Welcoming the inquiry, AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said today that rural and regional patients are getting a raw deal from poorly funded and badly targeted patient assisted travel schemes.

"The AMA wants to see nationally uniform and equitable PATS arrangements," Dr Capolingua said.

"They need better funding so that the costs of travel and reasonable accommodation are properly compensated.

"PATS need to be better marketed so more country patients can be made aware of them and access them, and the administrative arrangements should be simpler and less bureaucratic.

"There also needs to be better recognition of the special cultural needs of Indigenous patients so they can take greater advantage of these schemes.

"The AMA is also recommending an expansion of PATS to cover other treatments available under the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), including access to allied health where the care is coordinated by a doctor," Dr Capolingua said.

Background

Under current arrangements, patients are given around $30 to $35 per night for accommodation, while their carer may receive as little as $20 per night. Travelling by car will attract assistance of around 15 cents per kilometre.

Eligibility rules vary from State to State, with some States requiring patients to travel more than 200 kilometres one way before they can lodge a claim.

Access to PATS is focused on specialist services, while other health services are ignored. For example, a patient of a GP trying to coordinate access to allied health services would be ineligible for assistance under PATS.

Take-up rates of PATS among the Indigenous population is poor because of inadequate funding and tight restrictions that often prevent carers from being able to travel with the patient.

The full submission can be viewed here.