What’s Happening?

As part of our ongoing commitment to your care, we have arranged for a bulk-billed specialist bone density scanning service to happen during our ‘Step Up for Bone Health’ Campaign between October 20, 2022, and December 19, 2022.

Some patients are in higher risk groups for Osteoporosis we are running a campaign to address this and take action. We have made arrangements with a number of local imaging providers to if eligible have a bulk billed scan to determine whether you have osteoporosis or indicate signs of it developing.

The bone density scan is totally painless and takes only a few minutes. You keep your clothes on and there’s no need to fast.

What to do?  

1.    Book your 1st appointment with your usual doctor at our practice to get a referral.

2.    Then, contact the participating radiology centres to book your scan appointment. The radiology staff are the ones to finally confirm your eligibility for the scan and bulk-billing.

3.    In a few days, book your 2nd appointment with your usual doctor for discussing the results.

On the day of the scan, please take your referral, Medicare card, list of medications, and any previous bone density scans to your scanning appointment.

Why is it important to have a bone density scan?

Even if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and receiving treatment for it, the scan is advisable to monitor the effects of your treatments. Also, even if you feel healthy and don’t have a diagnosis of osteoporosis, having a scan is advisable because osteoporosis has no visible symptoms. It affects 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men.

People with osteoporosis are more likely to break a bone should they fall, which can lead to ongoing health issues. With this campaign, if we find out that you are at risk, we can take steps together to protect yourself further.