Visits To The Doctor and Costs?

Doctors costs vary depending on which area you are in. The local docs is $29 for a consultation, where as the next one down in Hamilton costs $49. Emergency GP's costs mega bucks, $80-$120. These are the same if you are visiting or living here.

Prescriptions are part funded by the govt, and can cost from $3 - $15 dollars per item for most things. They never check your residency status so you don't pay the full price!

The reason you pay as a visitor / WHV holder is because you do not or do not regularly contribute to ACC, who I believe fund treatments.

Talking of doctors, do you have to take your medical file from your own docs in the UK across with you or are you OK without it?

Everytime I call my docs its engaged so havent had a chance to speak to them about it and just wondered if anyone else knew?

Talking of doctors, do you have to take your medical file from your own docs in the UK across with you or are you OK without it?

I have heard that most GP surgeries charge for photocopying and supplying medical records. So ... we did not bother asking. When I registered at a NZ doctors surgery, they did ask whether we had any - I said 'no' and they said 'that's OK'. They asked if there was any regular medication we required, and also what date I had had my last cervical smear.

Before I left the UK, I did ask our local hospital for my son's files with respect to his food allergies, which they sent me without any charge. If you have a medical condition that a GP may want to know the history of, then taking UK records is wise.

By the way, GP costs can certainly differ. My emergency appointment with a GP (Sunday morning at the clinic) cost me $45 including a week's prescription of painkillers and anti-inflamms. I don't know how much the physio sessions were - I paid $10 for each of them and ACC paid the remainder of the charge (I just filled in a form at the physio's and received a letter from them a few days later confirming they will cover the cost).

[smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]:

I'm going to ask my doctor for our records, anyway I thought by law we are able to access our records? If so, then we could copy them ourselves surely!
I bet alot of it definitely depends on practice's attitude.
The NZ charges will be expensive to Brits compared to our system but probably a bargain to citizens of the US!

The originals belong to the NHS but you can pay for copies. My doctors did me a free print out of immunisations for the kids and brief details of visits over the last couple of years for us all. I gave these to my doctors here. My hubby has had surgery on his back in the past, but we were told that we could pay for copies of his notes if we ever needed them!

Fisheress

Cheaper doctor's visits for some
03 July 2006 ?

People aged 45 years old to 64 years old can now get cheaper doctor's visits and prescription drugs.

The latest stage of the Government's primary health subsidy scheme came into effect on Saturday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said 700,000 people aged between 45 and 64 would now pay $27 less for doctor visits and $3 for prescriptions ? instead of $15 ? if they enrolled with a primary health organisation.

The low fees have been progressively extended to those over 65 and under 25 since primary health organisations were introduced in 2002. Those between 25 and 44 will become eligible on July 1 next year. The scheme was expected to cost $2.2 billion for the first six years, the latest extension costing $110 million for the next 12 months. 'The investment will lower the barriers many families face when they fall ill,' Miss Clark said.

- The Dominion Post

Good news Mother Bear, thankyou for that useful info! [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

Confirmation of the above.

Most middle-aged patients to get cheaper doctor visits
1.00pm Wednesday July 12, 2006



Nearly all doctor's practices have signed up for the new deal that means cheaper treatment for patients aged between 45 and 64, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said today. It is the latest subsidy rollout in the Government's primary healthcare strategy and means more than 690,000 people will pay $27 less when they next visit a doctor.

Mr Hodgson said the $27 subsidy would roughly cut the cost of a doctor visit in half, and prescription costs had dropped to $3 per item.

There were difficult negotiations with doctors over a new fee regime but Mr Hodgson said they were concluded in time and on the July 1 start date 750 practices were on board.

'All but three general practices in New Zealand have now met the requirements to obtain funding for the 45-64 year old rollout,' he said. 'In previous years up to 20 per cent of practices were not eligible for funding by the start date.'

The subsidy for the 45-64 aged group was the fourth the Government has introduced. Ages 6-17 were subsidised in 2003, over 65 in 2004, 18-24 last year and 45-64 this year.

Next year the final age group, 25-44, will be subsidised.

- NZPA

If, as Taffy quoted earlier:

The local docs is $29 for a consultation, where as the next one down in Hamilton costs $49. Emergency GP's costs mega bucks, $80-$120

does this mean I'd only have to pay $2 per visit? $29 - $27 = $2.

Oh no!

National may undo doctor's visit subsidy
Monday July 24, 2006
By Ruth Berry

National health spokesman Tony Ryall refuses to rule out reversing the cheaper doctors visits being introduced by the Government.Mr Ryall yesterday launched an attack against 'health care by post code' at the party's annual conference, a reference to the subsidised doctors visits being rolled out across the country.

The subsidies were first made available to Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) operating in poorer areas and to specific age groups such as the young and the elderly. In July, the subsidies were made available to all people in the 45-64 age group, and next July to the 25-45 age group.

In the lead-up to the last election, National said it would not introduce the further subsidies Labour had planned for the 25-64 age groups. After the July 1 roll-out, Health Minister Pete Hodgson called on National to clarify its position, saying '700,000 45-64 year olds ... have a right to know if National supports raising their fees'.

Mr Ryall said yesterday: 'Over the next year or so we will be putting our policy together but we have a very important principle that the scarce dollars in health need to go where they have most benefit and we certainly don't want to have a system of health by post code where depending on where you live you are going to get cheaper doctors visits, or greater Government subsidies I should say.'

Mr Ryall accepted that as a result of the roll-out all people would have the subsidies regardless of where they lived by next July. But he pointed to a speech Mr Hodgson gave on Friday which said the Government was now considering investing more money in PHOs which serviced poor communities.

GP fees to rise despite $2b Govt injection
Tuesday January 30, 2007
By Martin Johnston

Fees to see a GP are going up, despite the multibillion-dollar taxpayer boost for primary healthcare.

Costs are likely to rise by more than $1 for most patients after a controversial ruling by district health boards.

Doctors blame increasing costs, such as pay rises of up to 19 per cent for primary care nurses, a boost which the Government refuses to provide for, saying it is already paying enough.

Groups representing general practitioners predict many will push to impose higher fee rises, prompting a flood of reviews under a new system set up by health boards.

More here .