FAQ

EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
If you require immediate medical care, dial 000 or present to your nearest emergency department.

We will make every effort to accommodate emergency referrals from GPs or other specialists on the day of referral.

How can I contact my doctors?

During business hours, please contact our receptionist on (03) 8805 1400.

After hours an automated message service on the same number allows you to either leave a message for the office staff the next day, or to have our on-call surgeon paged. If this fails, you can contact our doctors via switchboard at Knox Private Hospital (03) 9210 7000.

After hours, if you have been a recent patient under our care at a public hospital, please contact the surgical registrar at that hospital.

Do I need a referral?

As a specialist clinic, we require referrals from your GP (generally every 12 months) or another specialist (generally every 3 months) for you to be able to claim back part of your medical consultation and operation fees from Medicare. It is your responsibility to bring a valid referral (ie. dated on or before the date of your appointment) if you wish to submit a Medicare claim.

What are my payment options?

Payment for consultations with our doctors is required at the time of your appointment. Discounts are offered for aged pensioners. Workcover and DVA patients are seen at no out-of-pocket costs. Payment can be made by cash, EFTPOS, Visa card or Mastercard.

How much will my surgery cost?

If you require an operation or procedure, we aim to provide a written estimate of our fees prior to your operation date. In some cases, such as emergency admissions or after-hours consultations, this will not be possible; in this situation you will receive a verbal estimate of any gap fee to be charged by your doctor. The final fee cannot always be determined prior to your surgery, as the “item numbers” for each operation depend on what needs to be done at each individual operation.

The gap fee payment is due at the time of booking your operation; following you operation, a final account will be sent either to you, or in most cases directly to your health fund.

In most cases, the rebate offered by Medicare and/or you private health fund will not fully cover the cost of your medical care. It is your right to be informed of the costs you will incur; if at any stage you feel you have not been provided with accurate or adequate estimates of fees charged by our doctors, please do not hesitate to speak to our receptionist or practice manager to clarify your costs prior to your operation date.

How can I get prescription medication?

Prescriptions can only be written if the person requiring the prescription is seen by one of our doctors. Telephone requests for prescriptions will not be taken.

Can I get medical certificates and insurance paperwork filled?

We ask that you request a medical certificate from your doctor at the time of your consultation.

If you require insurance, community services or other paperwork to be completed, please inform the receptionist at the time of booking your consultation, so adequate time can be allocated to complete the paperwork during your visit. For some services of this nature, you will not receive a rebate from Medicare.

Can I request my medical records?

We request that you sign an authority to release medical information if you would like us to be able to send part or all of your medical history to other health practitioners or hospitals—for example, letters to doctors or dieticians, or release of your medical record to other specialists. We do not charge a fee for forwarding copies of your records to other medical practitioners involved in your care. There is a fee for records copied for personal or insurance purposes.

Do I need private health insurance?

No, we do not differentiate between patients with or without health insurance requesting a consultation with one of our doctors. If an operation or hospital admission is required, this can be through either the public or the private hospital system. Uninsured patients can also elect to use the private system.