07 3345 1232
surgery information
Dr Chang performs a range of surgeries for conditions related to the ear, nose and throat.
He operates privately at Sunnybank Private, Mater Private, Mater Children’s Private and St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospitals. He is a consultant ENT Surgeon at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and the Mater Public Hospital.
Surgery fees and charges
Dr Chang is committed to financial transparency. His fees are set at the recommended Australian Medical Association (AMA) rate.
As part of informed financial consent, our reception team will provide you with a quote for the expected fee for your surgery. Medicare and your private health fund will pay a proportion of the fee for your surgery.
The difference between the surgical fee and the combined amount of the Medicare rebate and the benefit your health fund pays is the out of pocket cost or gap.
Why is there an out of pocket cost?
The cost of providing safe, patient-focused, and exceptional medical care continues to rise. The key factors that increase the cost of providing healthcare include the consumer price index and more specific costs such as insurance costs, consumables, equipment, etc. Unfortunately, the government’s contribution via Medicare rebates to the cost of health care has not kept up with the actual costs of providing quality healthcare.
It is estimated by the AMA (Australian Medical Association) that Medicare fees have increased to meet only two-thirds of the actual cost increases over the last 25 years.
In simple terms, patients face out of pocket fees because Medicare rebates have not kept up with the cost of living for nearly 30 years. This is creating an ever-increasing gap between what it costs to provide quality healthcare and the rebates provided by Medicare.
Certain procedures will incur a higher out of pocket cost. This will be discussed with you in more detail at your initial consultation.
Find out more about fees on the AMA website here.
Health Funds
It is essential that patients check with their Health Fund to ensure they are covered for any planned procedure. Failure to do so may lead to cancellation of surgery or the full cost of the hospital treatment becoming the patient’s responsibility.
Anaesthesia services
Dr Chang uses St Andrew’s Anaesthesia for his private surgeries.
Patients will be provided with the contact details of the anaesthetist when surgery is scheduled. The anaesthetist will provide a quote directly to patients prior to the day of the operation. If you have any questions regarding your upcoming anaesthetic, please contact St Andrew’s Anaesthesia directly on (07) 3834 3397.
Fasting instructions
Fasting instructions for adults can be found here and for children found here.
Please refer to this “cheat sheet” for easy to remember fasting information.
On certain occasions, the anaesthetist will contact that patient prior to surgery to confirm fasting requirements.