Hospitals and doctors
Going to hospital
Are you preparing for a hospital stay? Knowing as much as possible beforehand can help ease any worries you may have.
Find out about:
- your health care choices
- hospital admission
- medical records and personal information
- your hospital stay
- practical information
- going home
Having an operation
If you are facing surgery, think about some questions to ask your surgeon. It is important that you understand everything about your operation, so you can make an informed decision about your health care.
Visiting a doctor
If you are sick or injured, but it is not an emergency, make an appointment at your local clinic. You can find a doctor in the Yellow Pages.
You may be bulk billed for your appointment. This means the doctor bills Medicare directly and you will not be charged a fee.
If your doctor charges you a fee you can either:
- pay the bill and then claim the Medicare benefit
- claim a cheque from Medicare to give to your doctor along with any outstanding balance you need to pay.
The amount Medicare pays is set by the Australian Government, not what your doctor charges you.
Making a complaint
The Health Quality and Complaints Commission can help you with complaints about all public and private health services. The Patient Quality and Improvement Service can help if you have a specific complaint about a publicly-funded health service.
Planning your future care
Have you thought about what treatment and care you want in the future? It is important that you discuss it with your doctor, family and friends. You may also wish to identify a statutory health attorney and document your wishes with an advance health directive.
