Increasing cost efficiency was a priority for the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia in 2015/16

10 Nov 2016

The Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia focused on increasing efficiency across the board over the past year, introducing initiatives to improve timeliness and lower expenditure, according to information published by AHPRA today in its 2015/16 annual report.

The 2015/16 annual report by AHPRA and the national health practitioner boards is a comprehensive record of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the 12 months ending 30 June 2016.

‘Our number-one priority is patient safety,’ said Mr Neil Hicks, Chair of the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia. ‘By streamlining processes we endeavor to keep the focus on protecting the public.’

The Board announced it would reduce annual practitioner registration renewal fees to $180, lower than the average registration fees that existed prior to national registration.

‘We’ve planned a deficit budget over the next three to five years with the aim of returning equity back to registrants,’ Mr Hicks said.

The Board has also reduced the number of face-to-face Board meetings to six per year, a move that is expected to reduce costs by 30%.

The past year also saw the introduction of new registration standards for continuing professional development and professional indemnity insurance arrangements commenced.

In February 2016, the Board commenced its examination to assist in risk-based decision-making. ‘Our intent is to enable practitioners to demonstrate they are competent and safe to practice,’ said Mr Hicks.

More highlights of the past year include:

• More health practitioners overall: There were almost 20,000 more registrants in 2015/16 across the 14 regulated professions than there were last year, totalling 657,621 health practitioners nationally. Student registrations increased by more than 11,000 registrants year-on-year, totalling 153,710. 
  
  
• A simplified renewal process: Online registration renewals reached a new high across all professions – with over 98% of all registrants renewing online and on time, making it easier for health practitioners to renew their registration each year. 
  
  
• Increased registration for medical radiation practitioners: As of 30 June 2016, there were 15,303 registered medical radiation practitioners across Australia, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year. Medical radiation practitioners made up 2.3% of all registered health practitioners across the National Scheme. 
  
  
• A substantial increase in medical radiation practitioners holding provisional registration: 3.4% held provisional registration, an increase of 17.5% from last year. These registrants are participating in a supervised practice internship while they progress toward eligibility for general registration. 
  
  
• A decrease in student registrations: There were 3,447 students of medical radiation as at 30 June 2016, a 15.7% decrease year on year. 
  
  
• Greater awareness of the National Scheme: A nationwide campaign aimed at employers, practitioners and the general public rolled out across social media and in print advertising. 
  
  
• Growth in notifications: There were 10,082 notifications received during the year across all professions, an increase of 19.7% nationally (representing 1.5% of the registration base). The top three notifier complaints related to clinical care (41.8%), medication issues (11.5%) and health impairment (10.7%). Just under half of all notifications were made by a patient, relative or member of the public. AHPRA closed 5,227 matters in the year. 
  
  
• Increase in new notifications about medical radiation practitioners: In 2015/16, there were 48 notifications received nationally (including data from the Health Professional Councils Authority in NSW). This represents an annual increase of 54.9% from last year. 
  
  
• Less than 1% of all statutory offence matters were about medical radiation practitioners: AHPRA received eight new complaints about possible statutory offences by medical radiation practitioners in the past year. All new matters related to the use of protected titles.

For more data and information relating to the Medical Radiation Board of Australia in 2015/16, please see the 2015/16 annual report. The report provides a nationwide snapshot of the work of AHPRA and the Boards and highlights a multi profession approach to risk-based regulation with a clear focus on ensuring that Australians have a safe and competent health workforce.

‘The regulation of over 660,000 registered health practitioners across 14 health professions and eight states and territories is an important task,’ said AHPRA CEO Mr Martin Fletcher. ‘There are many things to consider in regulation – but there is only one main focus, and that is public safety.’

Supplementary tables that break down data across categories such as registrations, notifications, statutory offences, tribunals and appeals, and monitoring and compliance can also be found on the annual report website.

In the coming months, AHPRA and the National Boards will also publish summaries of our work regulating health practitioners in every state and territory, which will be released in late 2016. Expanded, profession-specific summaries will also be released and progressively published from early 2017.

For more information

• Lodge an online enquiry 
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 9275 9009 (overseas callers) 
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200

Download a PDF of this Media release - Increasing cost efficiency was a priority for the Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia in 2015/16 (118 KB,PDF)