GP Fee Information Now More Easily Accessible

Wednesday 6 December 2006

GP Fee Information Now More Easily Accessible

Members of the public wanting more information about the cost of visiting a General Practitioner in Gisborne can now find it published quarterly in the free local newspaper.

The easy-to-understand table of GP fee information relates to a standard GP consultation for enrolled patients at City Medical Centre, Desmond Road Medical Centre, Mangapapa Medical Centre, Serendipity Health, The Village Clinic, and Kaiti Medical Centre.

Each of the GP Practices is part of Turanganui Primary Health Organisation (TPHO). Chief Executive Keriana Brooking said TPHO supports the right of the public to know what GPs charge thereby helping them make an informed decision about where to receive professional GP and nurse health care.

“Around the country more and more PHOs have already started doing this, mostly on their websites and in their local newspapers.” Mrs Brooking said the information will be available online when the new TPHO website is launched in January.

“This is something the Ministry of Health has wanted all PHOs to do for a long time. It allows us to be more transparent, and removes any confusion for the public.”

Differences between the fees in each GP Practice are a reflection of choices made by each practice in October 2006 on the type of payment to receive from the Ministry of Health.

A GP Practice that has chosen the ‘Very Low Cost Access’ payment option receives a greater Government subsidy and the fees it can charge are fixed by the Government.

A GP Practice that has chosen the alternative payment option does not receive as big a Government subsidy, and as a result will typically charge its enrolled patients slightly more. Those GP Practices believed the increased Government subsidy and associated fixed fee were not going to cover their practice costs in the future.

Mrs Brooking reminded the public that GP Practices may charge extra for unpaid accounts, additional services, casual patients, and weekend and after-hours consultations. Charges may also differ for new patients while the enrolment process is taking place. Information may change without prior notice however updates will be published quarterly.

Information about GP Fees will be published in The Bulletin on Thursday 7 December.

(GP Fees Below)

GP Fees for a Standard Consultation – Turanganui Primary Health Organisation

Practice GPs Taking
New
Patients 0-5
years 6-17
Years 18-24
Years 25-44
years 45-64
Years 65+
years
City Medical Gisborne Dr Lesley Hawkins
Dr Gillian Haywood
Dr Stuart Hockey
Dr Bernd Stoltenberg Inquire Nil $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00
Desmond Road Medical Centre Dr Sally Driver
Dr Francois Jacobs
Dr Pauline Smale
Dr David Somerton
Dr Paul Tervit Inquire Nil $17.00 $22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $17.00
Kaiti Medical Centre Dr Moira Cunningham
Dr Nick Duffy
Dr Brian Gibson
Dr Tom James
Dr Allen Marx
Dr Johan Peters
Dr Simon Spenceley Yes Nil $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00
Mangapapa Medical Centre
Dr Alison McFarlane
Dr Ken McFarlane Inquire Nil $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00
Serendipity Health Ltd, Elgin
Dr Siri Nanayakkara Yes Nil $10.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00 $15.00
The Village Clinic
Dr Murray Smith Yes $5 $17.00 $22.00 $22.00 $22.00 $22.00

ENDS

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