Children’s Surgery | Financial Information

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Consultation Fees

Dr Peter Borzi and Dr Kelvin Choo charge an out of pocket gap for private consultations. Please check with the secretary when making an appointment what the gap will be. We ask that the account is paid in full on the day of consultation. However we are able to lodge the account directly with Medicare through HIC online, so your refund will be paid directly into your account within two working days.

If you or your child are on a Government Pension we will bulk bill the consultation fee directly to Medicare. If you or your child are on a Healthcare Card, we will offer a reduced concessional rate.

Public vs Private

Dr Borzi and Dr Choo care for patients through the Private and Public System.

Public Patients

Should you elect to be treated as a Public patient at the Queensland Children's Hospital (Drs Peter Borzi and Kelvin Choo) or Sunshine Coast University Hospital (Dr Peter Borzi only) you are not guaranteed that Dr Borzi or Dr Choo will perform the surgery. It may be performed by a trainee surgeon (Registrar) or a different Consultant. There will be no cost involved if you choose this option.

Once you have seen the Doctors for a consultation in the private rooms and elect to be treated as a Public patient the Doctor will write to the Public Hospital requesting a booking. Your child’s name will then be placed on the waiting list at the Public Hospital and they will notify you, usually by mail. The Hospital will normally give you a month’s notice but may ring you if there is a cancellation. Wait time vary for procedures, dependent on urgency of the surgery. Note: even if you have a date allocated, this can be cancelled at short notice if a more urgent case needs to be booked. Once the booking goes over to the Public Hospital we have no control over this booking and will not know when it is booked.

Private Patients

Admission as a Private patient guarantees that Dr Borzi or Dr Choo will perform the surgery. Also most importantly you get to choose the date that is convenient for you. Very rarely are Private cases cancelled but if that were to happen we would give you plenty of notice.

Once it has been determined that you child needs an operation and you choose a day we will send you all the paperwork required or give it to you on the day of consultation.

Surgery Fees

Dr Borzi and Dr Choo are both ‘No Gap’ Doctors. This means that we will send the account straight to your health fund and there is no out of pocket expense for their fees. The onus is on you to check with your Fund that you are not serving any ‘waiting periods’ with your fund and that you are covered for the specific procedure. Our staff can supply you with the anticipated item number and it is very worthwhile to check this with your fund to confirm that you are covered.

The Hospital will also charge you for the bed and theatre fees. You may have an excess with your Fund which you will have to pay on discharge. Some funds do not charge an excess for dependents, particularly for day stays. Again you need to confirm this with your fund.

Anaesthetic Fees

The Anaesthetist will charge separately for their fees. All our lists have specialty trained Paediatric Anaesthetists assigned to our routine lists. We will notify the specific Anaesthetist’s office of your booking and they will advise you of any out of pocket expenses. If you would like to liaise directly with their office we can give you contact details. On occasion some Anaesthetists will direct bill but normally there is a Gap.

Pathology Fees

If there are any pathology/histology arising from your Hospital visit these costs are generally sent directly to your Fund with no gap.

Pharmacy Costs

If your child is prescribed any medication during your Hospital stay you will receive an account from the Hospital Pharmacy on discharge.

Self Insured Private Patients

If you do not have Private Health Insurance and wish to be treated as a Private patient we will obtain a quote from the Private Hospital and any out of pocket fees for the Surgeon and the Anaesthetist prior to the procedure. Part of the Doctor’s fees can be claimed from Medicare but the Hospital charges can’t be claimed from Medicare.

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