Dermatologist fee

myhandle

85 euro, for one ten minute visit, is this a rip-off?
he did write a prescription though

LFCFan

of course it's a ripoff. Unless of course he wrote the prescription with gold leaf. It might be the norm for a consultation with a Dermatologist, but it's still a ripoff. How can these people justify prices like that.

wanabehome

My Friend has an appiontment with a dermatologist and it s gona cost her 150euros and My GP said she can get me an appointment for 120euros

kaiser sauze

May I say, "**** me!"

Have you went for an allergy test? €40. I did and my skin irritations disappeared.

DK man

I too have been ripped off by a member of the untouchable elite.

A very unsatifactory visit to a consultant orthopeadic surgeon cost me €140. During the consultation he was flicking through another patients papers and talking to his secretary. Another laughable factor is that I had to wait for about two months before I was given an appointment.

I met him in a public hospital and as a tax payer I was also paying for his office facilities.

I don't buy this 'consultants have to spend many years before they graduate to the consultant rank' argument. I too spent 7 years in college and still do courses to keep up to date in my profession and I earn in a day what this consultant swiped in 10mins.

This is rip-off Ireland 'cead mile failte'. And the consultants are kings in this Banana Republic.

I was hoping that Mary Harney would stand up to their arrogance and demand that they provide a just and fair priced service - however, I am deeply disapointed by the outcome.

I am not anti-doctor my own GP is great he charges €40 per visit and he gives a very good service in his own private building and pays for staff as well as the heating bills etc. I have a friend who is a trainee consultant in London and he can't believe the way the system works here and the charges the consultants extact from very often sick and vulnerable people...

Hippocratus must be turning in his grave....

lostinsuperfunk

Paid €170 last year for an appointment with a dermatologist, about 20 minutes long. Going by this, and by what the OP paid, the going hourly rate is €510.

rpx

Guys, why do you not vote with your feet?

I was quoted a price of €400 in Cork to have a problematic (horizontal) wisdom tooth removed. In the end I went with a dentist in Germany - he removed TWO wisdom teeth for a total of € 180.

Or, google "dental treatment hungary" and prices get even better. Of course you can just nip across the border to the north and save yourself something like 50%.

I don't have any experiences with dermatologist's fees outside Ireland, but: in my experience medical treatment of any kind costs only 30% to 50% of what consultants charge in Ireland.

Unless it's a life-and-death emergency there is no reason to put up with Irish consultant's prices.

Pete4779

Interesting perspective on the original price of €85.

You will happily pay €20 for a DVD, or at least €100 for a plumber to look at a broken pipe, yet complain of €85 for a specialist medical review.

There are a handful of dermatology consultants in the country. Furthermore, with the litigation-happy Irish population means a considerable portion of that fee will go to malpractice insurance.

Limonata

I have just come back from a consultant Dermatologist this morning. I paid €160 for what barely lasted 10 minutes. She told me exactly what my doctor told me, prescribed the same drug, and suggested I use an over the counter cream which I already have. She said to come back in 3 months to see how I getting along! I won't be going back. Her fee is totally outrageous for the service I recieved. I thought that a visit to this consultant would at least start me on a positive road to finding out what is wrong with me, but I was so very wrong. She literally received my blood tests and doctors notes from her secretary as I was going in the door to her office and spent the first few minutes of my consultation having a look at them, (my doctor had sent them at the time of making the appointment) and she had not looked at them prior to my visit. She had nothing to tell me. If I am seeing a client I have done ALL my homework well in advance, and am 100% up to date with the situation before the meeting, I am prepared to give the best service I can give. Today this was a joke.

LFCFan

Limonata wrote: »

I have just come back from a consultant Dermatologist this morning. I paid €160 for what barely lasted 10 minutes. She told me exactly what my doctor told me, prescribed the same drug, and suggested I use an over the counter cream which I already have. She said to come back in 3 months to see how I getting along! I won't be going back. Her fee is totally outrageous for the service I recieved. I thought that a visit to this consultant would at least start me on a positive road to finding out what is wrong with me, but I was so very wrong. She literally received my blood tests and doctors notes from her secretary as I was going in the door to her office and spent the first few minutes of my consultation having a look at them, (my doctor had sent them at the time of making the appointment) and she had not looked at them prior to my visit. She had nothing to tell me. If I am seeing a client I have done ALL my homework well in advance, and am 100% up to date with the situation before the meeting, I am prepared to give the best service I can give. Today this was a joke.

Did you say any of this to the dermatologist? Did you let her know that you thought her fee and service was very poor and that you wouldn't be going back and that you would warn others off her?

Limonata

I didn't say anything to the Consultant, which I now regret a little. It all took place so quickly. I should have said something.
When I initally went in, the secretary asked if I'd brought my letter from the Doctor. I expained that the Doctor had sent it on weeks before. The secretary said it was probably at the hospital (we were across the road) but she wasn't going to go and get it. At that stage, I began to wonder, the secretary suggested I visit the consultant with out the details from my doctor. I told her that I thought that would be fatuous, and surely the consultant would need more information? Eventually as I said I would leave until the information would be found, she decided to go over to the hospital and get the letter (which included vital blood test results). It actually only took 5 minutes. I'm wondering how the consultant could decide if she was going to take me on as a patient at all, if she hadn't taken a look at my file first. Actually the consultant her self said, that my doctor had done everything really, there wasn't much that she could do!
The enormity of what 'didn't' happen in the consultants only hit me when I had already left the office. In the consultant's office I had no idea what to expect, and by the time I was sitting in my car, I realised what had just happened, or not as it turns out.
I have now decided to write a letter to the Mater Private, where the consultancy took place.

Master Bates

Pete4779 wrote: »

Interesting perspective on the original price of €85.

You will happily pay €20 for a DVD, or at least €100 for a plumber to look at a broken pipe, yet complain of €85 for a specialist medical review.

There are a handful of dermatology consultants in the country. Furthermore, with the litigation-happy Irish population means a considerable portion of that fee will go to malpractice insurance.

When do people happily pay these prices? Rip-off Ireland is ubiquitous!

Why is there always one muppet defending the rip-off merchants?:rolleyes:

tom1ie

Sorry for dragging up an old thread but I'm just absolutely shocked at the prices these dermatologist can charge. My wife is trying to start her second treatment of roacutane (she was on it for 6months 6 years ago and it cleared up brilliantly).
She got a referral off her GP and was told waiting times could be up to 6months in black rock and a few weeks in the mater private. I enquired how long the waiting list would be in the beacon and was told they could see her next week, great I thought. So I asked about the price, the tone changed, €200 consultation, €150 to see derma every 4weeks for 6months. Very pricey!
I asked did she need to bring bloods, I was told, a secretary can't decide that. Ok fair enough. My wife brought a copy of her blood results from the end of August with her just in case.
When she arrived she was told "blood tests are too old" good candidate for roacutane, get ur bloods done at your gp, take another afternoon off work to come back in with said bloods, that'll be 200€.
Disgraceful carry on!
Rang the matter and black rock and they seem to be all the same setup. It's a money making scheme if I ever saw one.
Can anyone recommend going foreign to see a consultant who can give a repeat prescription and our own gp in Ireland can keep an eye on the bloods.
Thanks for your help guys, eager to here your thoughts.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

tom1ie

Melendez wrote: »

You should ask your GP to refer you publically anyway, even if you need to go private to get a head start. The Outpatient Dermatology in St Vincent's Public is very well run once you get in.

Yeah but I imagine its the same setup as tallaght. The same doctor doing public and private, long waiting list in public and short waiting list, but massive price, with the same doctor in private. Two teir health service unfortunately. I'll give Vincents a bell anyway and report back.

tom1ie

OK I looked into how much we can claim back through vhi and our med1 and its 25 back from vhi for the consultation and 25 back for the subsequent visits up to a max of 6, including the consultation, and the med 1 works out like this, 20% back off 200-25=175 and 20% back off 150-25=125. So it'd be 35 back for consultation and 25 back per visit. Bringing consultation cost down to 200-25-35=140 and per visit cost down to 150-25-25= 100.
Its an improvement for sure, but when you think of the setup in other countries (Holland, Nordic, etc) its not great. I know they've higher rates of overall tax, but when u add all our taxes together, surely we can expect something better?
Anyway, rant over.

Chiparus

The real problem here is the lack of public dermatologists , 2 years to get a public OPD , hundreds of public consultant jobs unfilled.

If they could get more public consultants the need to go private would diminish. However very few want to work in the public system , especially when the private sector is better remunerated.

chicorytip

I've just now seen this thread and have read the comments with interest. The consultation fees mentioned seem low to me. I recently underwent a course of treatment in a major Dublin based private clinic. The initial appointment with the consultant dermatologist cost 400 euro. This was the last interaction I had with him. Four subsequent sessions, where I was treated by a specialist nurse, were charged at a rate of 300 euro each.
The therapy was a complete success so I consider the money well spent. Dermatology has always been considered the basket case of the public health system in this country because of the lack of consultants and specialised clinic space in the hospitals. Many people who are unable to afford private health care are being denied treatment which could result in a far better quality of life for those suffering from skin conditions which, in many cases, can be completely debilitating.

NUTLEY BOY

€85 for a first consultation with a consultant is reasonable. Was this a first visit or a follow up ?

Duck Soup

I want to go to a dermatologist after Christmas with an eye to having skin tags and a couple of warts removed. Fairly small scale stuff. My question is how much can I expect to pay for consultations + procedures?

And is it worth going to a dermatologist in Norn Iron? Is it any cheaper?

chicorytip

Duck Soup wrote: »

I want to go to a dermatologist after Christmas with an eye to having skin tags and a couple of warts removed. Fairly small scale stuff. My question is how much can I expect to pay for consultations + procedures?

And is it worth going to a dermatologist in Norn Iron? Is it any cheaper?

The procedures you want to have carried out would be classed as cosmetic and therefore would only be available in private rather than public hospitals.In the Blackrock Clinic, for example, you could be charged as much as four hundred euro for the initial consultation. Any subsequent visits would cost less. I have no knowledge of the system in the north.

L1011

Have you been told by a GP that a dermatologist is needed? Many GPs will remove those themselves or be able to refer you to another GP that will (often one who has secondary certification in dermatology but is not a dermatologist).

Duck Soup

L1011 wrote: »

Have you been told by a GP that a dermatologist is needed? Many GPs will remove those themselves or be able to refer you to another GP that will (often one who has secondary certification in dermatology but is not a dermatologist).

I previously tried to get some skin tags removed by my then GP. He froze them (after a fashion) which made them red and painful and then they returned to normal appearance. They were (and are) still there.

I had a wart removed by a dermatologist in a public hospital because it was on the scalp and bled every time I got a number one crop at the barbers. That was free after I was referred to the hospital by my new GP, but I had to wait 6 months to be seen.

Previously experience has led me to feel I'd be more comfortable with a skin specialist and a guaranteed result than going the GP route. It all depends on the price (there are about 15 small skin tags and a couple of warts). Everything I've heard suggests that it could be prohibitively expensive.

JohnRock

That's great just make sure it's a proper dermo. First guy I went to had a clue.

In the end went to someone else, I paid €200 and had to wait 2 months

NUTLEY BOY

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

€85 for a first consultation with a consultant is reasonable. Was this a first visit or a follow up ?

Ahem. The op was written in 2003! I wish I could pay only €85. I'm being quoted €250 by each consultant so far for a first visit. Anybody know a cheaper price in Dublin in 2017?

chicorytip

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Ahem. The op was written in 2003! I wish I could pay only €85. I'm being quoted €250 by each consultant so far for a first visit. Anybody know a cheaper price in Dublin in 2017?

I had to pay €400 for a first consultation - albeit in a private clinic - way back in 2005! So the price you are being quoted today seems reasonable enough.

chicorytip

chicorytip wrote: »

I had to pay €400 for a first consultation - albeit in a private clinic - way back in 2005! So the price you are being quoted today seems reasonable enough.

Presumably all the consultations are in private clinics? €400 seems incredible for a first meeting. I got a first appointment for €200 but each subsequent appointment will be the same price, whereas one of the €250 appointments charged €150 for subsequent appointments. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. At any rate, the earliest appointment in any of these private clinics is mid-August. One non-hospital consultant's secretary said she could not even allocate a date to me for a couple of months.

What sort of tests could they do on the day?

buffy86

Just wondering do u still need a referral when going private or can one just contact the dermatologist and book themselves?

chicorytip

buffy86 wrote: »

Just wondering do u still need a referral when going private or can one just contact the dermatologist and book themselves?

Yes. You still require a referral letter from your own G.P.