Initial Consultation
& What to Expect
Although breast cancer is scary there is no need to rush into any decision particularly when it comes to the decision on choosing a mastectomy. In general terms a 6-week period while you think things over or seek alternate opinion is perfectly safe.
If you have seen a surgeon who is not offering an oncoplastic procedure you should consider seeking a second opinion. ALL patients should be considered for oncoplastic surgery which is considered the gold-standard treatment.
Initial Consultation
What should I bring?
For your first visit please bring the following items:
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Your referral letter (if not sent already via your GP)
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ALL x-rays, scans and blood tests relating to your referral
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Medicare card
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Private health care card
Please feel free to bring a family member or friend with you.
Your Appointment
Your consultation time will depend on the complexity of your condition. On average most consultations are around 45 minutes. Sometimes patients' conditions are complex and require further time to discuss in detail. In these cases, your appointment may take longer.
In a few cases there is a considerable amount of information to discuss. You may be offered a second appointment to discuss further aspects in greater detail. If this is the case, it is a good idea to write questions down and bring a family member with you.
How long is a new consultation?
Getting Here
Parking availability
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Brisbane Radiology building, Fortitude Valley
Limited parking is available on site at Brisbane Radiology, located up the driveway. If there is no park available, there is on street parking. The Calile Hotel has free parking for up to 2 hours and it is a 50m walk up the road.
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St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital
Parking can be difficult around the hospital. There is limited street parking. Allow 2 hours on the meter for new referrals. Paid car parking is available under the hospital itself. The entrance is located via the emergency department entrance on North Street (on the left as you head down the hill).
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Wesley Hospital Parking
Paid parking is available at the multi-storey car park attached to the hospital.
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GO2 Health Everton Park
There is free car parking underneath the building. Entrance is from Woolworths Rd. Take the right-hand lift marked GO2 Health to the Ground Floor.
Disability access
There is a patient drop-off and disabled patient drop-off outside the main entrance to each hospital. Please feel free to use this service whilst a family member parks the car.
All other sites have wheelchair access clearly marked. Please feel free to use disabled parking spots if you carry the appropriate certificate/passes.Appointments
Rescheduling or running late for your appointment
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Rescheduling
All efforts will be made to offer an appointment time that is suitable to you. If you need an early or late appointment, please let the reception staff know when you make your appointment. We can NOT guarantee a particular time, day or date will be available but will do our best to find a suitable time.
If you need to reschedule, please just phone the rooms on (07) 3226 3800 as soon as possible so a new appointment can be made, and your position can be offered to someone else.
Failure to notify may result in any pre-paid fees being forfeited.
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Running late
We understand that this can happen for many reasons (traffic, children etc). If this occurs, please phone the staff and let them know. We will always do our best to accommodate if time permits.
Dr Green and Dr Campbell usually run on time and have solid bookings.
If you are more than 5 minutes late it is quite possible we will not be able to see you on that particular day and you will need to reschedule.
Fees
Fees explained
Every procedure is assigned a number called an MBS Item Number. Your operation will be assigned a single or combination of item numbers that are used to calculate the 'Surgical Fee'.
The surgical fee is made up of different components.
Scheduled fee is the Medicare assigned fee for a particular item number. A Medicare rebate will be offered for 75% the schedule fee. This is known as the 'Medicare Rebate.’
Your health fund covers the additional 25% of the scheduled fee.
Health funds will not cover any fee above the scheduled fee.
Any fee above the schedule fee is called a ‘gap fee’ and is explained below.
There are three types of ways fees are applied. Different health funds and different procedures will be billed by one of these methods. The surgery complexity, health fund details and nature of the surgery will influence what type of fee is applied. The different types of fees that are applied are:
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Not commonly applied
A 'No Gap' procedure results in the fee being sent directly to your health fund with no out-of-pocket gap fee being required.
This is only applied in certain specific occasions such as in the management of complications of surgery. Additional unplanned surgery related to your initial diagnosis will often be billed in a no gap method. For example, a breast cancer surgery requiring an additional re-excision of a margin will be billed in a no gap method.
Unfortunately, this method can NOT be applied routinely to surgery as the fee paid by your health fund has not kept pace with CPI and does not reflect the true value of the procedure.
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$250 – $500
Known gap fee results in the payment of a known out of pocket gap fee.
The known gap fee ranges from $250 – $500 depending on the procedure and your health fund.
Only certain health funds participate in the known gap program. Unfortunately, patients with NIB are not able to access the known gap program. NIB patients will be required to pay the AMA/Gap fee described below. MEDIBANK Private also have a maximum known gap of $400. In some procedures patients with MEDIBANK private insurance will not be able to access the known gap program.
Known gap fees are only applied in a few certain conditions to treat some cancer related procedures. This will depend on the complexity of the procedure you require. Known gap is NOT available for breast reconstruction, explant surgery, breast reductions and breast lifts.
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AMA recommended
Fees are based on the Australian Medical Association (AMA) recommendations. These fees are determined on the complexity of the surgery, time taken and expertise required.
The Medicare schedule of fees was instigated in the 1980's and has not changed since. The cost of providing medical services has increased significantly over the last 20-30 years.
The Medicare schedule does not reflect the true cost of your surgery. This has resulted in a gap between the true cost and rebates you may be eligible for.
The Medicare rebate will only cover 75% of the scheduled government fee. Your health fund will cover some of the remaining fee up to the full total of the scheduled fee. Any amount above the schedule fee will result in a gap payable.
Nearly all health funds will not cover the true cost of the surgery which results in a short fall between the recommended AMA fee and your combined Medicare and health fund rebate. This is known as a 'GAP PAYABLE'.
Our policy at BBSC is to keep fees as low as possible and will provide you further explanation of fees at the time of your appointment. Except for extenuating circumstances, we will set the AMA fee for your surgery.
Questions?
We're happy to talk you through any of this
Reach out to us with any questions regarding our services. We look forward to hearing from you.
Questions?