Private Referral & Preliminary Opinion

The main difference about private referral compared with other work-related referrals is about payment: this will be by the person who wants to be seen by Dr Dodwell.

Since there are virtually never any subsidies available from the Health Funding Authority for work-related consultations, the cost can seem high compared with a subsidised visit to a specialist. For this reason, we try to keep costs down and advise you beforehand what to expect.

In general, we assume the patient/client prefers a fixed fee with plenty of warning when the limit is approaching of what that fee covers. For this fee Dr Dodwell provides only a brief report (1-2 pages), copied to the referrer and/or patient. If a more detailed report is required, perhaps for legal reasons, this would not be covered by a fixed fee and would be charged at an hourly rate.

To get the best value, please ensure that the referrer (GP, advocate, or lawyer), provides full details with any letter of referral. A brief summary of the time sequence of events may be necessary, unless you can point to this in any documents provided to us. Organising your referral this way helps to keep the costs down.

OPTION 1 – WITHOUT APPOINTMENT

OPTION 2 – WITH AN APPOINTMENT

After either Option, a report is written in the next few days (sometimes with a delay if missing information is awaited).

If the situation turns out more complicated, there is the option later of choosing to go beyond the fixed fee and request additional tests or a more detailed report.

 

Phone us on +64 4 939 3548 or Fax us on +64 4 939 3549

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