All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
Referral waiting lists are long, and a few things genuinely shorten them. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Waits vary enormously between specialists for the same problem — sometimes months apart. Your GP knows which local rooms are moving and which are not, but only if you ask.
“How long is the wait likely to be?”Private specialists set their own fees and the gap can run to several hundred dollars for a first appointment. Ask your GP for an estimate, then ring the specialist's rooms to confirm before you commit.
“Roughly what will this cost me out of pocket?”The public system, a longer wait with a bulk-billing specialist, or a different specialist entirely. If a private fee is out of reach, say so — your GP cannot offer the alternative they don't know you need.
“A private fee isn't manageable for me.”When you ring the specialist's rooms to book, ask to be put on their cancellation list and say you can come at short notice. People routinely get seen weeks or months earlier this way.
“Please put me on your cancellation list.”Open any of these for how it works. In every case the referral is written during your appointment and the background goes with it.
Specialists
What happens Your GP decides which specialty fits, picks a specific specialist rather than a generic address, and writes them a letter setting out the history, the examination, the tests already done and the question being asked.
Cardiology, gastroenterology, respiratory, endocrinology, neurology, rheumatology, urology, gynaecology, ear nose and throat, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, general surgery, dermatology.
A good referral letter is the difference between a specialist starting from your history and a specialist starting from scratch. It also avoids tests being repeated because nobody sent the first set.
Allied health
What happens Physiotherapy, podiatry, dietetics, exercise physiology, speech pathology, occupational therapy. Where you have a chronic condition and a care plan, Medicare subsidises a set number of visits each year.
You do not strictly need a referral to see most allied health privately, but a referral under a care plan is what brings the Medicare subsidy with it.
The subsidy does not always cover the whole fee. Ask the provider what the gap will be when you book.
Mental health
What happens A Mental Health Treatment Plan is written in a longer appointment and gives you Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions. Where a psychiatrist is the right step, that is a referral in the ordinary way.
A plan is not a formality — it sets out what is going on and what the sessions are meant to achieve, which makes the first psychology appointment considerably more useful.
Psychiatry waits are long almost everywhere. Your GP will tell you honestly what you are looking at and what can be done in the meantime.
Tests
What happens X-rays, ultrasounds, CT and MRI scans, and blood tests are ordered on a request form rather than a referral. You take it to the provider of your choice and the result comes back to us.
Some imaging is bulk billed and some is not, and it varies by provider as well as by scan. Ask the radiology practice when you book rather than assuming.
Results come back to the clinic. You will be contacted about anything that needs action, and anything urgent is phoned through straight away.
Renewals
What happens A short appointment where your GP updates the specialist on what has changed and reissues the referral. A referral back to a specialist you already see generally runs longer than a new one.
Do not let a referral lapse before an appointment you have already booked — without a current one, Medicare will not rebate the specialist visit and you pay the full fee.
Check the date on yours, and book a week or two before it runs out rather than the day before the appointment.
Both are legitimate and both have real trade-offs. The right one depends on how urgent it is and what you can afford. Tap a card.
Treatment in a public hospital clinic, at no cost to you.
Usually sooner, and you choose who you see. There is a fee.
If a private fee is out of reach, tell your GP. Choosing not to go at all is the worst of the available options, and it is the one people quietly take.
What actually happens between asking for one and sitting in the specialist's waiting room. Tap any card.
Your GP works out which specialty fits and, just as importantly, which specialist. Not every cardiologist does the same thing.
Flip backThe history, the examination, what has already been tried and tested, and the specific question being asked. Written during your visit.
Flip backBlood tests, scans, ECGs — the results travel with the referral so nothing is repeated unnecessarily.
Flip backPublic or private, and why your GP is suggesting one over the other. This is the moment to say if cost is a problem.
Flip backIn most cases you ring the rooms yourself. Ask the fee, ask the wait, and ask to go on the cancellation list.
Flip backYour GP can ring the specialist directly or write to the department to have you triaged sooner. Say if things change while you are waiting.
Flip backThe specialist writes back to us. Book a follow-up so someone puts their advice into the context of everything else going on with you.
Flip backTwelve months for a new specialist, longer for one you already see. Check the date before your next appointment rather than after.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. It also helps to note how long it has been going on and what has already been tried.
Seeing the GP who knows the history makes for a better letter, but any of our doctors can write one — the notes are shared across the practice.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Every one of our doctors provides this. If the GP you usually see is booked, any of the others can help — your records are shared across the practice, so nobody is starting from scratch.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
No. It is written during your appointment, which is bulk billed on weekdays with a valid Medicare card. The specialist's own fee is separate, and their rooms will tell you what it is.
A referral to a new specialist is valid twelve months from the first appointment. A referral back to a specialist you already see generally runs longer, and for some ongoing conditions an indefinite referral is appropriate.
Yes. If there is someone you want to see, say so. Otherwise your GP will suggest someone suited to your problem and tell you why.
To get the Medicare rebate, yes. You can see most specialists without one, but you will pay the full fee with nothing back.
Tell your GP. They can write to the department asking for you to be triaged sooner, ring the specialist directly if it is urgent, suggest someone with a shorter list, or manage things in the meantime.
Usually not. Your GP needs to assess the problem to write a referral that is worth anything. Renewing an existing referral may sometimes be possible by telehealth — ask reception.
Medicare will not rebate the specialist visit and you pay the full fee. Check the expiry date before your next appointment and book a short appointment to renew it a week or two beforehand.
Yes. Specialists write back to the referring GP. Book a follow-up so someone puts their advice into the context of everything else.
Yes, and often the choice is between a shorter wait in Newcastle and a longer one locally. Your GP will lay out the options.
Not to see them privately. A referral under a chronic disease care plan is what brings the Medicare subsidy, so it is worth asking whether you qualify.
Two questions before you leave the room, and a great deal less uncertainty afterwards. If cost is a problem, say so — there is nearly always another way through.
Referrals are written during a GP appointment, to specialists in Port Stephens, Newcastle and beyond, with your history and results attached. A referral to a new specialist is usually valid for twelve months.
The clinic is inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, with free parking, and is a short drive from Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
