Shelley Julia M, Kavanagh Shane, Graham Melissa, Mayes Catherine
Centre for Health through Action on Social Exclusion (CHASE) and School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria.
Aust N Z J Public Health. 2015 Feb;39(1):77-81. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12343.
To assess the uptake of Medicare Benefit payments for non-directive pregnancy support counselling which commenced in November 2006.
Counts of services for pregnancy counselling from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2012, where a Medicare rebate was paid, were used to calculate age-, state- and provider-specific rates per 100,000 women aged 15-44 years, and rates per 100,000 births for each study year.
Rates of Medicare rebates for pregnancy counselling were low, with a mean of 90.6 services per 100,000 women recorded over the study period. GP services were accessed most frequently, while services provided by allied health professionals averaged less than 5% of those for GPs. The overall rate of services fell in all jurisdictions except Victoria/Tasmania, although services provided by allied health professionals remained steady or rose in all jurisdictions over the study period.
There has been a low uptake of pregnancy counselling covered by the Medicare Benefits Item numbers introduced in 2006, especially for services provided by allied health professionals. Due to a lack of available data, the impact on abortion rates is unknown.
Provision of Medicare rebates for pregnancy counselling does not appear to be an effective way of assisting women with unintended pregnancies.
评估2006年11月开始的非指导性妊娠支持咨询的医疗保险福利支付情况。
利用2007年7月1日至2012年6月30日期间获得医疗保险回扣的妊娠咨询服务计数，计算每10万名15 - 44岁女性的年龄、州和提供者特定比率，以及每个研究年度每10万例分娩的比率。
妊娠咨询的医疗保险回扣率较低，在研究期间每10万名女性平均记录有90.6次服务。全科医生服务的使用最为频繁，而专职医疗专业人员提供的服务平均不到全科医生服务的5%。除维多利亚州/塔斯马尼亚州外，所有司法管辖区的服务总比率均下降，尽管在研究期间所有司法管辖区专职医疗专业人员提供的服务保持稳定或有所上升。
2006年引入的医疗保险福利项目编号所涵盖的妊娠咨询使用率较低，尤其是专职医疗专业人员提供的服务。由于缺乏可用数据，对堕胎率的影响尚不清楚。
为妊娠咨询提供医疗保险回扣似乎不是帮助意外怀孕女性的有效方式。
