WHITE PAPER ON ACCESS TO MECHANICAL THROMBECTOMY LAUNCHED

 

1.     Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in Australia, with a $6.2 billion direct financial cost and a further $26 billion in lost well-being and premature death.

2.     For several years now, mechanical thrombectomy has been considered a gold-standard treatment for this type of stroke. However, only a fraction of patients who would benefit are receiving the treatment, and there are significant inequities in access depending on where a patient lives.

3.     For some patients, this treatment can mean the difference between walking out of the hospital following a stroke or living with permanent and severe disability.

4.     Improving stroke outcomes for all Australians requires a system that gets the right patients to the right treatment centre as quickly as possible.

5.     The White Paper: Access to Mechanical Thrombectomy in Australia looks at the barriers preventing people from accessing treatment and proposes that a national strategy be developed to help overcome these barriers for all Australians.

The ANZSNR has endorsed the development of this White Paper.

We are pleased to announce that the White Paper has been launched and can be accessed at:

austrokealliance.org.au/white-paper/

New funding category for mechanical thrombectomy

The Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority (IHACPA) has just released its 2023-24 pricing determinations – this is the first publication that specifically references ECR and confirms an increase in funding. This funding will be applicable for procedures from 1 July 2023.

The new pricing is as below; (NOTE: these are averages, and final funding amounts will be influenced by the length of stay, time in ICU, time in ER etc.)

AR-DRG V11.0 Description ALOS (days) AVG Inlier Funding

B08A Endovascular Clot Retrieval, Major Complexity 9.3 $40,936

B08B Endovascular Clot Retrieval, Minor Complexity 4.1 $24,927

The value of this category will continue to change over the coming years as the system captures more cost and clinical data. An important next step is for INRs and stroke units to ensure that they are submitting detailed and accurate cost data to IHACPA.

Ultra-Long Transfers for Endovascular Thrombectomy—Mission Impossible?: The Australia-New Zealand Experience

We are pleased to share this recently published study that highlights that in selected patients transferred >300 miles, there was a benefit for endovascular stroke treatment (EVT), with outcomes similar to those treated in the comprehensive stroke centre in the EVT extended window trials.

Remote hospital CTP selection was not associated with ordinal mRS improvement, but was associated with fewer very poor 3-month outcomes for patients.

Expressions of Interest NOW OPEN - Research Sub Committee

Expressions of Interest are now open for the position of ‘Member’ of the newly formed Research Sub Committee.

The aim of the Sub Committee is to promote and support research in the fields of diagnostic neuroradiology, interventional neuroradiology and head and neck imaging through the administration of research grants.

For full details, including the key objectives, meeting frequency and responsibilities as a member, please refer to the Terms of Reference.

The Sub Committee will be made up of no more than 5 members. Please note only Full Members are eligible to apply.

Applicants will be ratified by the ANZSNR Council for a two-year term and will be advised of the outcome of their application in writing, no later than six weeks following submission.

If you wish to apply, please complete the EOI Form and submit your full application to the ANZSNR secretariat at secretariat@anzsnr.org.au by Friday 16 December 2022.