Diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology

Eligibility for Medicare benefits

You and your patients can claim Medicare benefits for diagnostic imaging or radiation oncology services if your practice has:

• a Location Specific Practice Number (LSPN)
• an accreditation to provide diagnostic imaging services.

Accreditation isn’t required for radiation oncology services.

Supporting legislation

Read about supporting legislation for diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology services on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Register your practice

You must register your practice and be allocated an LSPN before you can get accreditation.

Complete the Application to register or amend a diagnostic imaging or radiation oncology practice form (HW061). To avoid delays to your registration, you need to:

• include all equipment details
• complete all date fields.

If we approve your registration, we’ll update the LSPN Register including:

• allocating an LSPN to your practice
• listing your equipment
• activating your LSPN record
• writing to you to confirm your registration.

If we reject your registration, we’ll write to you to tell you why.

You can use Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) to:

• send the application form and documents online using HPOS form upload
• view and manage your LSPN record details
• renew your registration.

If you need help linking and managing your LSPN read the LSPN HPOS User guide.

The LSPN Register can also help you:

• find registered practices
• check a practice’s registration and accreditation details.

Get your practice accredited

If your practice provides diagnostic imaging services, you need to apply for accreditation once you have a LSPN.

Your practice must get accreditation under the Diagnostic Imaging Accreditation Scheme (DIAS) which you can read about on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare website. You can then provide services in the Diagnostic Imaging Services Table (DIST).

You can get your practice accredited by one of these accrediting agencies:

• HDAA Australia Pty Ltd (HDAA)
• National Association of Testing Authorities Australia (NATA)
• Quality Innovation Performance (QIP).

It’s an offence if you don’t tell your patients before providing the service:

• that your practice isn’t accredited
• they can’t claim a Medicare benefit.

You can read about how to comply with Medicare obligations on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.

LSPN records are updated within 5 working days of receipt of accreditation reports emailed to us by accrediting agencies as part of the DIAS.

You’ll need to incorporate this timeframe into your DIAS and Medicare claiming processes and when talking with patients.

You can check your practice’s accreditation details on the LSPN Register on the Medicare website.

You don’t need accreditation to provide radiation oncology services. This is because radiation oncology services aren’t part of DIAS.

Register your practice for mobile diagnostic imaging or radiation oncology equipment

To register you must be either a premises or a base for mobile diagnostic imaging or radiation oncology equipment.

You’ll need to tell us either:

• the location where you provide most of your services
• the base location where you store equipment when it isn’t in use.

You’re considered a practice when both of the following apply:

• you provide most of your services from where your equipment is normally located
• you rarely take this equipment offsite.

Your practice is a base for mobile diagnostic imaging or radiation oncology equipment if you provide most services away from your registered location.