Medicare - the trend is your friend

Using data provided by Medicare Australia we can see how QuantiFERON (QFT) is being accepted - bear in mind that QFT reimbursement is limited to the detection of latent tuberculosis in an immunosuppressed or immunocompromised patient whereas TST is unrestricted.

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If we extend the data range to include both TST (Mantoux) and QFT and if we accept that the Medicare data is truly representative we can see an interesting trend - TB testing in Australia is increasing and that increase is around 30% pa and the trend is for QFT not TST to match that increase. This could all change if the Australian National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee (NTAC) adopted a view similar to that of the US CDC which "recommends that QFT-G may be used in all circumstances in which the TST is currently used" - currently the NTAC position is that the "TST remains the preferred method of screening for LTBI"

Of course this is only my interpretation of the facts and someone more proficient in statistical analysis may arrive at a different conclusion.