How does the referral process work?

We offer specialised Orthopaedic Surgical advice and treatment.

Referrals are in the most part initiated by your family doctor (GP) although we do accept referrals from other health providers and on rare occasions direct referrals from patients (although we do encourage referrals to be made by the family doctor on these occasions as they may be able to convey important and relevant medical information about you).  There are essentially two types of referrals, Private and ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation).

A Private Referral means that you will have to pay for the consultation and for any other items used in the consultation, such as, cortisone injections.  Radiological investigations may incur a further charge which is administered directly by the radiology provider.  If you are uncertain what these charges will be then please ask the provider of the radiology services.  Our main provider locally for radiological services is Broadway Radiology.  After the initial consultation you may receive an appointment for a follow up consultation.  Please also note that follow up consultations usually also incur a charge.  Most health insurance policies cover either the full cost or part of the cost for specialist visits/consultations.  Please check directly with your insurer if you are uncertain what your policy covers

A referral through ACC may also be made by the referring practitioner.  However, it is important to realise that we are unable to make an appointment until ACC approves your claim.  Although you may have had an initial acceptance letter by ACC a further more extensive check by ACC may be required before they approve a claim for a specialist visit.  This can on occasion take some time.  ACC has an obligation to ensure the claim details are all correct and accurate and will not allow us to see patients until everything has been approved by them.  ACC may on occasion ask for more details of the injury.  You can help ensure the process runs smoothly as possible by complying with any request from ACC in a timely and efficient manner.  Sometimes details, such as, the correct body site of the injury or even the correct side of injury are required before we can see and advise you.  Although it can sometimes be a seemingly frustrating process, as ACC will be paying for the total cost of your consultation and care it is reasonable that they ensure the claims are correct.  If you have any concerns about where things are at in regards approval of your claim then it is best to talk directly with ACC rather than our staff, as ACC is usually in a much better position to clarify issues for you.  This process also applies to Accredited Employer organisations.  

We do appreciate that at times for a variety of reasons you may not be able to make your appointment.  We normally ask that you contact our rooms and let us know if you can’t make the appointment time.  Failure to attend and/or notify us may incur a charge for the missed consultation.