DXA tariff changes: how we can help

NHS Improvement has introduced changes to the National Tariff for dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.

The non-mandatory national tariff for DXA in 2018/19 was £58, with some Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) paying an enhanced local tariff of up to £70 or above. This means a potential reduction in funding by nearly a half for those providers with a new tariff of £39.

These cuts have the potential to impact scan quality and patient waiting times, and could lead to services being outsourced privately; this may affect the provision of follow-up scans used for monitoring of bone loss in high risk patients and treatment efficacy in osteoporosis.

Services providing mobile DXA scanning services in the community may also be under threat if running costs outstrip the income from these tariff payments. This would increase the demand on hospital-based services and impact on travel times for patients forced to attend city hospitals instead of their local community site.

Have you encountered problems caused by DXA tariff changes in your department?

Our service development team can talk you through your options and even help you to develop a new model or business case.

Contact us at fls@theros.org.uk to find out more about how our team can support you.