Appointments & Fees

Before your appointment

Click here to complete the new patient form online. We require this to be completed before you see Mr Pai.

What to bring to your first appointment

  • Referral from your general practitioner

  • List of current medications

  • Medicare card

  • Private health insurance details

    • Membership number

  • Healthcare card or DVA card

  • Imaging

    • Please bring CDs or hard copies of all imaging related to your knee problem, including X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRI scans.

    • If you have copies of the radiologist’s reports, please bring these with you as well.

    • Mr Pai will need to view your images directly in order to make an accurate assessment of your problem. Reading a report alone will not suffice.

    • If you do not have a copy of your images, please contact us at least 24 hours before your appointment so we can contact the relevant imaging department to obtain online access.

What to expect at your first appointment

Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time to complete your registration paperwork. We respect your schedule and will endeavour to see you on time. If significant delays are expected, we will contact you and keep you updated.

  • New patient appointments are allocated 30 minutes.

  • Follow-up appointments are allocated 15 minutes.

Consultation fees

Medicare will reimburse part of your consultation fee, and our administrative team will assist you with this. The Medicare reimbursement requires a valid GP referral, so please bring this to your appointment.

New patient appointment

  • $250 ($81.30 reimbursed by Medicare)

Followup appointment

  • $120 ($40.85 reimbursed by Medicare)

Worksafe & TAC patients

Please note that Mr Pai no longer accepts TAC or WorkSafe patients in his private rooms.

Public patients

Mr Pai is strongly committed to the public hospital system with regular clinics at Sandringham Hospital and Box Hill Hospital. If you do not have private insurance, your GP can facilitate a referral for you to consult with Mr Pai at these two locations. There is no cost to patients having surgery in a public hospital. However, there is a waiting list. Your position on the hospital’s waiting list will depend on the severity of your condition. The orthopaedic liaison nurse manages the waiting list at the public hospital, with no involvement from Mr Pai.

Fees associated with surgery

You will be provided with informed financial consent detailing the anticipated fees involved with your hospital admission before your surgery date. These include:

Mr Pai’s fee

Mr Pai’s fees depend upon the complexity of the operation and you will be provided with a quote following your consultation if surgery is required. Your surgical fee covers the cost of the first two post-operative appointments. Subsequent follow-up appointments will be charged a standard follow-up appointment fee.

For patients covered by DVA, there will be no charge from Mr Pai for your procedure.

The anaesthetist’s fee

Your anaesthetist will provide you with a quote before surgery. The fee may vary depending on the duration of your procedure and your health insurance, if applicable.

The surgical assistant’s fee

Our surgical assistant’s fee may equate to up to 20% of Mr Pai’s surgery fee.

Hospital bed, theatre costs and equipment fees

If you are covered for your procedure by private health insurance, your health fund will almost always cover these fees. It is important to confirm with your health fund that you are covered for your surgery, as certain orthopaedic procedures are excluded from some policies. Depending on your insurance policy, you may have an excess to pay to the hospital at the time of admission.

Pathology, radiology and pharmacy

During your hospital admission, you may need to have scans, blood tests, or have medication dispensed to you from the pharmacy, which may incur out-of-pocket costs. This should be discussed with your health fund if you hold private insurance.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an appointment with Mr Pai? +

To book an appointment please call reception on (03) 8657 0595. You will need a referral letter from your general practitioner prior to your appointment.

Do I need to pay for my consultation at the time of my appointment? +

Full payment of the invoice is expected at the end of the consultation. We accept EFTPOS or credit card payments (Mastercard and Visa) only. Cheques and cash are not accepted. We are able to assist you to get the Medicare rebate which will cover part of the consultation cost.

Will my health insurance cover my procedure? +

Recently, health insurance has been simplified, and your plan should fall into one of 4 tiers: Basic, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

These changes have been made in order to make private healthcare insurance easier to understand so patients know what conditions are included in their coverage.

We will provide an MBS item number(s) for your operation as part of our financial consent process. You should check with your insurer whether these item numbers are covered as part of your policy prior to your surgery.

In general, the following common orthopaedic operations require this tier of cover.

  • Joint replacement (Gold)
  • Knee arthroscopy including meniscectomy and meniscal repair (Bronze)
  • Ligament reconstruction (Bronze)
  • Fractures or tendon injuries (Bronze)

Do you charge a gap fee for surgery? +

The Medicare reimbursement for surgery has not substantially increased for several years despite the rising cost of healthcare. As a result, Mr Pai does charge a gap fee to account for this disparity.

The Australian Medical Association publish recommended rates for surgical operations that are in line with indexation. Mr Pai's fees will not exceed the AMA recommended rates. The fee will depend upon the complexity of the surgery and peri-operative care required.

If surgery is recommended, your fee will be stated on your quote and this will need to be paid 1 week prior to surgery.

What is informed financial consent? +

We aim to be transparent about the costs associated with surgery. During your consultation, if surgery is deemed to be appropriate, we will provide you with a financial quote for the costs associated with surgery, which will include any out-of-pocket costs.

The quote we provide is related to the Mr Pai’s fee. There are other healthcare providers involved in your journey and we are happy to provide you with their details before your operation so that there is financial transparency.

Does Mr Pai see uninsured patients? +

Mr Pai does not see uninsured patients in his private rooms. However, he holds positions at both Box Hill Hospital and Sandringham Hospital, where he contributes his expertise within the public healthcare system. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with Mr Pai within the public system, kindly consult your general practitioner to facilitate the process by sending a referral to the appropriate public hospital.

Does Mr Pai see WorkSafe and TAC patients? +

Mr Pai currently does not see WorkSafe or TAC patients in his private rooms.

Does Mr Pai see Veteran Affairs (DVA) patients? +

Yes, we see and treat Veterans Affairs patients but request that you bring your Gold Card to the consultation. Veterans Affairs patients are not charged and DVA will be billed directly.

Do I need X-rays or an MRI scan prior to my appointment? +

Having X-rays or other radiological investigations are not necessarily required prior to your appointment. However, depending on the nature of the referral, Mr Pai may organise for you to have some X-rays or other imaging prior to your appointment with him.