Pre-Operative

We have created a quick health questionnaire that you will be asked to complete to ensure that your Anaesthetist has the information to provide you with the very best of care during your procedure. We ask that this be completed at least a week prior to your surgery.

There are a number of steps that you will need to take prior to your surgery including:
• Complete any preoperative paperwork provided to you by your Surgeon and the hospital you are attending.
• Ensure you are aware of any preoperative preparation you may need to do as detailed in your quotation including any fasting instructions.

Medication

The questionnaire will ask you to list all of your current medications. It is particularly important to disclose if you are taking any medication that thins the blood such as anticoagulants and antiplatelets, as well as any diabetic medication.

Your Anaesthetist

Whilst you most likely will not meet your anaesthetist until the day of your procedure, please be assured they know who you are and have reviewed relevant information obtained from your answers to your health questionnaire, your surgeon, your GP and when relevant other specialists. If your anaesthetist feels that they need to speak to you further, they may phone you or organise a pre-operative consultation appointment in our rooms. If you are particularly concerned about your upcoming procedure, please contact our rooms and our staff will pass your concerns on to your Anaesthetist. Please don't worry - you are in good hands!

Day of Procedure

Should you require, your Anaesthetist will see you again during your recovery stay to ensure your post-operative recovery is optimised including well managed pain control. Your anaesthetist and the recovery room staff, will continue to monitor your condition well after surgery is finished to ensure your recovery is as smooth and trouble-free as possible. You will feel drowsy for a little while after you wake up. You may have a sore or dry throat, feel nauseous or have a headache. These are temporary and usually soon pass. To help the recovery process, you may be given oxygen to breathe by a clear plastic facemask or nasal prongs and encouraged to take deep breaths. Only when you’re fully awake and comfortable will you be transferred either back to your room, ward or a waiting area before returning home. You may experience some dizziness, blurred vision or short-term memory loss. This usually passes quite quickly.

Post-Operative

Your anaesthetist may need to consult with you post-operatively whilst you are an in-patient in hospital but otherwise you may not have cause to see them after you have recovered from anaesthesia. If you have any questions or concerns about ongoing symptoms that you worry may be as a result of the anaesthetic, please reach out and contact our rooms. Of course, if your symptoms are serious or it is after hours, please consult with other medical staff, the emergency department or when necessary phone 000.

Types of Anaesthesia

General anaesthesia

You are put into a state of unconsciousness for the duration of the operation. You may be asked to breathe oxygen through a mask just before your anaesthesia starts. This is usually achieved by injecting drugs through a cannula placed in a vein and maintained with intravenous drugs or a mixture of gases which will be delivered to your lungs during the operation. The anaesthetist monitors your condition closely and constantly adjusts the level of anaesthesia.

Regional anaesthesia

Local anaesthesia will be injected around a nerve which will numb the part of the body where the surgeon operates. You may be awake or sedated (see below). Examples of regional anaesthesia include epidurals for labour, spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section and ‘eye blocks’ for cataract surgery.

Local anaesthesia

A local anaesthetic drug is injected at the site of the surgery to cause numbness. You will be awake but feel no pain. An obvious example of local anaesthesia is numbing an area of skin before having a skin lesion cut out.

Sedation

The anaesthetist administers drugs to make you relaxed and drowsy. This is sometimes called ‘twilight sleep’ or ‘intravenous sedation’ and is commonly used for some eye surgery, some plastic surgery and for some gastroenterological procedures. Recall of events is possible with ‘sedation’.

Patient Fees

The system for calculation of Anaesthetic fees has been designed by the Department of Health.

It is based on the complexity of the operation, the range of anaesthetic procedures being performed, the duration of the procedure and additional health factors of the patient. This produces a total number of “Units” for a particular patient having their operation/procedure. The number of units would typically vary from 10 to 80 units depending on whether it is a quick and simple procedure or a long and complex operation.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) publishes the “Relative Value Guide” annually which is their recommendation for fair pricing per unit. It takes into consideration the cost of being a Specialist Anaesthetist in private practice (insurance, staff wages, equipment, the cost of running private practice rooms etc). The Relative Value Guide unit rate is based on inflation, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) and cost of living.

Unfortunately over the last 20-30 years, Medicare and the Health fund rebate rate have failed to increase in line with CPI and community wage growth and so in order to cover our private practice costs, increasingly we find ourselves having to charge a unit rate higher than the health fund rebate. Please know that as doctors we always strive to be transparent, fair and equitable whilst ensuring that our primary focus is on your health, well being and additionally as anaesthetists, your operative experience and recovery.

If you have any further questions about fees, please feel free to chat to our friendly staff.

Additionally, for further explanation of anaesthetic fees, please see: Billing Information