Consultation

Consultation Information

• How do I make an Appointment?

  Please call us during office hours to make an appointment – 07 5598 4455.

  Office Hours: Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm.

• How long will my consultation take?

  The length of your first consultation will vary depending on the reason for your consultation. For a new patient, your consultation will be 20-30 minutes. Follow-up consultations are generally 10 minutes in duration.

• Do I need a referral to make an appointment?

  Yes, you will require a referral from your GP or another specialist prior to booking an appointment with Dr. Graze. Your GP/specialist can send your referral via Medical Objects or email us at [email protected].

  A new GP referral will be required every 12 months. Please check with reception staff if a new referral is required when scheduling an appointment.

• Urgent appointments

  Appointment waiting periods can vary. If you require an urgent appointment, we suggest you discuss it with your General Practitioner. If your GP feels the matter is urgent, the GP can contact our office and forward us the referral. We do not make urgent appointments without sighting the referral.

• Delays and Rescheduling

  Your appointment may be delayed as we try to devote adequate time to each patient’s needs; sometimes, this may take longer than their allocated time. Appointments may also need to be delayed or rescheduled due to Dr Graze attending emergencies and trauma at the hospital.

• What to bring to your initial consultation?
  • Please fill out and bring the Patient Registration Form.
  • Medicare or Veterans’ Affairs card.
  • Private health insurance details if you are in a health fund.
  • WorkCover patients must bring all information relating to their claim – claim number, name and address of insurance company and contact details for case manager.
  • X-rays or other diagnostic imaging films, such as MRI / CT scans. We prefer that these are in hard copy film format and not on a disc. Discs are often slow to load and, in some cases, do not load at all.
  • If you have copies of relevant previous operation notes, information from other doctors or copies of imaging that relate to your condition, then please bring these along also.
  • We encourage you to come to your initial consultation with a written list of questions to ensure you don’t forget to ask them when you are seeing the doctor.
• Will I be expected to pay for my consultation on the day?

  Payment for your consultation must be made on the day. For your convenience, we have EFTPOS available. We also accept cash, cheques and major credit cards.

  Our Medicare Easyclaims system allows your Medicare rebate to be directly deposited back into your account. This can be processed on the day of your appointment.

  If you have a pension card, please bring this to your consultation. Veteran Affairs with the appropriate Gold or White card will not incur any costs.

  Please note that your consultation may attract other fees if you require a cortisone injection or a plaster to be applied. We also charge for a prosthesis such as slings. These costs cannot be claimed through Medicare.

• Workers compensation appointments

  To enable us to bill your Workers Compensation Insurer directly, we need the following information.

  • Employer
  • Workers Compensation Insurance Company and contact details
  • Date of injury
  • Claim number
  • Consultation approval
  • Medico-Legal appointments

  These appointments can only be made and rescheduled by the company making the appointment. If you need to reschedule a medico-legal appointment, please contact the company directly.

• What will happen at your first appointment?

  Dr Graze will take your medical history, physically examine you and check any x-rays / imaging at the time of your consultation. Treatment options will then be discussed. Further tests or investigations may be ordered to help form a diagnosis. You would most likely need to return at a later date for the results of these investigations and to plan your further treatment, which may be surgical or non-surgical.

• Do I need private health insurance?

  No.

  However, if you do have private insurance, Dr Graze operates at John Flynn Hospital in Tugun.

  Private Health Insurance allows you to have your surgery at a date of your choosing as availability allows [usually within four weeks] at John Flynn Private Hospital. In particular, it also ensures that Dr Graze performs your surgery. Dr Graze’s reception staff co-ordinates all pre- and post-operative appointments.

  If you do NOT have Private Health Insurance (PUBLIC PATIENTS), surgery will be at either the Tweed Heads or Murwillumbah public hospitals. First, you will see Dr Graze in his private rooms at Bilinga. Once surgery has been advised, you will complete a public hospital admission form. This is then passed on to the booking office at the public hospital, and you are placed on the waiting list for surgery. The booking office co-ordinates with you a date for your pre-admission clinic consultation with the anaesthetist, your admission date for surgery, admission time, etc. The waitlist time varies depending on the severity of your symptoms, from 3 to 12 months.

• I’ve lost my GP referral; can I attend my consultation without it?

  You must have your referral with you when attending your consultation. If you do not have your referral, you will be unable to claim any of the costs from Medicare. If you realise you have lost your referral, please contact your GP and arrange for another referral.

• Will my GP be notified after the consultation?

  Following each consultation, we will write to your referring doctor in regards to the outcome of your consultation.

• What do I wear to my consultation?

  Please wear comfortable clothing that will allow your doctor to have easy access to your area of concern. For example, if you are attending our practice for a knee condition, please wear shorts.

• If surgery is required, now what..?

  If you require surgery, Dr Graze will discuss this at length during your appointment. He will discuss all aspects of surgery, including the likely benefits of surgery, the alternatives [e.g. conservative measures] and any possible complications. If you choose to proceed with surgery, Dr Graze’s reception staff will then go through the details with you, including booking a date, organising your pre- and post-operative appointments, discussing admission details and all likely costs. You will then complete a hospital consent form, along with an admission form. Most patients can complete this paperwork, in some cases attend a pre-admission clinic, and then go ahead with the surgery. However, depending on your medical condition, it may prove necessary to have pre-operative consultations with other specialists, e.g., to assess cardiac or vascular status. This will be discussed with Dr Graze at the time you consent to the surgery.