National Bowel Cancer Screening Program
On this page
- Who will be invited to take part?
- Why are only people turning 55 or 65 years of age invited to take part?
- What is the screening process?
- Role of Medicare Australia:
- Role of General Practitioners:
- Payment Arrangements
- Frequency of payment and statements
- Electronic lodgement of GP Assessment form
- More information:
As part of its Strengthening Cancer Care initiative announced in the 2005-2006 Budget, the Australian Government allocated $13.4 million over three years to phase in a nationally coordinated, population based, bowel cancer screening program. This follows the success of the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot Program that ran from November 2002 to June 2004.
Bowel cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Australia with around 12,800 new cases each year resulting in about 90 Australians dying each week from the disease. Bowel cancer is one of the most curable types of cancers and can be treated successfully if detected in its early stages, but currently fewer than 40 per cent of bowel cancers are detected early.
The overall evaluation of the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot Program found that population screening for bowel cancer in Australia was both acceptable to the target population and effective in improving the rate of early detection bowel cancer. Due to the success of the Pilot Program, the decision was made to roll out the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (the Program).
The Program commenced in August 2006 and is to be phased in over a number of years. This is to help ensure that health services, such as colonoscopy and treatment services, are able to meet any increased demand.
An evaluation of this phase of the Program will be completed prior to the 2008 Federal Budget with a view to extending bowel cancer screening, if successful on clinical grounds, to additional age groups. The additional age groups would be targeted over a number of years.
Who will be invited to take part?
Initially screening will be offered to Australians turning 55 or 65 years of age between 1 May 2006 and 30 June 2008, and to those who were involved in the Pilot Program. Temporary visa and temporary residents will not be invited to participate in the Program regardless of whether they are in the specified age range.
The names and addresses of people eligible to take part in the program have been drawn from Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs records. The way in which invitations are sent out will vary from state to state, with some people receiving their invitations around the time of their birthday and some receiving their invitations at the same time as other people living in their area.
Why are only people turning 55 or 65 years of age invited to take part?
Research shows that the risk of developing bowel cancer rises significantly from the age of 50. The evaluation of the Bowel Cancer Screening Pilot recommended that screening be offered to people aged 55 to 74 years of age.
It is important that the Program be introduced slowly to provide time to ensure that health services, such as colonoscopy services, are able to meet any increased demand. This is why during this phase of the Program, only those turning 55 or 65 years of age between 1 May 2006 and 30 June 2008 are being invited to screen.
What is the screening process?
People eligible to participate in the Program will receive an invitation pack in the mail. The pack includes an invitation letter, information booklet, Participant Details Form and a Faecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) kit. The test is completed in the privacy of the participant’s home and then mailed in the envelope provided, with the Participant Details form, to a laboratory for analysis. There is no cost involved to the participant for completing the FOBT.
Ideally the participant should do the FOBT within two weeks of receiving the kit and no later than two months after receiving the kit.
The results are sent to the participant, their doctor (if nominated) and also to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Register about two weeks after the completed test was posted to the pathology laboratory.
Program participants will be encouraged to nominate their GP or medical practice on the Participant Details form, but this is not compulsory. The result of the test will be sent to the participant, their doctor (if nominated) and also to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Register about two weeks after the completed test was posted to the pathology laboratory.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is similar to the Cervical Screening Program, in that the management of people with a positive result is integrated within existing health services. Participants with a positive FOBT will be advised to see their GP and discuss the result and usual referral procedures for follow up tests, such as colonoscopy, will apply.
Role of Medicare Australia:
Medicare Australia is working in partnership with the Department of Health and Ageing to implement the Program. Medicare Australia’s role is to assist in the administration aspects including establishing the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register (the Register). The Register will:
- issue invitations, including an FOBT kit, to participate in screening;
- send a reminder letter to anyone who doesn’t complete their FOBT within 6 weeks of receiving it;
- issue reminders to people with a positive FOBT result (and to their GP and/or medical practice where nominated), where there is no record on the Register that they have consulted their GP or attended for the follow up tests to which they were referred.
Role of General Practitioners:
- Encourage individuals who are sent a FOBT kit to participate in the Program.
- Assess those with a positive FOBT and refer them for further examination as clinically indicated, for example, for a colonoscopy.
- When referring your patient for a colonoscopy, please attach a Program participant sticker (provided in mailed GP kits) to the colonoscopy referral letter. This sticker will identify your patient as a Program participant. If you have not received a Program GP kit, please contact the Information Line number listed below.
- Notify the Register of referral/non referral for colonoscopy or other bowel examination for participants with a positive FOBT, using the standard Program reporting forms as supplied with GP kits. An information payment of $6.60 (GST inclusive) applies.
- Manage individuals identified as being at high risk of bowel cancer in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention, Early Detection and Management of Colorectal Cancer (2nd edition, December 2005).
The success of the Program rests on the ability for information to be provided to the Register about outcomes of diagnosis.
Payment Arrangements
Consultations and medical procedures for Program participants will be paid through Medicare in the usual way.
Medical practitioners, specialists and pathologists will receive a payment for providing Program information to the Register about consultations and medical procedures for Program participants.
An information payment of $6.60 (GST inclusive) will be paid for each correctly completed form sent to the Register. Payments will only be made for information provided for consultations, colonoscopies and histopathology performed for Program participants.
In order to receive this payment you must complete a Payment Account Details for Service Provider form [PDF, 70Kb]
. The details provided will be used to make payments for complete information forms received. All payments will be made to the bank account nominated on this form. If you have different bank accounts for other provider locations you will need to complete this form for each provider location. If you wish to register and nominate the same bank account details for all locations please indicate on the form by ticking the appropriate box.
To receive this payment, after completing and submitting the Payment Account Details for Service Providers form, one of the following forms needs to be completed and sent to the register for each Program participant that you see:
- GP Assessment form – Referred/Not Referred following a positive FOBT result
- Colonoscopy form
- Procedure Report – Adverse Outcomes
- Histopathology Report
If you have not already done so you will need to advise Medicare Australia of your ABN by completing the form Notification of ABN and Medicare Australia reference IDs for tax treatment purposes and Recipient Created Tax Invoice (RCTI)Agreement. You can obtain further information and a copy of the form by clicking on GST and your practice.
Frequency of payment and statements
The Register will make monthly payments to the bank account nominated on your Payment Account Details for Service Providers on the ninth day (or next working day) for correctly completed forms lodged the previous month. Monthly statements will be provided for reconciliation and taxation purposes. The statements will include details regarding payments, such as patient name, date of consultation and GST.
Where incomplete information is provided and the Register is not able to make a payment, the provider will be contacted for additional information.
Electronic lodgement of GP Assessment form
Commencing 1 July 2007 Medicare Australia introduced an on-line service to support GPs in providing valuable patient data to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Register.
The online version of the GP Assessment: Referred/Not Referred for Colonoscopy form can now be accessed through the Provider Directory System (PDS) Online. The online version is virtually identical to the paper based form being used by GPs to notify the Register of patient information.
As well as being able to submit new forms electronically, some of the required information will be pre-populated for you. If the form has not been completed correctly you will be notified immediately and you can also view any previous forms that have been submitted.
For more information on how to gain access to submit forms electronically to the Register click on the Provider Directory System.
More information:
For more information about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program visit the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing website at:
For more information about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Register and additional Program materials, you can call the:
National Bowel Cancer Screening Register Information Line on 1800 118 868**
State and Territory Cancer Councils provide a confidential service where your patients can talk about their concerns or questions about cancer with specially trained staff. The staff can send written information and provide contact details of services in the local area. The Helpline also supports general practice with information on diagnosis, treatment and care.
The Cancer Council Helpline: 13 11 20*
Translating and Interpreting Service: 13 14 50*
* call charges apply from mobiles or pay phones only
** call charges apply
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Last updated: 18 August, 2008