Yes. The bone density scan is bulk-billed for all patients that are 70 years old and above.
For patients that are under 70, if you have a pre-existing medical condition such as: a minimal trauma fracture; early onset of menopause; chronic liver or renal disease; rheumatoid arthritis (to name a few), you would be eligible to have a bulk-billed scan every 12 to 24 months depending. You will need to discuss this with your GP.
The cost of a bone density scan is $90, or $50 if you are a pension card holder.
Yes – anyone wanting a DEXA scan MUST have a valid GP referral
You have no way of knowing whether you have low bone density or Osteoporosis unless you have a bone density scan.
Those affected by the condition are unaware that their bones are thinning until they have a bone density scan or experience a fracture as a result of a fall from standing height.
No. Getting a bone density scan is very safe.The radiation from the scan is of an extremely low. By comparison, it is half the amount of radiation the average person receivesfrom natural background radiation (NBR)
The scan is painless and it only takes two minutes to complete both the hip and spine
No. You remain fully clothed for your scan. We do advise not to wear any metal in the form of zips, belts, buckles or underwire bras as this can interfere with the results of the scan.
Yes, the scan won’t affect the pacemaker and the pacemaker will not affect your results.
Yes, we require two vertebrae to get a valid lumbar spine bone density diagnosis. If this is not possible, we will scan a tertiary site such as the non-dominant wrist.
Yes, we will scan your lumbar spine sand thenon-dominant wrist.
There is NO cost for the practice to have the Bone Bus service visit the medical centre.
We do not take up ANY space in your clinic – scans are performed in the Bone Bus. If you have room for us in your car park, then that is ideal for your patients.
Yes- We have an internal parking division that liaises with council; centre managers; landlords and property managers to get the relevant permits and (or) permissions to park the Bone Bus as close to the medical centre as possible
Yes- We have an internal parking division that liaises with council; centre managers; landlords and property managers to get the relevant permits and (or) permissions to park the Bone Bus as close to the medical centre as possible
Results are sent via Health Link directly to the Doctor’s portal or by way of fax if there is no Health Link account within three to five business days from the final scan
There is NO difference between the accuracy and performance of a mobile DEXA compared to a freestanding DEXA. There are two well-known bone densitometer manufacturers used in Australia – Hologic and GE. These densitometers are found both in fixed and mobile laboratories across Australia. Both these densitometers more importantly provide the correct diagnostic measures of the lumbar spine and femoral neck reported on by Radiologists and approved by Medicare Australia. There is no difference in the outcome whether that measure is undertaken at a fixed site or in a mobile environment. As per Medicare Australia requirements our Hologic densitometers are calibrated daily to ensure reliability of the measures as they would be in a fixed facility. The only difference is that we come to you
We have a dedicated Bone Bus for each medical centre that we visit. The same Bone Bus and DEXA will be used for each subsequent visit. This allows us to provide the medical centre and their patients with continuity of service to ensure the same DEXA is used. For each subsequent scan, the patient’s rate of change will be recorded and tabled on the radiologist’s report.
The Bone Bus will visit each medical centre annually (after 12 months from their previous scan)