Warning on online diagnosis

THE Turnbull Government has cautioned patients against diagnosing themselves on “Dr Google’’ and then demanding unnecessary and costly treatments m from medicos.

The health budget is being st strained by online DIY diagnoses se and doctors who order redundant d tests.

Health Minster Sussan Ley, w who is being attacked by the A Australian Medical Association for reviewing the relevance of almost 6000 item numbers subsidised on the Medicare Benefits Schedule, sa said Dr Google was one of the re reasons why clinical criteria ne needed to be strengthened.

“We therefore want to build a Medicare system that supports p doctors to provide patients ti with the best advice and c contemporary services available,” a Ms Ley said.

A report written by doctors a and available to health professionals, and obtained by News Corp, said: “Consumer expectations tat can have significant influence flu on what services are pr provided. The vast expansion in online information sources, with widely varying levels of authority and reliability, means that many patients arrive for a consultation with certain preconceptions about their actual or suspected condition d and the appropriate course of clinical action.”

The review into the MBS ite items comes as News Corp revealed ve that doctors were ch charging taxpayers twice or ev even three times in one day to tr treat a patient’s condition during in the same consultation.

It was also revealed that so some procedures, such as knee a arthroscopy for osteoarthritis, would face the chopping block because there was little evidence d they provided any h health benefit.

AMA president Brian Owler said the government was wrong to attack doctors to try to justify cuts to Medicare.

Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King said the government was disguising an intention to “rip billions out of the health system’’.