Dear Ms Sasha Wood and the Accident Compensation Corporation,

Thank you for your response of 6 March 2020 to my OIA request of 17 February 2020 titled 'Request for provision of agreed schedule of costs permitted to be invoiced to ACC by 1) Mercy Radiology 2) ARG Radiology'.

Copies of my original OIA request of 17 February 2020 and your above referred response of 6 March 2020 can be located at the following www.FYI.org.nz weblink: https://fyi.org.nz/request/12255-request...

OIA Requests 1 (a) & (b)

Background.

I refer specifically to your following comment in your above referred response of 6 March 2020;

"All contrasts are included in the bundle price of each MRI scan, regardless of the contrast type used."

I am unsure as to what you mean from "the bundle price of each MRI scan..." so I have returned to you today requesting further specific Official Information regarding the price Mercy Radiology were entitled to have invoiced the Corporation for for each of the the following individual MRI services that were preformed on my Lumbar spine only with gadolinium contrast on the following dates;

30 July 2012: MRI Lumbar region with gadolinium contrast.

15 February 2013. MRI Lumbar region with gadolinium contrast.

From the OIA information you provided to me on the 6 March 2020 the "Service Schedule for High Tech Imaging Service" that should be applied to the invoicing for each of the two separate MRI Lumbar region procedures with gadolinium noted above would fall in the Schedule Service for High Tech Imaging Service that you supplied which reads under A Quick reference information, 1. Term for providing high tech imaging service for the following date ranges;

"The Term for the provision of High Tech Imaging Services is the period fron the date the Agreement is signed by both parties ("Commencement Date") until the close of 31 July 2013 )the "Date of Expiry") or such earlier date upon which the period is lawfully terminated or cancelled."

This contract states clearly at that ....."All contrasts are included in the price of imaging."

If I have read correctly, the procedure that Mercy Radiology preformed on the 30 July 2012 which was the MRI of my Lumbar spine only with gadolinium contrast would be invoiced under the Service Item Code for Magnetic Resonance Imaging: R40 which applies to the Procedure Description for Magnetic Resonance Imaging for MRI Spine and therefore the Price (excl. GST) that Mercy Radiology were entitled to invoice ACC for this specific MRI procedure of my Lumbar spine with Gadolinium was $703.30.

Likewise, If I have read correctly, the procedure that Mercy Radiology preformed on the 15 February 2020 which was the MRI of my Lumbar spine only with gadolinium contrast would also have been invoiced under the Service Item Code for Magnetic Resonance Imaging: R40 which applies to the Procedure Description for Magnetic Resonance Imaging for MRI Spine and therefore the Price (excl. GST) that Mercy Radiology were entitled to invoice ACC for this specific MRI procedure of my Lumbar spine with Gadolinium was $703.30.

And on both of the above occasions Mercy Radiology per the terms of the referred service contract that ran through to 31 July 2013, were not permitted to have had invoiced the Corporation additional service charges in excess of $703.30 (exclusive of GST) on each occasion for the administration of gadolinium contrast on either the 30 July 2012, or on the 15 February 2013.

On 14th February 2020 Mercy Radiology's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Llyod McCann confirmed by way of formal letter dated 14 February 2020 with respect to each of the 2 separate MRI Lumbar spine scans Mercy Radiology completed with gadolinium contrast carried out on the 20 July 2012 and the 15 February 2013, the following;

"The team conducted the MRI scan in accordance with the clinical request on both occasions from (name of referring orthopaedic surgeon*). This was the conduct of an MRI Lumbar spine scan and the administration of a contrast agent. No additional regions were imaged in either of the scans"

* I have redacted the name of the referring orthopaedic surgeon as a matter of privacy)

OIA Request 1 (a):

I respectfully request that the Corporation confirm under the OIA 1982 that the maximum amount that Mercy Radiology was entitled to have invoiced the Corporation for the MRI Lumbar spine scanning/imaging that they preformed with gadolinium of my Lumber spine on the 30 July 2012 was $703.30 (excluding GST)

OIA Request 1 (b):

I respectfully request that the Corporation confirm under the OIA 1982 that the maximum amount that Mercy Radiology was entitled to have invoiced the Corporation for the MRI Lumbar spine scanning/imaging that they preformed with gadolinium of my Lumber spine on the 15 February 2013 was $703.30 (excluding GST)

I respectfully request the provision of this new official information be returned to me under urgency via the www.fyi.org.nz website linked to my request, within the next 10 working days, being by the end of business close on the 20March 2020, to allow me to seek pending clarifications from Mercy Radiology with respect to related personal and health privacy information generated by Mercy Radiology involving the invoicing for the MRI services that I have referred to today in my new OIA requests.

Under s16(2) of the Official Information Act, my preferred way of receiving a response is by email to the address from which ACC received the original request, not by post.

I thank you for your time and assistance.

Yours faithfully,

David Lawson