What should I bring with me when I come for a scheduled office appointment?
Apart from medicare and your insurance information
Referral letter from GP, family physician or other doctor
Medicare card, DVA card, pension card
Have your Private Hospital Insurance information with you
Reports, X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans etc and any other relevant information
Do I need a referral to make an appointment?
Most medical specialists will accept only referred patients. This is partly to try to ensure that the specialist you are seeing is appropriate for you and your condition, and also because Medicare pays higher rebates for specialist services if you have been referred.
What should I expect during first visit?
During your initial visit, the doctor will explain the specific test or procedure you want, help you visualize the results and go over the risks. He may do a physical examination and ask you a bunch of questions. Once you go and have the test done then he will decide what your diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Are my medical records kept private and confidential?
Your medical file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy. Our staff are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment regarding your medical records. Ordinarily we will not release the contents of your medical file without your consent.
How can my family doctor help me to obtain specialist medical care?
Before seeing any medical specialist, it is always preferable to talk to your own family doctor, who can discuss your condition with you and advise on whether any specialist care is appropriate. If it is, he or she can help you to choose the specialist best suited to your needs. Your family doctor can help the specialist to care for you better by providing relevant information about your health. Communicating with the specialist will also enable your family doctor to care for you better during and after your specialist treatment.
What are my out of pocket expenses?
Fees & Insurance
- The cost of consultations will be provided to you in writing prior to your appointment.
- Information on our current fee structure is also available from our reception staff.
- We do request full payment at the time of consultation. We take payments by EFTPOS, cash or credit cards (MasterCard and VISA) as a means of payment.
- As we provide longer than usual consultations, we are unable to offer a bulk billing service. Variations to this billing structure are at our discretion.
- A rebate is claimable from Medicare only. Your private health insurance can only be used for “In Hospital” services. We are more than happy to submit your account to Medicare. The rebate will be transferred into your bank account (you must have your bank account details registered with Medicare).
Insurance Cover for Operations
- In general, your private health and Medicare will cover a portion of the fees.
- Please note that there will be, in most instances, an out-of-pocket gap for your surgery, and this varies from one procedure to another.
- We will give you a written estimate of fees which shows your out-of-pocket expenses prior to your surgery. An account will be sent out after your surgery for this.
- It is your responsibility to ensure your health fund will adequately cover your surgery.
The Costs of the Surgery Relate to:
- Surgeon and assistance surgeon – our practice will supply an estimate to you.
- Anaesthetist – our practice will give you their contact number to obtain an estimate for their services.
- Hospital – you may have an excess to pay which is associated to your level of cover. You will need to contact your health fund to obtain this information.
- Ancillary charge (pharmacy, non-rebated instruments etc.).