Patient Information

Your First Visit

What to Bring

• A referral letter addressed to Mr Patten from your GP or specialist. This is required so that you are eligible for a Medicare rebate, and is helpful in giving Mr Patten information about your problem and medical history.
• Your completed Patient Registration Form. We will provide you with a copy of this to fill in, or alternatively you can download the Patient Registration Form by clicking here.
• An up-to-date list of your current medications
• Any relevant tests or scans you have, such as x-rays, MRI or CT scans, or blood test results.
• It can be helpful to bring a relative or friend with you to your appointment, as they are able to remember information from your appointment and help ask any questions you may have.
• You may find it helpful to write down a list of questions you may have to ask Mr Patten before your appointment. This will help to ensure you don’t forget anything during your consultation.

Payment of Your Consultation Fee
Payment in full is required on the day of your appointment. We accept cash, EFTPOS payment with Visa or Mastercard, and cheques. Please note that we do not accept American Express. Once the account is paid, we can transmit your account to Medicare online to immediately claim your rebate on your behalf.

For patients covered by WorkCover, TAC or DVA, we send our accounts directly to the relevant party for payment, and therefore no payment is required from you on the day of your appointment.

Cancelling an Appointment
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can reschedule your appointment and offer your cancelled appointment to another patient. We ask that you kindly give us at least 24 hours’ notice, where possible, when cancelling an appointment.

Fees

Consultation Fees
The initial consultation fee with Mr Patten is $200.00, and any subsequent review consultations involve a fee of $100.00. Both fees attract a Medicare rebate, which we can claim on your behalf electronically at the time of payment.

The Cost of Surgery
There are several costs to consider for any surgery you may have. Mr Patten performs all his operations in Epworth Hospital Richmond, a private hospital. For a patient’s hospital admission and surgery, there are numerous involved providers who will bill the patient and their health fund:

• The surgeon’s fee – Mr Patten’s surgical fees are based on the Australian Medical Association (AMA)’s recommended fees.
• The anaesthetist’s fee – Each anaesthetist will have their own fees, which will be quoted to you prior to surgery. This can generally vary from $100.00 to $800.00, depending on the nature of surgery.
• The surgical assistant’s fee – Most assistants will charge a gap between $100.00 to $500.00. This again depends on the type of surgery being undertaken.
• Hospital bed, theatre costs and equipment fees – These costs can easily accumulate to thousands, if not, tens of thousands of dollars, depending on your type of surgery. If you are covered by private health insurance, these fees will almost certainly be covered by your health fund, leaving you with an excess to pay at the time of your admission to hospital. It is important to confirm with your health fund that you are covered for your surgery, as certain orthopaedic procedures are excluded from some policies.
• Pathology, radiology and pharmacy – During your hospital admission, you may need to have scans, blood tests, or have medication dispensed to you from the pharmacy, which may incur out-of-pocket costs.

For patients covered by WorkCover, TAC, DVA or Defence, there will be no charge from Mr Patten to you for your procedure.

About Mr Patten’s Fees
Orthopaedic procedures are identified by Medicare item numbers. Each item number is associated with a rebate from Medicare and private health funds pay an additional rebate of up to 25%. Over time the cost of running a high-quality practice has risen, and unfortunately the rebates given by Medicare and private health funds have not increased at the same rate. As Mr Patten’s fees are based on the AMA’s recommended fees, which is higher than Medicare’s rebates, this generates an out-of-pocket cost (a ‘gap’) to the patient for surgery.

For any surgery Mr Patten recommends, a written quote detailing all item numbers and fees will be provided to you.

Uninsured Patients
For patients without health insurance, we will be happy to obtain quotes on your behalf from the hospital, anaesthetist, assistant, and any involved prosthetic companies, to ensure you are fully informed of all costs involved with surgery.

Surgery in a Public Hospital
Should you wish to have surgery in a public hospital, your GP can send a referral to an orthopaedic outpatient clinic at a public hospital. There are no fees for surgery in a public hospital, however there is a waiting list. Your position on the hospital’s waiting list will depend on the severity of your condition.

Request an Appointment

For your convenience, you may request an appointment online by filling in the below. Once submitted, one of our friendly staff will contact you to book an appointment for you.