Australia’s planned National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) may be widened to include cover for medical error or mishap.

The NIIS advisory group has discussed the inclusion of medical misadventure and has affirmed its support for the Federal Government to develop a policy framework.

In a statement issued last week, the advisory group says medical misadventure should be considered as personal injury through medical error or mishap.

The group to date has mostly discussed minimum standards of eligibility for catastrophic injury from car accidents. But it says planning needs to be extended to models of care and support and consumer involvement in service planning.