Accounts and charges for Flinders Medical Centre
When you arrive at hospital, you or your family will be asked to complete admission forms, including a patient information form. This form enables you to select whether to be treated as a public patient by a doctor allocated to you by the hospital or as a private patient by a doctor of your choice who either works at the hospital or who has visiting rights. In some cases, patients are given admission forms to complete before they arrive at hospital.
If you have received your admission forms in advance, please make sure you bring them with you.
Public health care
As a public Medicare patient, you are entitled to treatment in the public health care system and you generally do not have to pay for your treatment or your stay in hospital.
Patients who remain in hospital for longer than 35 days and are no longer receiving acute treatment, will be liable to a patient contribution charge from day 36 onwards.
Private health care
Private patients can request to be treated by a particular doctor, provided that doctor has the clinical privilege to practice at the hospital. If you choose to be treated as a private patient, every effort is made by the hospital to organise for your nominated private health fund to be billed directly.
If you do not have private health insurance, you can still be admitted as a private patient and you will pay a competitive rate for your stay in hospital and other expenses. The account will be sent to you once you are discharged from the hospital.
Compensation claims – worker’s compensation, third party or common law claims
If your hospital admission is the result of a compensation claim, it is important that you tell the admitting staff which insurance company or solicitor is handling your case so that accounts can be processed accordingly.
Residents from other countries (non-Medicare patients)
Residents of countries that share a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia are usually eligible for free emergency treatment under Australia’s Medicare system. This arrangement does not entitle overseas patients to treatment as private patients or for elective admissions.
Residents of countries that do not have a reciprocal agreement with Australia are not eligible for free treatment. In these cases, patients will be responsible for paying all expenses associated with treatment, including medical, diagnostic, hospital stay, prosthetic, pharmaceutical and ambulance fees.
Holders of travel insurance may be able to lodge a claim for these costs through their travel insurance company.
For more information. our hospital representative can be contacted on:
Phone: 8204 7259
Hours: Weekdays between 8:00am and 6:00pm and weekends between 7:30am and 3:00pm.
The information above is also available to be downloaded:
What it means to be a patient at Flinders Medical Centre (PDF 474KB)