Inpatient Services
Our doctors are not “No Gap” doctors so there will be an out of pocket expense for your inpatient services. The fees we charge are set at a fair and reasonable level that enables us to offer you quality care. The cost of providing good medical care is rising, but the Government’s contribution is falling away. Your Heath Fund and Medicare are there to assist with payments towards your medical bills but will not cover the full costs of your care.
Medicare makes no contribution to your hospital fees, but does contribute 75% of the Schedule Fee towards the doctor’s inpatient services fees. (All our doctors currently charge less than the fee recommended by the Australian Medical Association but higher than the Medicare Schedule Fee). The purpose of your Private Health Insurance is to cover the total cost of your hospital fees (subject to payment of the excess first, and also subject to you having a suitable level of cover).
Where possible we will provide you with an estimate of the doctor’s fee for your surgery prior to you going in to hospital. This is not always possible when surgery is urgent (after hours, weekends, etc.) or booked at very short notice. If you have any queries relating to your Estimate of Fees, please contact our Practice Manager prior to your admission and discuss your concerns.
ALL SURGERY FEES ARE PAYABLE SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO YOUR ADMISSION. Payments can be made by Eftpos, Visa, Mastercard, Cheque, Bank Cheque/Money Order, Cash or Direct Debit.
Country Visitors
We have many patients coming to us from the country areas where specialists to treat their particular condition are either not available or there is a lengthy wait for an appointment at one of the nearby provincial centres. Where possible, we try to make this as easy as we possibly can for you at this worrying time – by keeping your time away from home to a minimum, and also by keeping travel and other expenses to a minimum. We can suggest accommodation options to you for your stay in Brisbane if required.
For relatively straightforward procedures you may be able to arrange an appointment to see the surgeon one day and be operated on within the next day or two.
Before phoning our rooms for an appointment, you should visit your General Practitioner and obtain a detailed referral which includes your past medical and surgical history. This may allow us to plan tests that may be able to be performed prior to you leaving home. Your GP will need to forward this referral to our rooms with all information, including test results, relating to your condition. This referral will then be shown to the relevant doctor and if it is deemed suitable, a consultation date and tentative surgery date (usually within a day or two of the consultation) will be offered to you. You will be given all the necessary paperwork at the time of your consultation and at this time we will require payment for your surgery
Your operation will still be subject to the doctor deeming you suitable for the surgery as suggested by your GP. Sometimes other tests that cannot be performed before you leave home may be necessary prior to surgery, and this may prolong your stay in Brisbane. The time you can return home following surgery will depend on the operation you are having and if any treatment following your operation is required. You will be advised of an approximate return home date at your consultation, but please remember this will depend on your recovery from your operation and whether you are fit and well enough to travel.
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Accommodation Options
The following are in close proximity to St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital. Some of these may offer a discount if you advise them at the time of booking that you will be a patient at St Andrew’s, or you are arranging accommodation for your carer/family.
(In alphabetical order)
BEST WESTERN ASTOR METROPOLE HOTEL PH: 07 3144 4000
193-197 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
GRAND CHANCELLOR HOTEL PH: 07 3831 4055
Cnr Wickham Tce & Leichardt St, Spring Hill
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BRISBANE CENTRAL PH: 07 3833 8888
168 Wharf Street, Spring Hill
MADISON TOWER MILL HOTEL PH: 07 3193 4107
239 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
METROPOLITAN MOTOR INN PH: 07 3831 6000
106 Leichardt St, Spring Hill
OVOLO INCHCOLM PH: 07 3226 8888
73 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
PACIFIC HOTEL BRISBANE PH: 07 3831 6177
345 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
PUNTHILL APARTMENT HOTEL PH: 07 3055 5700
40 Astor Terrace, Spring Hill
SOHO MOTEL PH: 07 3831 7722
333 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
SPRING HILL MEWS PH: 07 3232 0000
27 Birley St, Spring Hill
THE ASTOR APARTMENTS PH: 07 3839 9022
35 Astor Terrace, Spring Hill
THE JOHNSON PH: 07 3085 7200
477 Boundary Street, Spring Hill
THE SEDGEBROOK ON LEICHARDT PH: 07 3831 6338
312/83 Leichardt St, Spring Hill
THE SUMMIT APARTMENTS PH: 07 3839 7000
32 Leichardt St, Spring Hill
Payment Plan
If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we would be happy to offer you our payment plan that may be of assistance.
- A deposit of 25% of the total outstanding is required within fourteen (14) days of the date of the agreement being forwarded to you. Failure to pay this deposit will indicate you do not wish to participate in the payment plan offered. Your Medicare and Health Fund rebate cheques can be accepted as deposit. However they take approximately 4-6 weeks to process an unpaid account and this may be outside our requirements for your deposit.
- A minimum monthly payment thereafter of $200 per month until the debt has been fully paid.
- Credit card details are required to be lodged with this office. Your card will be charged on the 1st day of each month (or the working day following) until the outstanding amount is fully paid. A receipt showing the payment made and the balance outstanding will be issued with each payment.
- You may take your receipt to Medicare and your Health Fund for processing at any time. However, if you do this before the account is settled in full, the cheques will be made out to the doctor and not yourself, even if you have paid over and above the amount to be rebated.
Health Funds
The health funds fall into two categories – the No Gap Funds and the Known Gap Funds. The No Gap Funds will rebate only the Medicare Schedule Fee whereas the Known Gap Funds rebate the Medicare Schedule Fee plus an extra 30-40%. This reduces your out of pocket considerably. (Refer to the example in the table below).
| Fund | Cost of Procedure | Total Rebate | Out of Pocket |
| No Gap Funds | $1300 | $740 | $560 |
| Known Gap Funds | $1300 | $1010 | $290 |
* The No Gap funds include HCF, NIB, St Luke’s and BUPA. We cannot bill these health funds directly and so require the total cost of the procedure paid in full prior to your surgery.
** The Known Gap Funds include GMHBA, Medibank Private, AHM, and all funds covered by AHSA (Australian Health Service Alliance), approximately 25 funds currently. These funds permit us to bill them directly, and so you need pay the out of pocket only prior to surgery.
Explanation of Fees, Terminology, Payment
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Medicare Benefits Schedule
Medicare Benefits Schedule – A list of all medical and surgical procedures compiled by the Government. Each procedure or operation has its own number (the Item Number), and also its own fee (Medicare Schedule Fee).
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Medicare Schedule Fee
Medicare Schedule Fee – The amount the government has set that Medicare will contribute towards the total cost of your medical care.
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Medicare Rebate
Medicare Rebate – This is the amount Medicare will give back to you. You will receive 75% of the schedule fee for inpatient services (that is, all services performed in hospital) and 85% of the schedule fee for all outpatient services (provided in the doctor’s rooms). Your private health insurance will pay the 25% difference for inpatient services, but they make no contribution towards outpatient services.
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AMA Fee
AMA Fee – The fee that is recommended by the Australian Medical Association (AMA) that doctors should charge. This fee has been adjusted each year since 1985 (when the Government introduced the Medicare Benefits Schedule) to keep abreast of inflation. Unfortunately the Schedule Fee has not been adjusted correspondingly.