Letters
Health services administration Ethics
Volume 196 - Issue 3

What is wrong with Medicare?

Author:  A Stuart Reece

Med J Aust 2012; 196 (3): 170. || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10099
Published online: 20 February 2012
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To the Editor: Webber is to be congratulated for his concise statement of the ills of Professional Services Review (PSR) audit,1 but his estimate of multiple billions being wasted each year is unsupported by evidence.

This remark has already been picked up by several of the nation’s daily newspapers, and well suits those of certain political persuasions. However, it is also essential that the operation of the PSR be subject to scrutiny.

The past performance of the PSR must be examined — including the correctness and consistency of the information it uses, its investigative processes, the defence evidence it does and does not accept, and the available avenues of appeal. These issues are all of great concern to doctors who have come to the PSR’s attention.

I note that the most recent edition of Medicare’s Forum promises more Medicare audits.2 The fun has only just begun.

Author

  • A Stuart Reece1
  • 1. University of Western Australia, Perth, WA.

Correspondence: sreece@bigpond.net.au

Competing interests

I was once investigated by the PSR, and am a member of the Australian Doctors’ Union.

References

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