A guide for assistant surgeons
One of the realities of being an assistant surgeon is that not many patients are aware of your involvement in their operation.
So if you charge a gap (aka out of pocket), it is even more important that you provide patient's with an estimate of your fees and/or the gap they will have to pay for your participation.
This also doubles as providing the patient financial information about their medical care so that they can make and informed decision and consent to it being undertaken with full knowledge of costs.
It is also good practice to share your standard fee/gap information with the surgeons that you work with. That way they can adequately have financial discussions with their patients.
There are several ways that you can advise patient's about your potential gap (and private) fees. It is up to you to decide which method may be right for you. These include:
- Provide all surgeons you work with a one-page summary of your fees to give to patient's alongside the surgeon quote. Be sure to include contact details for any questions they may have;
- Create an Estimate/IFC template and email it to patient's upon receipt of the theatre list; or
- Send an SMS to the patient with your fee and be sure to include contact details if they have any questions.
How far in advance you send this to the patient is completely up to you, but I always recommend that it is at least 7 days prior to the surgery. That way the patient can make to appropriate decisions without disrupting the surgeon too much.
Want help?
Our team can take this task for your hands and send your estimates to patients (and collect prepayment if you want)
This is typically turned around in less than a day from receiving the list (and in many cases the same day).
To discuss how we can help you, you can contact us directly on:
Phone: 1300 577 379
Email: medar@medar.com.au