PRACTICE FEES
It is practice policy for full payment to occur on the day of your consultation.
We offer concessions for Aged Pensioners. The practice fees usually increase each year in January.
We offer EFTPOS and credit card facilities in the rooms.
Does Medicare cover my consultation?
Medicare covers a portion of your consultation fee. The practice can process your claim via Medicare once you have paid your consultation fees if you are eligible and have recorded your bank account details with Medicare. The Medicare rebate is usually deposited in your bank account within a few days. Please be aware that from 1 July 2016, Medicare will no longer issue cheques for your rebate, therefore it is essential that your bank details are lodged with Medicare prior to this date to ensure your rebate is received promptly.
We see overseas and international visitors for their ENT problems. You will be required to pay your accounts in full, as do all our patients, and we will issue you with an account and receipt for you to claim from your overseas health fund.
I have private health insurance. Does my private health insurance cover my consultation?
Unfortunately, your private health insurance only covers you for inpatient care and services if you are admitted to hospital and not for consultations in the rooms.
What happens if I want an earlier appointment than what is available at Adelaide ENT Surgery?
We can triage you for an earlier appointment depending on the urgency of your medical condition. We require your referral letter and medical information to be able to do this
Alternatively, we can place you on a ‘waiting for cancellation’ list and will contact you should an earlier appointment becomes available.
Why patients are charged a gap?
Patients often have difficulty appreciating why doctors charge more than the government’s Medicare rebate. A “gap” is the amount you must pay for consultation over and above what you get back from Medicare or your private health insurer. It reflects the difference between the total fee charged by the specialist and any Medicare rebate plus health fund benefit (if you are having surgery). This “gap” in charges is due to the discrepancy between rising costs and the Medicare rebate which has not kept up with inflation.
Associate Professor Eng Ooi, Dr Himani Joshi, Dr Trish MacFarlane and Dr Lauren Cooper believe in providing a personal ENT specialist service tailored to the patient’s needs and circumstances and the fees are felt to reflect the specialised nature and costs of running the practice. The fees they charged are at a level that allows them to provide the best care for you.
A/Professor Ooi has spent more than 12 years of training and practicing as an ENT specialist including further advanced training overseas with the University of Toronto specialising in sinus disease and head and neck cancers. He has also performed thousand of childhood ENT procedures including grommets (tubes) and the removal of adenoids and tonsils. He has a PhD and numerous research publications in ENT and involved in teaching courses on sinus surgery, skull base surgery and head and neck surgery. He is also the Head of the ENT Unit at Flinders Medical Centre.
A/Professor Ooi, Dr Joshi, Dr MacFarlane and Dr Cooper believe the care provided reflects their experience and extra training as an ENT specialist. If you feel that the fees are unreasonable then you are welcome to discuss this further with our surgeons or seek a second opinion with another ENT specialist.
Operation fees and “surgical gaps”
Our surgeons charge a gap for surgery in most cases. They are an advocate of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons (position paper) view against charging excessive surgical fees.
You will be provided with a written estimate of your “surgical gap” prior to your surgery. This is usually provided to you at the time of your surgery booking with our practice nurse. The “surgical gap” is payable prior to your surgery or else your surgery may be cancelled.
“Surgical Gaps” range from $200 to $500 depending on the operation you are having and the rebate from your private health insurance fund.
Patients without private health insurance can have surgery privately with Associate Professor Eng Ooi, Dr Himani Joshi, Dr Trish MacFarlane or Dr Lauren Cooper but this will involve the patient paying for the entire surgery fee him or herself. Please discuss this with our surgeons if you wish to consider this option.
AMA Private Health Insurance Report Card
The aim of this report card by the AMA was to provide Australian families with clear simple information about how health insurance works.
