Total $ 26,488,478 27,078,796 27,681,530 28,296,931 28,925,255 **expert advice from ACRRM is that 2000 GPs out of workforce of 10,500 use service The total cost to the MBS of introducing SAF technology will be a small increase over the total costs of the current situation without SAF which is shown in Table 70. This is due to the substitution of patient currently being treated by their GP to being treated by SAF. The assumptions underlying Table 71 assumes that around 2,000 rural GPs out of a rural GP workforce of 10,500 (General Practice Statistics, 2014) will take up SAF in its first year of availability. This figure is based on the number of rural GPs who currently participate in the ACRRM run TELEDERM program. It is assumed that this proportion of GPs will refer all patients requiring specialist dermatology services to a dermatologist either for a FF consultation or a consultation via SAF; VC use will remain unchanged. The estimates in Table 71 may underestimate the costs to the GPs as they will still be required to refer the patient which incurs costs. The number of GPs that takeup SAF is assumed to increase by 1,000 GPs a year up till 6,000 rural GPs will be participating in this program. This figure is an assumption but takes into account that younger GPs are more likely to be comfortable with digital technology and over time this type of consultation may increase. One of the recommendations of the protocol and expert advice is that there may need to be a separate MBS item created for GP referrers to recognise the extra time they will incur to take an extensive clinical history, take the digital images with the requisite expertise and to upload this data to the dermatologist’s SAF portal. Expert advice is that obtaining this information could take between 15-30 minutes depending on how extensive the skin involvement is. Table 72 estimates this likely additional cost to the MBS as well as the substitution of VC technology to deliver specialist dermatology services by SAF.
Total $ 26,488,478 27,078,796 27,681,530 28,296,931 28,925,255 **expert advice from ACRRM is that 2000 GPs out of workforce of 10,500 use service The total cost to the MBS of introducing SAF technology will be a small increase over the total costs of the current situation without SAF which is shown in Table 70. This is due to the substitution of patient currently being treated by their GP to being treated by SAF. The assumptions underlying Table 71 assumes that around 2,000 rural GPs out of a rural GP workforce of 10,500 (General Practice Statistics, 2014) will take up SAF in its first year of availability. This figure is based on the number of rural GPs who currently participate in the ACRRM run TELEDERM program. It is assumed that this proportion of GPs will refer all patients requiring specialist dermatology services to a dermatologist either for a FF consultation or a consultation via SAF; VC use will remain unchanged. The estimates in Table 71 may underestimate the costs to the GPs as they will still be required to refer the patient which incurs costs. The number of GPs that takeup SAF is assumed to increase by 1,000 GPs a year up till 6,000 rural GPs will be participating in this program. This figure is an assumption but takes into account that younger GPs are more likely to be comfortable with digital technology and over time this type of consultation may increase. One of the recommendations of the protocol and expert advice is that there may need to be a separate MBS item created for GP referrers to recognise the extra time they will incur to take an extensive clinical history, take the digital images with the requisite expertise and to upload this data to the dermatologist’s SAF portal. Expert advice is that obtaining this information could take between 15-30 minutes depending on how extensive the skin involvement is. Table 72 estimates this likely additional cost to the MBS as well as the substitution of VC technology to deliver specialist dermatology services by SAF.
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