We have just moved to the Gold Coast and need to find a consultant/specialist for my son who has ADHD, would i need extras cover for this as it's not a normal GP appointment ?
Thanks Julie

Do you have cover now, if not all existing conditions generally have a 12 month wait before they are covered sorry.

Most consultants will require a referral from your GP. Go and see your GP first. The referral also enables you to claim back some costs from medicare on your consultants fees.

Thanks for the reply,
We dont have any cover as yet , we moved here a month ago. Still need to sign up with a GP so will go down that route first .

Once you see a GP you get referral to Specialist/s. Even if you have private insurance they usually wont cover it, as you get a partial rebate from medicare.

Weve seen specialists for kids, one charged $160 and got around $87 back, one charged $300 and at that time only got about $67 back. Ask first what their fees and rebates are, that way you can budget for each appointment as you pay at time of consultation.

You could also ask your GP to refer you to a free public specialist rather than using the private system.

You don't sign up for a GP. You simply ring, make an appointment and go. No need to see the same on every time.

As for consultants, private health insurance doesn't cover the cost of the visit. You pay then claim back part of the fee from Medicare.

Both my boys have ADD & were under a child psychiatrist in UK. We are under the care of a paediatrician here.
We had referrals from GP, got most of consult fee back for 1st son & all of it for 2nd, not sure why it was different.
Did you bring a report from your UK specialist? This kept costs down for us as he said all the hard work had been done for him!

Hi sallyclaire,
Yes i have brought all my sons reports from his consultant in the Uk , so hopefully this should be enough info. He is on daily medication and we have about 2 months worth left , hopefully this will give us enough time for our GP(have made an appointment for tommorrow) to refer him.

How did you get on with the GP Julie?

Hi , she was fantastic, she is going to refer us via the public route although she did warn us that there may be a long wait ,if thats the case we will have to go private . She did say she will be able to give us a repeat prescription when its due so that has put our minds at rest for the time being .

I loved the episode with Daniel Radcliffe and the condom.

Oh very glad that it all went well for you. Hope you don't have to wait too long for specialist. Is it a paediatrician you are being referred to or a kids psych?

I think it's a paediatrician, the same as the UK , i hope they are as nice as the last one she was lovely and Regan really liked her too !

You saw a paed in the UK, not a child psychiatrist? Sorry, am just interested in what is different!