Doctor Accidentally Charged Me as a Private Patient

idonteven on 21/03/2025 - 12:07

I had bloodwork done at Douglass Hanly Moir pathology. They pointed out to me that the doctor ticked the "private patient" box on the referral form, I ended up paying as I needed to have this bloodwork done in time for my appointment.

This doctor is a specialist who also works in private sector but I managed to book him as a public patient through medicare. This was the second bloodwork I've had done with this doctor, the first time I was not charged (so I assume the paperwork was filled correctly for me as a public patient).

I'll talk to the doctor about it when I see him next but has this happened to anyone and were you able to get your money back? I'm not sure what the process would be, does the doctor have to then chase it up with DHM as it's his mistake?

Financial

Comments

  • CodeXD on 21/03/2025 - 12:09
    +6

    Is this the same bloodwork as the first time? Some bloodwork are not part of medicare but he should have warned you about them.

    • idonteven on 21/03/2025 - 12:11
      -1

      Yes it is the same bloodwork, there was an issue with the first test so I had to redo it.

      • Sammy2000 on 21/03/2025 - 14:45
        +2

        Was it the pathologist's error? It should have been free.

        • idonteven on 21/03/2025 - 15:26
          -1

          No, it was the doctor that did the test referral.

          • Sammy2000 on 21/03/2025 - 15:29
            +3

            @idonteven: You mentioned an issue with the first test as the reason to retest; Did the pathology complete the first test or did they make an error?

      • greatlamp on 21/03/2025 - 15:33
        +4

        You may only be entitled to one test per year on Medicare. Successive governments have been cutting pathology funding as a stealthy way to defund healthcare.

        If it is an error, convincing them to reprocess your billing with a backdated referral is basically impossible, Pathology is all corporate owned, they couldn't care less about you. They will be more concerned about being accused of Medicare fraud than your $200.

        Good luck, I expect you will be disappointed

    • Dr Phil on 24/03/2025 - 18:28
      -3

      Also the time frame to get in and some some specialists is much longer as a public patient.
      This could be the reason why OP got referred as a private patient.

      • May4th on 25/03/2025 - 05:06

        this has nothing to do with the blood test

  • MS Paint on 21/03/2025 - 12:16
    +1

    How much are we talking here?

  • nige0090 on 21/03/2025 - 12:50

    Yes, I had a similar experience with Douglass Hanly Moir.
    I did get my money back eventually, but I forget the details.
    It was sufficiently problematic, that I never used Douglass Hanly Moir again.

    • idonteven on 21/03/2025 - 13:22

      Was it a lot of hoops to jump through?

  • Ocker on 21/03/2025 - 13:08
    +2

    Guess the patient also has a duty of care to check and make sure the referral is correct?

    • idonteven on 21/03/2025 - 13:22

      Even if I knew it said private, I wouldn’t have thought twice about getting charged. This was the second time I did the same test.

      • JimmyF on 21/03/2025 - 16:53

        I'm sure next time you'll check and think twice about it!

        • MS Paint on 21/03/2025 - 17:51

          Ahhh classic jimmyf going all Karen and getting it all wrong.

      • Ocker on 22/03/2025 - 19:13

        The referral must have been marked "private"

    • May4th on 21/03/2025 - 19:55
      +3

      it'd be a bit too much expect for most people to know the difference between "direct bill / schedule / private"
      in fact I'd be surprised if all the ones upvoting you can tell me what they mean
      however the path collectors should and did warn you, so if your doctor isn't willing to change the request (which they usually are) then that's on you

  • Gdsamp on 21/03/2025 - 13:35
    +2

    Thank you for your service

  • Dollar General on 21/03/2025 - 13:53

    Can’t get blood from a stone

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 21/03/2025 - 16:12
      +3

      but you can get a stone from a kidney …

  • TALL1one on 21/03/2025 - 16:18

    Sorry I think you wont get anything from anyone.

    You say "I had bloodwork done at Douglass Hanly Moir pathology. They pointed out to me that the doctor ticked the "private patient" box on the referral form, I ended up paying as I needed to have this bloodwork done "

    So if you didnt want to pay then the correct action would have been to have the pointed-out mistake corrected, either by going back to the doctor who made the mistake, or if they could call the doctor and correct it over the phone.

    But you agreed to pay and knew the mistake that had been made.

    This is your issue, sorry.

    • May4th on 21/03/2025 - 19:54
      +1

      it's a simple fix if it was indeed a mistake. but doctors order private pathology for a variety of reasons, and not all tests are rebatable
      I'd call specialist rooms, advise of wrong billing category, the doctor just need to submit a new copy of the pathology with direct bill selected to DHM and they will wipe the account.

  • JimmyF on 21/03/2025 - 16:54
    +1

    I ended up paying as I needed to have this bloodwork done in time for my appointment.

    Have you put in a Medicare claim for the blood work? Did you get anything back?

  • sardines on 21/03/2025 - 18:09
    +2

    when you get the account in the mail, call them. It may depend on your Dr but occasionally my specialist forgets to write "medicare" on the form and your charged. When it first happened i told the specialist, he said to ring them that it should be bulk billed and if they have a problem to to tell him and he will call..when i called Douglass was initially hesitant but i suppose because i get bloods every month or so and i said specialist was pissed one of his patients was charged they folded pretty quickly. Like i said it could depend on how much business they get from a specialist.. no harm in calling the number on the invoice when you get it.

    • MS Paint on 21/03/2025 - 18:14
      +3

      Sounds like fishy advise advice to me.

      • sardines on 21/03/2025 - 19:02

        Why? is wasnt genetic testing, cosmetic surgery etc… it was kidney function tests and why would specialist risk anything by telling me to ring Douglass and dispute the charges? i wouldnt do it if specialist told me to mention he was upset i was charged.

        • MS Paint on 21/03/2025 - 19:14

          Lol. I'm referring to your username. It's great advice.

          • trapper on 21/03/2025 - 20:43

            @MS Paint: … and I had just downvoted you, retracted it now though ;)

          • sardines on 22/03/2025 - 14:37
            +1

            @MS Paint: whoosh, LOL, sorry mate that went over my head till you pointed it out:)

  • trapper on 21/03/2025 - 20:42
    +1

    Probably a simple mistake, but you should have phoned the doctors office to sort it out before going ahead. Harder to undo after the fact.

  • bargaino on 21/03/2025 - 21:17

    You can still claim on Medicare. But it may be a lot less than you were charged.

  • Scot on 22/03/2025 - 08:42
    +2

    Just ring your Specialists Office and speak to their secretary.
    If Specialist has genuinely made a mistake when ticking box they will generally contact DHM and ask them to reverse charge to Medicare bulk billed!
    I work in this field and see it happen a lot!

    • larndis on 22/03/2025 - 11:41

      Yes call them now, no need to wait to raise it directly with the specialist. Best to resolve it before your appointment so you can focus on your health needs rather than billing.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join