There are many ways of freeing up and making maximal use of existing colonoscopy resources
The Australian health care system is a complex mix of service providers, variably responsive to the demands placed upon them, and sometimes with limited flexibility, given resource and bureaucratic constraints. So, since the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing introduced national screening for bowel cancer, based on incontestable evidence of reduction of mortality from colorectal cancer, there have inevitably been some uncertainties about whether the health care system can cope. In particular, there is concern about the follow-up and management of participants with positive faecal occult blood test (FOBT) results. Follow-up and management will be delivered through “usual care”, without any program-specific funding. How will this affect the health care system?
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I would like to thank Professor James St John and Professor David Hill for reviewing the manuscript.