Annual trends in diabetes screening and management in Australia: A secondary analysis of Medicare Benefits Schedule data.

Tijs, Louise; Hunter, Jennifer; Molodysky, Eugen

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major Australian and worldwide health concern. The aim of this study was to examine trends in T2D pathology testing by Australian doctors, with a focus on screening and early identification. METHOD A secondary analysis was conducted of publicly available data for eight pathology tests, accessed from the nationally funded Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the annual trends, according to age and sex, for the calendar years 2010-19. RESULTS Over the 10 years, screening rates for T2D had doubled while glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) tests for management remained constant. At the end of 2014, the MBS introduced HbA1c screening tests. By 2019, the HbA1c screening rates were three times higher than glucose tolerance tests, which had halved. DISCUSSION A strong adoption of the national screening guidelines introduced in 2015-16 was identified. Limitations in MBS data categorisation, such as no item number specific to fasting glucose or insulin, prevented detailed analysis of other potentially relevant tests that might be used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes.