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.
Spirometry only works if the test is done properly, and a few of those things are yours to get right. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Depending on what the test is for, your GP may ask you to skip a reliever or a preventer for a set number of hours beforehand. Ring reception when you book and ask — turning up having taken everything as usual can make the result impossible to interpret.
“Should I hold any of my inhalers before the test?”Smoking or vaping in the hours before the test affects what it measures. So does a heavy meal right beforehand, and strenuous exercise. None of this is about virtue — it is about getting a reading that reflects your lungs rather than your morning.
“I haven't smoked or vaped today.”Tight clothing around the waist or chest genuinely limits how much air you can move, which shows up as a worse result than your lungs deserve. Loose is better, and so is sitting upright rather than slouched.
“I've worn something loose.”A test taken while you have a chest infection measures the infection, not your usual lung function. If you are unwell on the day, ring and move it — unless your GP has asked for it precisely because you are unwell.
“I've got a chest infection — should I move the appointment?”Open any of these for what it involves. Spirometry is used both to work out what is going on and to check whether treatment is working.
Asthma
What happens You blow into the machine, then take a reliever inhaler, wait, and blow again. If the numbers improve markedly after the reliever, that reversibility is one of the things that points to asthma.
A lot of people are told they have asthma on the strength of a wheeze and a good response to a reliever puffer. That is often right, but not always — and being treated for asthma you do not have is its own problem.
Spirometry gives your GP an objective measurement to put alongside your history. It also gives you a baseline, which is what makes every later test useful.
COPD
What happens The test measures airflow obstruction that does not fully reverse with a reliever. It both confirms COPD and grades how severe it is, which is what decides the treatment.
COPD is common in people who have smoked, and it is frequently picked up late because breathlessness gets put down to age or being unfit. Spirometry is the test that makes the diagnosis rather than guessing at it.
Knowing the stage matters. It changes which inhalers are appropriate, whether pulmonary rehabilitation is worth pursuing, and how closely things need watching.
Monitoring
What happens A repeat test, compared against your earlier ones. Symptoms are unreliable narrators — people adjust to a slow decline without noticing. The numbers do not.
If you have been started on a preventer, a repeat test some weeks later shows whether it is doing what it was meant to do.
For COPD, periodic testing tracks the rate of change over years, which is more informative than any single reading.
Breathlessness
What happens Spirometry is one of the first tests when someone is short of breath and nobody yet knows why. A normal result is useful too — it moves the search elsewhere.
Breathlessness can come from the lungs, the heart, anaemia, weight, anxiety, deconditioning, or several of these at once. Spirometry answers the lung part of the question clearly.
It is often ordered alongside an ECG and blood tests, so that one appointment covers several possibilities rather than working through them one month at a time.
Work
What happens Some roles require lung function testing — dust exposure, respirator use, mining and construction among them. The test is the same; the paperwork and the funding are different.
Where a third party has asked for the test, Medicare does not cover it. That is a Medicare rule rather than a decision of ours, and reception will quote the fee before you book.
Bring the form or the requirements with you. Different employers want different things, and we would rather read their list than guess at it.
Spirometry is effort-dependent, which is a polite way of saying the test is only as good as how hard you blow. Tap a card.
You sit upright, a clip goes on your nose, and you blow into a tube as hard and as long as you can.
Where reversibility is being tested, you take a reliever inhaler and repeat the whole thing.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Tap any card for what that part of the visit involves.
Say it is for spirometry so a longer appointment is set aside. Ask at the same time whether any of your inhalers should be held beforehand.
Flip backNo smoking or vaping that morning, no heavy meal or hard exercise right before, and loose clothing around the chest and waist.
Flip backBring your inhalers, including the ones you rarely use. Inhaler technique gets checked at the same visit, and that is easier with your own devices.
Flip backSitting upright, nose clip on, a full breath in and then out as hard and as long as you can. Repeated until the readings agree.
Flip backWhere reversibility is being measured, a few puffs through a spacer and a fifteen-minute wait before the next set.
Flip backThe same blows again. The comparison between before and after is what the test is really measuring.
Flip backInterpreted by your GP in the same appointment, against the predicted values for your age, height and sex, and against your own earlier tests.
Flip backAn action plan, a change of inhaler, a referral, or reassurance — and a date for the next test if one is worth doing.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. Breathing problems are easy to under-describe once you are sitting in the room.
Spirometry is ordered and interpreted by your GP. Filter by who you would rather see, or book with whoever is free soonest.
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.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card, when the test is done for a clinical reason. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception. Testing requested by an employer or another third party sits outside Medicare and attracts a fee, which reception will quote beforehand.
No. It is tiring rather than painful — you are blowing out as hard as you can several times over. Some people feel light-headed for a moment afterwards, which passes quickly while you sit.
Around half an hour if reversibility is being tested, because of the wait after the reliever inhaler. A straightforward test without that step is quicker.
Ask when you book. It depends on what the test is for. Sometimes your GP wants you to hold a reliever or a preventer for a set number of hours; sometimes they want you tested on your usual treatment. Guessing either way can waste the appointment.
It is usually better to wait until you are over it, because the result will reflect the infection rather than your usual lung function. The exception is where your GP has specifically asked for a test while you are unwell.
The two that matter most are how much air you can blow out in total and how much of it comes out in the first second. Your GP compares both against the predicted values for someone your age, height and sex, and explains what yours show.
No. Your GP arranges it during an ordinary appointment.
Yes. Spirometry is interpreted in the room, so you will have an answer and usually a plan before you leave.
It depends on the condition and how it is behaving. Some people have it once to make a diagnosis; others repeat it every year or two to track change. Your GP will tell you what makes sense for you.
That is what it is for. An abnormal result leads to a diagnosis, a treatment plan, and usually a repeat test later to check the treatment is working. Where the picture is unclear or severe, your GP will refer you to a respiratory physician.
Getting puffed more easily than you used to is one of the most commonly ignored symptoms in general practice — and one of the most straightforward to test.
Spirometry measures how well your lungs move air, and is used to diagnose and monitor asthma and COPD. The test takes around thirty minutes, including a repeat after a reliever.
You will find us at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, Salamander Bay, inside the shopping centre, a few minutes from Nelson Bay, Corlette and Soldiers Point and an easy drive from Anna Bay, Medowie and Lemon Tree Passage.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
