Once you have organised an appointment for a private consultation it is important to ensure that the following information is available to you prior to attending.
- Appointment
- Referral Letter
- Authorisation & Fee
- Collating the List of Problems
- Bringing Investigations
Once you have organised an appointment for a private consultation it is important to ensure that the following information is available to you prior to attending. This would help to maximise the benefit you can get from your consultation.
It is ideal to get a referral letter from a General Practitioner which should either be sent ahead or brought along with you to the consultation.
This is normally required by the insurance company to authorise the consultation to see Mr Sharma. Also, the letter will provide Mr Sharma with a significant amount of information about your general health that your GP can provide with regards to your past medical history, the complaint and the medication that you are already undertaking.
For patients who are self funding should also make an effort to contact their GP and get the list of current medication and health information.
Ensuring Authorisation and Fee Payment Prior to Consultation
It is your responsibility as a patient to ensure that the insurance company is able to pay for your consultation. If they do not settle the fee then it will become your responsibility, once the appointment has been made, to be able to pay for the consultation. A lot of insurance companies have limits on the Outpatient allowance and it becomes your responsibility, prior to attending your appointment by contacting Mr Sharma’s secretary Emma, to enquire about the cost of the consultation.
Initial investigations including x-rays, blood tests and physiotherapy also come out of your Outpatient allowance.
Sometimes it is useful to have your problems annotated in a chronological manner as it helps to discuss all of your problems related in that visit, ensuring that complaints are not missed out. This assists in conducting an appropriate diagnosis and managing appropriately.
If you have had any x-rays or MRI scans etc that have been performed elsewhere it would be beneficial for you to bring them along with you. If treatment has already begun elsewhere it would be of assistance for you to bring along copies of previous letters of correspondence from your other consultant.