Informed Financial Consent
Informed Financial Consent (IFC) works best when doctors, hospitals and health insurers work together to provide information to patients about the costs associated with treatment, and the private health insurance benefits payable, prior to admission to hospital.
In 2007-08, 89.4% of all privately insured in-hospital medical services had either no gap or a known gap for the patient to pay.
The AMA encourages good IFC practice and the provision of information about medical fees to patients. Patients should always ask their doctor about his/her fees, and the fees of other doctors involved in their care, before going to hospital as a private patient.
You can find a range of useful IFC information produced by the AMA on medical gaps and questions to ask your doctor below.
AMA Informed Financial Consent form
Below is a template doctors can use to provide written IFC to patients. Doctors can download this form and make any changes necessary to provide information about their fees to patients.
Order "let's talk about fees..." brochures, pads and posters
The AMA IFC brochures, pads and posters are available free of charge to medical practices to distribute to patients. They outline questions patients should ask their doctor and private health insurer about the cost of their treatment and any out of pockets costs they might incur before going to hospital as a private patient.
You can order your free AMA IFC brochures, pads and posters here.
What is a medical gap?
A medical gap (or out-of-pocket cost) is the difference between your doctor's fee and the combined amount of the Medicare rebate and the benefit your private health insurer will pay for a medical service. Government Medicare rebates have not kept pace with the increasing costs of delivering treatment.
Doctors fees
The fees doctors charge patients for their professional medical services must cover their practice costs. Every private practising medical practitioner incurs a wide range of practice costs in order to provide a high quality services to patients.
The costs of running medical practices vary across the country, and across speciality groups. But every medical practice, be it a sole practitioner or a large corporate practice, incurs the cost of employing administrative and clinical practice staff, general running expenses such as computers, rent, electricity, professional indemnity insurance and in most cases the cost of medical equipment and supplies.
The practice costs must all be met entirely from the fee charged by the doctor for the medical services he/she provides to patients.
Where to find information on doctors fees
There are particular doctors for whom it is more difficult to provide IFC because they rarely, if ever, see the patient before an episode of hospital treatment. These are anaesthetists, surgical assistants, pathologists and diagnostic imaging specialists.
With funding from the Department of Health and Ageing, the AMA has supported projects by the Australian Society of Anaesthetists, the Australian Association of Pathology Practices, the Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association and the Australian Association of Practice Managers to make information about fees available for those doctors who don’t see the patient before admission.
The Australian Society of Anaesthetists provides a suite of resources and an online IFC training module for its members which has also been adopted by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists as part of their curriculum for trainees.
The Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association has a dedicated website where member practices post fee information.
The Australian Association of Practice Managers has developed an IFC Toolbox that provides information, resources and tools for member practice managers to review and update their business practices for the provision of IFC. It has provided each member with the IFC Toolbox CD.
Links
Australian Association of Medical Surgical Assistants
Australian Association of Practice Managers
Australian Diagnostic Imaging Association
Australian Society of Anaesthetists
Private Health Insurance Administration Council
Private Health Insurance Ombudsman
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Department of Health and Ageing - Private health insurance - Out of pocket expenses for private medical treatment
Photo Gallery
Other IFC Content
Poll
Medicare Rebate Cuts
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