Urological Specialists

Your Appointment



What to bring

Once you have made an appointment to see Mr. Grills or Dr. McLeod, you will be sent a letter detailing your:

  • Appointment time and date
  • Fee for your consultation.
  • Information on any other special instructions or requirements that may be needed before or at the time of your appointment – e.g. flow rate study or bladder scan, bladder diary, extra blood tests or x-rays that may be needed.
  • Enclosed with this letter will be a Patient Data Sheet.

On the Patient Data Sheet you will be asked to provide us with your personal details, Medicare, DVA and/or pension card details and information of your Private Hospital Insurance. You will also be asked to detail your current medications and past medical history. It is important that you complete the Patient Data Sheet and return it in the envelope provided, prior to your appointment. Print it out and return it to our office by post or email. If you have been given a referral letter by your GP, then you should also enclose your referral. Gathering your information in this manner allows our staff to create a patient file and arrange other tests that may be necessary for you prior to your appointment. Doing so will save you time and may reduce the need for further appointments.

If you do not have a referral, please contact your GP to ensure one has been sent to our Geelong rooms.

You will also need to bring the following with you to your appointment

  • X-rays or disks of relevant investigations
  • A list of medications (if not provided on your Patient Data Sheet)

Please ensure you report to reception when you arrive for your appointment to see Mr. Grills or Dr. McLeod.

 

 

What to expect

During your first visit to West Coast Urology, your specialist (Mr. Grills or Dr. McLeod) will review the referral letter provided by your GP and ask you questions about your medical history and presenting condition. It is likely that you will also require a physical examination and extra tests to assist your specialist in determining your diagnosis.

If you require a follow up appointment with your specialist, our admin staff will book this for you at the end of your consultation. Alternatively, if you are required to have a surgical procedure, our staff will assist you to arrange this and provide you with the detailed information you need regarding your procedure.

This information includes providing you with an Informed Financial Consent document which will detail your specialists fee, your anticipated rebate and any out of pocket expense. For more information on fees please click here.

Following your consultation, your specialist will send a letter to your referring doctor detailing the outcome of your consultation and any plans for further management.

 

 

Fees

Consultation Fees

Initial Consultation 

          Private $200.00      Medicare Rebate $72.75
   
   
 

Review Consultation

         Private $100.00      Medicare Rebate $36.55
         
 

  

Telehealth

 

Consultations conducted via Telehealth are bulk billed

 

 

Nurse Consultation

Nursing Education $60.00 - $100.00 . No refund from Medicare. 

 

Payment

       Payment is expected at the time of your consultation
       Payment is accepted by, cash, cheque, credit card or EFTPOS

 

Explanation Fees and charges

Medicare

We do not bulk bill. 

Patients pay for their treatment and receive a rebate from Medicare.
Medicare is a subsidy to private health care costs and there has been a government freeze on the rebates of this subsidy since 2013, whilst the costs of running a practice have increased during this period. 

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) lists the services the Australian Government will provide a Medicare rebate for. Medicare rebates do not cover the full cost of medical services and are typically paid as a percentage of the Medicare schedule fee. There is often a gap between what patients pay for services and the amount that Medicare reimburses. This gap is known as an out-of-pocket expense, as the patient is required to make up the difference out of his or her own pocket.

Healthcare funds (Health Insurance companies)

Their rebates to patients are linked to Medicare rebates not to the cost of providing a service.

Healthcare funds decide independently how much they will rebate patients for surgical procedures.

The fee charged by West Coast Urology for surgical procedures is fixed for each procedure, however the amount that your Healthcare fund will rebate you for that procedure varies from fund to fund and table to table within funds.

If your Healthcare fund decides not to rebate you the full cost of your surgical procedure (as is their right), you will be left with 'gap payment' also known as an "out of pocket expense" - you will need to make up this difference. The size of this 'gap payment' depends on the Healthcare fund, not your doctor. See below an example of 2 patients undergoing exactly the same procedure with 2 different health funds

 

  • Eg. X procedure. Health fund A
    • Specialist Charge = $1000
    • Rebate from Health fund A = $900
    • Gap payment (out of pocket expense) to patient = $100
  • Eg. X procedure. Health fund B
    • Specialist Charge = $1000
    • Rebate from Health fund B = $400
    • Gap payment (out of pocket expense) to patient = $600

Healthcare funds have many rules and clauses regarding rebates for procedures, some of which change from time to time and often without consultation or informing West Coast Urology of these changes. As such for clarification it is always best to contact your Healthcare fund for further information.

 

 

Car Parking - Geelong

  1. Myers Street and Moorabool Street - On street metered car parking available
  2. Little Ryrie Street Car Park - 3 hour council metered car park. From the Little Ryrie Street car park it is only a short walk up Baylie Place to the St John of God Specialist Centre where the West Coast Urology consulting rooms are located.
  3. St John of God Hospital Car Park. Car parking is on site and is situated under the main hospital building, entrance is from Myers St. Parking in this new underground 3 level car park is available at $1.50 per hour.

 

Locations

Centrally located at the St John of God Specialist Centre in Geelong at 83 Myers Street, our main practice is in close proximity to most of Geelong's major hospitals, including St John of God Hospital (across the road) and the University Hospital Geelong.

We also provide regional specialist urology services (both consulting and operating services) in:

  • Hamilton, at the Consulting Suite at Western District Health Service (Hamilton Hospital) – Mr. Grills
  • Colac, at Colac Hospital, Community Services Department, Galvin McCarthy Building – Dr McLeod

View our locations here.

 

 

Confidentiality

West Coast Urology preserves the privacy and confidentiality of our patients documents and information according to the Commonwealth of Australia Privacy Act (1988).

West Coast Urology collects information from you for the primary purpose of providing quality health care. We require you to provide us with your personal details and a full medical history so that we may properly assess, diagnose, treat and be proactive in regard your health care needs.

As such, we will use the information you provide in the following ways:

  1. For administrative purposes in running our medical practice
  2. For billing purposes, including compliance with Medicare and Health Insurance Commission requirements
  3. Disclosure to others involved in your health care, including treating doctors and specialists outside the medical practice. This may occur through referrals to other doctors, or for medical tests and in the reports or results returned to us following these referrals.

West Coast Urology has a privacy policy on handling patient information. Click here for further information. If you have any questions or complaints regarding your privacy, please contact our administrative staff so that we can resolve your concerns.

 

 

Taxi and Bus Services

If you require public transport to get to and from your appointment, local taxi and bus services in the Geelong area are available.

Geelong Taxi Network

131 008

Geelong Taxis

Bellarine Peninsula Taxis

132 211

Bellarine Peninsula Taxis

McHarry's Busline

(03) 5223 2111

McHarrys

CDC Bus Network

CDC Timetables