A novel approach to pathology stewardship based on the Medicare Benefits Schedule Item 69333 urine culture update

Introduction: Pathology stewardship supports responsible access to diagnostics and appropriate antimicrobial treatment. In July 2025, the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) for urine testing 1 was updated to reduce unnecessary testing in asymptomatic patients. This change, requiring appropriate documentation by ordering clinicians and review by pathology providers to assess compliance, was communicated to stakeholders through formal communication and urine reports (intervention). To assess MBS compliance status of urine tests and to reduce effort-intensive manual review, we digitised the updated criteria with a rule-based algorithm and report our findings.