What MBS services were most commonly used by people with dementia?
Of the MBS services used by people with dementia in 2016–17 (Figure 7.3):
- 49% were for GP consultations – GP consultations accounted for a greater proportion of MBS services used by people living in residential aged care (57%) than for those living in the community (36%).
- 25% were for pathology tests – Pathology tests accounted for a slightly smaller proportion of MBS services used by people living in residential aged care (22%) than they did for those living in the community (28%).
- 12% were for consultations with medical specialists – Consultations with medical specialists accounted for a considerably smaller proportion of MBS services used by people living in residential aged care (8.4%) than they did for those living in the community (17%).
- 4.2% were for diagnostic imaging – Diagnostic imaging accounted for a smaller proportion of MBS services used by people living in residential aged care (2.8%) than they did for those living in the community (6.4%).
When comparing the distribution of services used by people with dementia compared to people without dementia, differences were evident by place of residence. Among people living in residential aged care, GP consultations accounted for a greater proportion of services used by people with dementia (57%) than people without dementia (49%). All other services accounted for a similar or slightly smaller proportion of services used by people with dementia than people without dementia.
Among people living in the community, the distribution of services was more similar for both people with dementia and people without dementia. However, notably, GP consultations accounted for a slightly smaller proportion of services used by people with dementia (36%) than they did for people without dementia (40%) and specialist consultations accounted for a slightly greater proportion of services used by people with dementia (17%) than they did for people without dementia (13%).