General Medical issues thread

[Flashback]

I've been sick for the last 3 weeks or so ... that's now developed into some COVID like symptoms (change in taste/smell), test booked this morning for this afternoon, was amazed to find same day testing at a walk in centre only 0.5 miles from home. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get the results.

 

[Flashback]

Although it was walk in/drive through, the test seems to be the same one that they would post out. There were staff there to talk you through it, but you were given a booklet with instructions and had to do it yourself. So the only thing it's cut out is the Royal Mail middleman....... still, was handy to be able to open up the book a test system in the morning and be able to find a slot same day, rather than having to wait for the post to arrive. One of the staff members wasn't wearing a mask

It was done a very visually appealing spot

 

[Pushka]

Although it was walk in/drive through, the test seems to be the same one that they would post out. There were staff there to talk you through it, but you were given a booklet with instructions and had to do it yourself. So the only thing it's cut out is the Royal Mail middleman....... still, was handy to be able to open up the book a test system in the morning and be able to find a slot same day, rather than having to wait for the post to arrive. One of the staff members wasn't wearing a mask
View attachment 233071
It was done a very visually appealing spot

So no one does the test for you? Interesting. It does make one wonder about accuracy of the samples.

 

[Flashback]

So no one does the test for you? Interesting. It does make one wonder about accuracy of the samples.

Nope. I hope I did it right! It tickled my nose and made my eyes water, so I feel like I was probably poking in the right place.

 

[VPS]

I can't believe they make you do it yourself.

 

[Flashback]

I can't believe they make you do it yourself.

Given the constant flow of people I would have thought it would be quicker for them to do it, rather than make you read, be there to offer guidance as you try to do it yourself etc. Oh well.

 

[Flashback]

I've been sick for the last 3 weeks or so ... that's now developed into some COVID like symptoms (change in taste/smell), test booked this morning for this afternoon, was amazed to find same day testing at a walk in centre only 0.5 miles from home. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get the results.

Jolly good, test carried out at 2.30pm yesterday and results in my inbox by 11am. Negative, hoorah. Off to the pub! Oh...... wait

 

[RooFlyer]

As I posted above, a week ago I had emergency day surgery to re-attach one of my retinas. All seems to be healing well (except i have that dammed spirit level sloshing about in my field of view of one eye!)

I've just been reviewing my bills and private health insurance rebates (Medibank).

The surgeon's bill which came direct to me listed 4 services (item numbers) with descriptions, fees etc. Total $3,000, of which my insurer paid $2,600.

The hospital took my health insurance excess of $500 up-front and I never saw a bill from them, but I've now reviewed it via my claims history on the Medibank app. It lists 7 items, 4 of which are the same item # as the surgeon. less amounts, but the same description. Several of these describe only what I can call 'surgeon's actions'. There is a separate charge for "shared room" (day procedure - waiting and recovery) and a couple of small items which are 'consumables'. The anaesthetist billed the insurer directly, no out-of pocket to me for him. All his own item #s.

So, overall, I was charged $5,700 and was out-of-pocket about $900. I'm pretty happy with that outcome, especially as it all happened in under 24 hours. Private health insurance premiums paid for about 2 years!

But my question here is - does it sound right that the hospital billed me under the same item #s as the surgeon? I guess they provide the equipment for the procedure (and pretty fancy gear it is), so there is obviously more than the room and consumables. But I would have thought that they would have their own item #s for "surgical support" things - "theatre charges". I'm going to query the insurer, just for info, but any informed advice prior to that is appreciated.

 

[KitKat]

As I posted above, a week ago I had emergency day surgery to re-attach one of my retinas. All seems to be healing well (except i have that dammed spirit level sloshing about in my field of view of one eye!)

I've just been reviewing my bills and private health insurance rebates (Medibank).

The surgeon's bill which came direct to me listed 4 services (item numbers) with descriptions, fees etc. Total $3,000, of which my insurer paid $2,600.

The hospital took my health insurance excess of $500 up-front and I never saw a bill from them, but I've now reviewed it via my claims history on the Medibank app. It lists 7 items, 4 of which are the same item # as the surgeon. less amounts, but the same description. Several of these describe only what I can call 'surgeon's actions'. There is a separate charge for "shared room" (day procedure - waiting and recovery) and a couple of small items which are 'consumables'. The anaesthetist billed the insurer directly, no out-of pocket to me for him. All his own item #s.

So, overall, I was charged $5,700 and was out-of-pocket about $900. I'm pretty happy with that outcome, especially as it all happened in under 24 hours. Private health insurance premiums paid for about 2 years!

But my question here is - does it sound right that the hospital billed me under the same item #s as the surgeon? I guess they provide the equipment for the procedure (and pretty fancy gear it is), so there is obviously more than the room and consumables. But I would have thought that they would have their own item #s for "surgical support" things - "theatre charges". I'm going to query the insurer, just for info, but any informed advice prior to that is appreciated.

Hope you get full recovery!

The hospital bills the health funds based on what you have done - so the surgeon item numbers. The hospital takes the $500 excess which would normally what you would pay the health fund as your "excess" if you paid the hospital directly and was seeking reimbursement.
Yeah it's messy

 

[RooFlyer]

Hope you get full recovery!

The hospital bills the health funds based on what you have done - so the surgeon item numbers. The hospital takes the $500 excess which would normally what you would pay the health fund as your "excess" if you paid the hospital directly and was seeking reimbursement.
Yeah it's messy

Thanks. Actually, it was all pretty good for me, except for the hospital's itemisation. I think its pretty bad that they can bill for something which is not described as what they did or provided, but on what someone else did or provided! How am I meant to know if the cost of the good or service they provided is reasonable (or if they provided it at all!!), if they don't tell me what they actually did (rhetorical)?

 

[KitKat]

Thanks. Actually, it was all pretty good for me, except for the hospital's itemisation. I think its pretty bad that they can bill for something which is not described as what they did or provided, but on what someone else did or provided! How am I meant to know if the cost of the good or service they provided is reasonable (or if they provided it at all!!), if they don't tell me what they actually did (rhetorical)?

Yeah, it's a negotiated amount and way how they bill the health funds which again pay the providers different amounts depending on what they have negotiated (with the "accredited provider" or "preferred provider" terms being used).
It's a black box for most of us but it can swing the other way around like in SIN where everything including each BP taken is coded and charged! and how many rolls of tapes was used to secure your IVs!

 

[drron]

Yeah, it's a negotiated amount and way how they bill the health funds which again pay the providers different amounts depending on what they have negotiated (with the "accredited provider" or "preferred provider" terms being used).
It's a black box for most of us but it can swing the other way around like in SIN where everything including each BP taken is coded and charged! and how many rolls of tapes was used to secure your IVs!

That is the same sort of itemisation I have seen on cruise ship medical bills where people have shown me their bills.Often makes it horrendously expensive.

 

[RooFlyer]

Oh well... just when I thought I was in the clear ...

My operated eye started to go ‘funny’ 2 days ago, so I started texting the surgeon ( he gave me his mobile just for this sort of thing). Definitely worse late yesterday early evening ( Friday), so I called. He met me in his clinic this morning.

Damn, another retinal tear. Really luckily, the day surgery place ( only place that does it in Hobart) was having a ‘training day’ this Saturday and so there were staff there. Got the on call anaesthetist and I was in surgery in under 2 hours . I had the place to myself!!

No Private Health excess this time (you only pay it once per year), so I’m really going to get my money’s worth .

Had to cancel AFF meet up next month unfortunately.

 

[love_the_life]

Oh well... just when I thought I was in the clear ...

My operated eye started to go ‘funny’ 2 days ago, so I started texting the surgeon ( he gave me his mobile just for this sort of thing). Definitely worse late yesterday early evening ( Friday), so I called. He met me in his clinic this morning.

Damn, another retinal tear. Really luckily, the day surgery place ( only place that does it in Hobart) was having a ‘training day’ this Saturday and so there were staff there. Got the on call anaesthetist and I was in surgery in under 2 hours . I had the place to myself!!

No Private Health excess this time (you only pay it once per year), so I’m really going to get my money’s worth .

Had to cancel AFF meet up next month unfortunately.

That's bad luck. Hope things turn out well. Lucky that you could get in so quickly.

 

[love_the_life]

Some light at the end of the tunnel - MrLtL has. completed 7.5 weeks of radiation therapy for rising PSA (escaped before surgery). Not a great success rate in the studies at this stage but who knows? Anyway a relief for him and me that it's over.

 

[Katie]

Monday my eyes were playing up; as I made the kid some brekky, I was seeing a chevron of light, as far as I could tell in/across both eyes. Managed to drive her to the bus stop, did a little bit of work, but my eyes didn't like looking at a computer screen, so I went to have a nap. Before I started to sleep, I saw a distinct arc of light from my right eye, and could still see it when I closed my eyes. I ended up taking some nurofen and went to sleep for a bit. I'm not prone to migraines, have had two in my life.

I pretty much stayed in bed for the day, my eyes were definitely sore. Later in the afternoon, I really stubbed my little toe on the edge of our wooden bed. What a klutz. I was already seeing the physio later in the afternoon; he thought it seemed like soft tissue damage, but I popped off to Northside Emergency now that I had a "twofer" of issues.

Apart from the Emergency receptionist forgetting to put me on the list, my trip was fairly uneventful. XRays confirmed soft tissue damage to the toe (48hrs afterwards I was started to get some bruising). Various eye tests, but no dilation as the emergency doc said he wouldn't be able to see much. He was very insistent I get to an ophthalmologist this week, and also get a brain MRI. Pressure readings in my left eye were very high. Right eye was normal. I was advised to go to RBH if any issues that night, as they have an opthal registrar (I think registrar is the right word?) on at all times.

On Tuesday, I managed to really annoy a friend for expressing my bewilderment on FB that if I went to certain QScan locations (Redcliffe or Carindale), the MRI would be bulk billed, but not at the one at my local medical centre. I had no idea of the vagaries of MRI bulk billing, which one of my doctor mates told me about afterwards. Apparently you can really p*$$ someone off if they think you're moaning about paying $300 for an MRI when they've had multiple expensive specialist tests and it's around the time of their anniversary of brain tumour diagnosis. I guess I'll just keep both feet in my mouth.

Had the MRI yesterday, they found a brain, so that was good news. Emergency doc called me this AM to say nothing worrisome was found.

One of the receptionists at my daughter's former opthal managed to get me in to an appointment early next week. I was very keen to see him after seeing him treat my daughter, including performing eye surgery on her at 13mths. He also did my Mum's and Grandma's cataract surgeries, so I'm the only woman in my direct maternal line he hasn't worked with yet (though hopefully as things seem to be mostly OK at the moment, he won't be operating on me anytime soon).

Hopefully this is all a bit of an overreaction, but we will see.

 

[blackcat20]

Visual migraine? I get them (or used to) and it was characterised by lights and wavy patterns in my eyes.

 

[rginoz]

I had my first overnight stay in a hospital in nearly 50 years, last week. Went into the new Gold Coast Private Hospital for an operation and a three night stay.

The purpose was to remove a skin cancer (Squamous Cell Carcinoma) from my cheek, and remove various bits of an adjacent salivary gland and lymph nodes, with a skin flap procedure to repair the skin on my cheek. I've had a few skin cancers removed over the years in my GP's rooms, but this was to be a much more challenging event.

I was in the operating theatre for almost two hours, with two surgeons and an anaesthetist attending me. Ultimately, it turned out to be not as dramatic a procedure as I was expecting in terms of lymph node excisions, but I ended up with a cut about 30 cm long from my cheekbone to my chest via my ear, and about 60 stitches, and with a temporary drain in my neck to remove any excess body fluids. I looked like I was ready to go to a Halloween party.

Surprisingly, there was minimal pain afterwards, but I didn't sleep at all on the first night after the operation. Lots of interruptions for temperature checks and blood pressure checks, but no dramas.

A week after the op, I'm almost back to normal. The drain is out, stitches removed, swelling has gone down and I'm feeling fine. I still face some radiotherapy treatment as a further precaution over the coming weeks.

The whole charging system for the doctors and hospital is complex. I have high cover private insurance, but it seems that the only simple certainty is the out of pocket charge of $250 from the hospital, and $500 each from the surgeon and anaesthetist.

I'm glad it's done, I'm relieved that it wasn't too stressful for me, and I'm very appreciative of the skillful, high-quality care I received.

When I was a youngster, no one worried about excessive sun exposure. Skin cancers can take a long time to show themselves, but they can be killers. Please heed the warnings, slip/slop/slap, and encourage your kids to wear a hat.

 

[TheRealTMA]

..


On Tuesday, I managed to really annoy a friend for expressing my bewilderment on FB that if I went to certain QScan locations (Redcliffe or Carindale), the MRI would be bulk billed, but not at the one at my local medical centre. I had no idea of the vagaries of MRI bulk billing, which one of my doctor mates told me about afterwards. Apparently you can really p*$$ someone off if they think you're moaning about paying $300 for an MRI when they've had multiple expensive specialist tests and it's around the time of their anniversary of brain tumour diagnosis. I guess I'll just keep both feet in my mouth.

While there are lists of radiology places that have MRI machines, there are only a certain number (12?) of radiology practices in Brisbane who are licensed by federal government for Medicare bulk billing. One does have to be careful where you go or where your GP refers. Always pays to check, just what one needs when unwell.

 

[Katie]

Visual migraine? I get them (or used to) and it was characterised by lights and wavy patterns in my eyes.

Maybe? I think I've had one of those.

My left eye is also way up on the pressure test the emergency doctor did - it measured at 38 thingybobs, and my right eye is within range, something like 18 thingybobs.