Your Appointment and Surgery.
What to expect at your visit.
Before your visit make sure that you have a valid referral from your family doctor. You will need this in order to get a refund from Medicare for part of your consultation fee.
You will also need to locate and bring all your current and old x-rays and imaging with you to your visit. Bring them at each visit.
Your consultation will start with an interview and physical examination. This may be followed by diagnostic tests such as blood tests, X-rays, or other tests.
Your treatment may involve medical advise, medications, casts, splints, injections and physical therapies. Surgery may be recommended. For most orthopaedic diseases and injuries there is usually more than one form of possible treatment. Treatment options will be discussed - it is always your decision as to whether you wish to proceed with one form of treatment or another.
No two consultations are exactly alike. The length of your consultation will depend on the complexity of your condition and whether further investigations or hospital admission will need to be arranged. Your time is valuable and we make every effort to run on time. As you can imagine, emergencies occur which may cause delays beyond our control. Also patients ahead of you may have conditions which require an unexpectedly long time to sort out. We apologize in advance if we keep you waiting.
What to wear.
Please dress so that the body part you are having trouble with can be easily examined and/or X-rayed.
If you are attending for a knee or hip complaint for example please wear or bring shorts to your appointment.
If you are having shoulder or elbow problems, please wear a singlet or a top that has few buttons. Ladies, please ensure that underclothing is worn to allow the shoulder to be examined with the outer garments removed.
What to bring.
When you come for your appointment, please remember to bring the following:
- Your Medicare or Veteran Affairs card.
- A referral letter from your GP, family physician or other doctor.
- Copies of operation records, medical records, X-rays, MRI's, CT scans, bone scans, ultrasounds and so on from prior doctors visits that relate to your problem area (even if you have been told that they are normal). Please bring the actual x-ray films - rot just the printed reports.
- If you have had surgery elsewhere, please bring a copy of your operation report.
- A list of all medications that you are currently taking and their doses.
- A list of any known drug allergies and the symptoms you may have from taking these medicines.
- Any medical information or reasons for admission to hospital.
- Your health insurance information.
- Your claim number if it is a workers compensation injury.
Please arrive 5-10 minutes early for your appointment to supply your personal details. If you are late, it may not be possible for you to be seen that day in order to avoid inconveniencing other patients.
If not all the relevant information is available at the time of your appointment, this may cause a delay in your treatment. In addition, it may be necessary to repeat a study or x-ray to complete your evaluation.
You may also arrange to have the records sent to us prior to your appointment (please arrange this with one of our staff).
To cancel an appointment.
Please telephone the office during business hours if possible. After hours there is an answerphone for you to leave a message. Please cancel as far ahead as possible so that your appointment time can be allocated to another patient who is seeking treatment.
Consultation fee.
You will be advised of the consultation fee at the time you book your appointment. There will be a portion of your consultation fee which will not be covered by Medicare or your health fund. Payment is required at the time of your consultation.
What if I need an operation or admission to hospital?
Public vs Private.
Once it has been determined that you need an operation and you wish to go ahead with this, it is up to you to decide whether you want to be treated as a public or a private patient.
If you are eligible for Medicare and wish to be treated as a public patient you will be placed on the waiting list at either The Tweed Hospital or Murwillumbah District Hospital. There is no cost for your hospital treatment but you will still be responsible for the costs of your follow-up visits outside the hospital. A waiting-list system (run by the public hospital) with various levels of priority determines how long you will have to wait for your surgery. Because the Public Hospital also has to deal with accidents and emergency cases as well as booked surgery and has limited resources, surgery may occasionally be postponed at the last minute. If this is the case staff will make every effort to re-book your surgery on the next available slot.
This gives you greater freedom to choose the timing of your surgery. If you elect to have your surgery as a private patient our staff will be able to provide you with a cost estimate for your surgery. All private surgery is performed at The John Flynn Hospital. The standard fee charged is based on the Australian Medical Association recommended fee. This means that in most instances there will be a portion of your surgical fee which will not be covered by Medicare or your health fund. It is important that you ask about this gap prior to receiving treatment as you will be responsible for it.
Do you need Private Health Insurance to "Go Private"?
No. You can choose to 'self insure'. This still allows you to choose the timing of your surgery but will result in a higher out of pocket payment than if you were in a health fund.
Will my Health Fund cover all my expenses?
Insurance applies only to medical treatments and will not cover the entire cost of the treatment. Some items necessary for your treatment may not be paid for by some health funds. These may include plasters and splints required for your post-operative recovery. If you are concerned please check with your fund prior to commencing your treatment.
What is not covered by Medicare?
Medicare does not cover such things as the following...
- Private patient hospital costs (for example, operating theatre fees or accommodation).
- Medical costs for which someone else is responsible, for example, a compensation insurer, an employer, a government or government authority).
- Medical services which are not clinically necessary.
- Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, eye therapy, chiropractic services, podiatry or psychology.
- The cost of prostheses.
- Medicines.
- Medical and hospital costs incurred overseas.
- Dental examinations and treatment.
- Ambulance services.
- Home nursing.
- Acupuncture (unless part of a doctor's consultation).
- Glasses and contact lenses.
- Hearing aids and other appliances.
- Surgery solely for cosmetic reasons.
- Examinations for life insurance, superannuation or membership of a friendly society.
Your Private health insurance may cover many of these services.
Preparing for your surgery.
Preparing mentally and physically for surgery is very important. This will help you recover more quickly and have fewer problems after your procedure.
Before your surgery please discuss any medical conditions that could interfere with your procedure.
We need to know if you have any allergies or previous medical problems, especially heart and lung conditions or Deep Vein Thrombosis.
Discuss any medications you are taking with your General Practitioner, Dr Allen, your anaesthetist and the nurses at the preadmission clinic (if you are asked to attend). There may be some which you will be asked to stop taking before surgery.
Blood tests and X-rays may be needed before surgery.
Don't forget to bring all your x-rays (current and old) to every appointment and to your surgery.
If you are overweight, losing weight before surgery will help decrease the stress on your system, speed your recovery and make the anaesthetic safer.
If you are taking aspirin, anti-inflammatory medications or anticoagulants, you may need to stop taking them up to ten days before surgery to minimize bleeding. Check this at the preadmission clinic or with Dr Allen.
If you smoke, you should stop smoking to reduce your anaesthetic and surgical risks. Smokers have higher complication rates including infection and delayed healing rates for wounds and bone. The Tweed Hospital and Murwillumbah Hospitals are Smoke free hospitals. Check their smoking policy here: Smoking info.
Please have any dental, bladder or bowel problems treated before surgery to reduce the risk of infection later.
Eat a well-balanced diet.
Report any infections, no matter how trivial they may seem to you. Elective surgery may be delayed until infections have cleared up.
Home preparation.
Arrange for someone to help you when you get home with everyday tasks like cooking, housekeeping, shopping and laundry.
Put items that you use often within easy reach before surgery so you won't have to reach and bend as often.
Remove all loose carpets and tape down electrical cords to avoid falls. Rearrange furniture if necessary to allow you to move around more freely. If you have stairs in the home it may be of benefit to move a bed downstairs for a while.
If you are having Day Surgery have someone available to take you home - you will not be able to drive for at least 24 hours because of the anaesthetic.
Do not drink or eat anything in the car on the trip home - The combination of anaesthesia, food and car motion can cause nausea or vomiting.
After arriving home, wait until you are hungry before trying to eat. Begin with a light meal and try to avoid greasy food for the first 24 hours.
If you had surgery on an extremity (arm, hand, leg, knee, foot), keep that extremity elevated and use ice as directed. This will help decrease swelling and pain.
Take your pain medicine as directed. Begin the pain medicine as you start getting uncomfortable. Do not wait until you are in severe pain. If you wait until the pain is severe to take your pain medication you will have more difficulty controlling the pain.
If you have any questions please call our rooms. If you have an urgent problem out of office hours, please contact the hospital where your surgery was performed.
The John Flynn Hospital: (07) 5598 9000
The Tweed Hospital: (07) 5506 7416
Murwillumbah District Hospital: (02) 6672 1822
