Have doctor fees increased?

Doctors

I have yet to go to a Doctor (i live in Dublin) that doesn't charge for a repeat visit.
I got a script for inhalers - €45 then was told because i am asthmatic i should get the Flu vaccine so i agreed and was told to come back next day.
It took 2 minutes and cost €60, then i hear on the news that the vaccine is given to the GP free by the state.

Grand total of €105 for about 5 minutes work.
Now thats money grabbing.

Re: Doctors

Can I make two recommendation to all those who feel 'done' by their GP's;

1) Tell your GP - You really won't change anything by posting about it here. But if you look the guy in the eye and tell him exactly how you feel, it might have some impact.
2) Ask your GP about fees in advance of any treatment. When he suggests a return visit, ask him if you will be charged for that visit (or tell him you expect not to be charged for that visit).

Agree with Rainyday on those points

Wondering why in Ireland we don`t create a
Price Table as in the case of Fuel Prices Web Site

Now have to get expensive travel insurance for
Christmas ;->

More

I'm sure people do this already. I do, but it makes no difference.
An hourly charge displayed outside the doctor's or dentist's office is that way to go here.

hourly rate?

Given that our health services are already grossly inefficient and prone to clogging up, I doubt if it would be wise to introduce a system whereby doctors would be encouraged to stretch out the length of consultations to maximise their fees.

Dont fool yourself into thinking that any such scheme would reduce patient costs.

First of all how do you calculate the stated hourly rate - exclusive or inclusive of overheads, support staff costs etc?

Secondly how would you ensure that patients wouldn't simply be required to spend longer and longer hanging around surgeries being "assessed" by nurses etc with doctors popping in once or twice per hour to "add" their opinions - thus justifying an apparently "reasonable" inclusive hourly rate of say €100 per hour - in much the same manner as hospital consultants now operate?

throwing stones

Book-keepers and accountants.
Draughtsmen and architects.
Apprentices and electricians, brickies, builders, hairdressers.

No shortage of "added" opinions, is there?

NI

or there's Option three, which I'm doing;

3) Move to Northern Ireland

Where you aren't made to pay for gp/consultant consultations, medicines, hospital stay, ambulances etc. You are not penalised for "choosing" to become sick.

You must be joking

Don't even try to tell me that you think that putting up an hourly rate outside a surgery is not possible.
Of course it is, the same way anyone else manages to charge an hourly rate. All tradesmen, professionals, must sit down and do their sums to arrive at an hourly rate suitable to them. Doctors aren't so stupid they wouldnt be able to do this either.
This hourly rate would add one important factor to the market...... COMPETITION.
If a punter sees one doctor charge €30 per hour and another charge €100 which will they go to?

There should be a particular standard of service.
If i go to a doctor i would love pay for his skill by TIME.
If he leaves me waiting while he goes off and does something else then he's not entitled to charge me for this time is he.

It strikes me as clichey that all the accountants, solicitors etc are defending the doctors in this matter.
Could is possibly be that if doctors are forced to adopt an hourly rate then all other over chargers will sooner or later be forced by the govt to follow suit.
I WISH.

Re: You must be joking

Charging by the hour/minute isn't really the answer. There are many ways for a doctor to scam such a system by dragging out consultations, if they wished. Just as there are many ways for accountants/plumbers/solicitors/programmers to scam such a system.

The answer is simple. Ring the Doc beforehand - Ask him or his secretary for the cost in advance. If he can't give you a price, keep on phoning round until you get one.

Mind you, that implies that price is your major decision making criteria when choosing a doctor - Is that really what you want?

>Mind you, that implies that price is your major decision making criteria when choosing a doctor - Is that really what you want?

Rainyday
I agree with most of what u say especially about
ring the doc beforehand

But all docs have the same qualification !


Now if you had a common cold etc any doc will do!

price != quality
as i said before

In any professional job (or indeed any role in life) factors such as expertise, experience, manner etc matter to customers just as much as formal qualifications.

In any town or region in Ireland you will hear stories of "bad" doctors, accountants, solicitors, auctioneers, dentists etc all of whom have the same qualifications as their peers and competitors, but who (according to customers) let their customers down in some way or other. No matter how cheaply these guys offer their service, many people generally choose to stay away. Would you prefer an expensive dentist or a clumsy dentist?

Even when the service provided is top-class, some other things (price apart) can put people off. One particular professional who has been recommended many times on AAM as providing a quality, value-for-money service has been criticised by other contributors who have complained about their manner and way of dealing with people. Some of these people said that they wouldn't deal with this person again.

But all docs have the same qualification !

Click to expand...

Not really. Sure - they all have the same basic initial qualification, but they do go on to specialise in other areas. And even if they did all have the same qualifications, this doesn't mean that they are all equal. I've been fortunate enough to find a superb GP, who doesn't rush his patients, is reluctant to dish out the drugs unless strictly necessary and has a great manner. I certainly wouldn't consider changing my GP to save a fiver per visit.

Rainyday/Tommy

Of cource everyone goes to doctor that they`re
comfortable with !
I do it as well

My point is that you`re associating price with it

It comes down to this
Customer
Japan Doctor Visit for Adult approx 10-14 euro
Japan Doctor Visit for child till 6 Free

Ireland Doctor Visit for Adult approx 30-55 euro
Ireland Doctor Visit for child till 6 ??


I`m basing this non-medical card but PRSI payments
PRSI payments are low(don`t have a %)

As I said earlier, you may not be comparing like with like - ie are our tax rates, state healthcare system, social priorities and culture etc similar in Japan to Ireland? Just because something costs less in Japan or Bolivia doesn't automatically mean we are getting bad value if we pay more in Ireland. Conversely, if a pint costs €10 in Scandanavia doesn't mean that it is good value in Dublin at €5.

Professional fees

As far as I know medical training in the Republic is state-subsidised, no? Therefore the PUBLIC purse pays for doctors' expertise and this is what creates the muddle about what's being paid for, and at what stage of service delivery. The problem seems to be that only some aspects of the healthcare system are free to only some patients. That is the situation the NHS here in the UK is heading towards with public-private partnership, the increase in so-called "private healthcare" (which is as I'm pointing out actually subsidised by the general taxes!).

It's difficult to get a clear idea of health costs in Ireland. My recent experience was of my 84-yar-old mother who had even after retirement and widowhood paid for GP consultations and for necessary medicines for heart-condition etc. When I looked around my family there were 5 uncles, aunts, attending GP surgeries probably fortnightly, all paying VHI insurance covering their medical conditions/hospitalisations etc. This didn't compare favourably to the UK where GP treatment, pharmacy, AND necessary inpatient admissions would be free.

HOWEVER when my mother became very ill (she died last October) and required admission to a Dublin hospital, her treatment and accommodation was superb (she HAD, admittedly, VHI full cover!). An elderly brother of hers over from Surrey fell and broke his hip whilst visiting her in the hospital, had a heart-arrest during his hip-op, and was subsequently seriously ill in intensive care for the next 3 months. He did not have the likes of VHI, but received (as had my mother on VHI) outstanding medical and nursing care, including being accompanied back to Heathrow by a young medic. His problems only started when he got back to our seriously-depleted service in the UK, where he nearly died a few weeks later through medical negligence.

Sounds as if the health services in the Republic would be best served - given the scale - by funding exclusively from public taxation. Standards and clinical governance would also be then more easily applicable to the profession and everyone would benefit

GP Fees

They should have a clear customer service charter.

If they keep you waiting 20 mins beyond your allotted appointment time they should offer you some form of compensation. Time is money, especially these days.

You wait for ages. They only spend five minutes with you, do not really listen to you, and relieve you of €45. No wonder there is such an increased risk of misdiagnosis. Do we have many medical malpractice lawyers here in Ireland.

Tommy

>Conversely, if a pint costs €10 in Scandanavia doesn't mean that it is good value in Dublin at €5.

enjoyed that !!

For me I don`t think that Taxes are 3-4 times more
expensive here

Friends who have returned home have said startup
costs are expensive which is expected
They don`t mind that !
they also say that standard of living whixh is true
(no matter what anyone says)


After they settle down , their biggest complaint is
Doctor charges .

GP Fees

Fees have increased service decreased.

Re: GP Fees

Marie, do you not think that the priority should be for
people like your uncle and mother who urgently required
serious hospital care instead of making gp visits
and "unnecessary medicines" free? that's the conclusion i'd
draw from your experience.

GP Fees

Darag - The problem is insufficient public knowledge about pathology. The risk with limiting access to GP's is the potentially fatal case (like undiagnosed meningitis). I lived in Italy for a year in 1968 and was impressed by the extensive use made of pharmacists'. People initially consulted (a) family and relatives about their symptoms (b) their local pharmacist, who had power to prescribe (c) as a last resort - and that meant the ailment MUST BE serious - the doctor! It comes down to the power accorded the medical establishment (and by that I don't mean they arrogate that power; it is actively BESTOWED on them by the populace). I value the medical fraternity and their specialist knowledge but perhaps here, too, we could have a "step-down" approach? If pharmacists and other specialist professions allied to medicine had greater profile then doctors would be freed up to work more efficiently at a different level. Sure!