to specify a
provider for which they have clear and established lines of communication for
results.
Many complex and
chronic conditions require continual monitoring over extended periods of time.
On the basis of evidence supplied to the Committee, there are instances where
disease progression, remission and recurrence are most suitably monitored through
consistent measurement series and reference range.
The Coalition Senators
believe there are circumstances due to clinical urgency, a specific medical
condition, or a requirement for consistent measurement series over time where
the referring doctor should have an option to specify a pathology provider to
remove ambiguity and improve patient safety.
Recommendation
The legislation be amended to allow
referring doctors to specify a pathology provider in circumstances where there
is a justifiable clinical need.
Senator
Judith Adams
Senator
for Western Australia
May
2010
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