Patients shown specialists’ fees before GP referral under health dept vision
The move would allow GPs to discuss fees with patients before referral.
The fees of individual specialists could be listed in practice software to allow GPs to guide patients through costs prior to writing a referral.
The idea has been flagged by the federal Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to a parliamentary inquiry examining legislation underpinning major revamp of the Medical Costs Finder website.
The legislation is expected to be passed in the coming weeks and will mean that the average individual fees of all private specialists will be automatically listed on the website.
The department says price transparency for consumers is an “essential foundation to a well-functioning healthcare market”.
