Australian doctors are being urged to stop using high radiation CT scans without clinical justification after a review found the scans were being overused.
CT scans expose patients to radiation which increases the chances of contracting cancers.
Dr Tony Webber from the Medicare watchdog's Professional Services Review says he is alarmed at how often he comes across inappropriate CT referrals from doctors under investigation for other reasons.
He says CT scans are not benign investigations and patients who undergo them increase their risk of fatal cancer by one in 1,000.
