GP Charging - Is this normal?

Trotter

Hi all,

Just a question about my new GPs charging policy.
I went to this new GP clinic near home recently, changing away from my old GP. I had a sore ear and I was prescribed drops. He told me to come back in a week or two if it was still sore.

It wasnt too sore today but it wasnt right so I went back..

Trouble is.. I got charged €55 the first time, and €55 again today! It was the same complaint, and I was only going back to have it checked.

Is this normal for a GP practice?

challengemaster

Well where I am, it's 50€ every time you walk in, be it if you're dying with pneumonia, or have a grazed knee you need checking out..

Oryx

Always been the case with every doc i ever went to. It always annoyed me. I dont think theres any other service where you have to pay again if they didnt fix the problem the first time.

dudara

My last GP visit was €60. Ouch. But I like the doctors in the practise and have confidence in them, so I pay it. (Plus I can claim some of it back on the health insurance). I don't want to sound like I've got cash to burn, but I'd happily pay to know that my health is OK.

G.P.s might charge you a reduced fee if you call in for a repeat prescription that doesn't actually involve the doctor seeing you. Unfortunately, they do tend to charge for everything else.

Cabaal

Oryx wrote: »

Always been the case with every doc i ever went to. It always annoyed me. I dont think theres any other service where you have to pay again if they didnt fix the problem the first time.

have to agree with this, its some robbery but it ain't going to change they have it all made up the way they want it

A Dub in Glasgo

I was amazed at the prices charged to see the doctor and get treatment. My mother recently had a problem with her sinus and was charged €175 for the privilege (€60 for the doctor and €115 for two prescriptions). Here in Glasgow that would have cost £10 (£0 for doctor and £10 for two presciptions). I could not believe how expensive healthcare is in Ireland.

sam34

Oryx wrote: »

Always been the case with every doc i ever went to. It always annoyed me. I dont think theres any other service where you have to pay again if they didnt fix the problem the first time.

why shouldnt they charge for a visit? they are providing a service to you. they are highly trained professionals. if you needed a solicitor for some reason, theyd charge you for every visit, they even charge you for phonecalls! why should gp's be providing their expertise free?

re "not fixing it the first time"- thats a bit ridiculous. in this case the op went in with ear pain. that could be a myriad of things - infection, referred pain from teeth, brain tumour to name a few. how is a gp supposed to know at first visit? they dont. so they treat the most likely cause. the op was told to return if not better - v reasonable. at that stage gp would need to consider further tests, perhaps referral to a specialist, neither of which would have been indicated at first presentation.

imagine a worst case scenario - someone goes in with eg back pain. v common. gp gives painkillers, says rest etc. patient returns, no better. further tests, investigations etc, turns out patient has cancer. patient will require many gp visits over the next few months and years. should all these be provided free because the gp "didnt get it right the first time"?:rolleyes:

sam34

A Dub in Glasgo wrote: »

I was amazed at the prices charged to see the doctor and get treatment. My mother recently had a problem with her sinus and was charged €175 for the privilege (€60 for the doctor and €115 for two prescriptions). Here in Glasgow that would have cost £10 (£0 for doctor and £10 for two presciptions). I could not believe how expensive healthcare is in Ireland.

in ireland there is a max monthly charge for prescription meds, think its around €90. nobody should be paying more than that.

parsi

My GP charges eur55 and supposedly 25 for a return visit though I've never managed to get that rate.

I had to go to the doctor when in France last month and I nearly collapsed when he asked for his fee - eur22 !

leesmom

they may be highly trained proffesionals but it doesnt take a genius to take someones blood pressure and write a one lined prescription for the pill,it literally takes me two seconds to go in and out to the doctor for my pill and i get charged 50 quid and then my pill on top of it.
plus the last time i went i told him about another problem i was having, i told him what it was and showed him, he gave me a prescription for a cream which when my problem wasnt clearing up i decided to look the prescription up,only to discover it was something completly different he had prescribed to me,even though it was very clear what the problem was...and i paid for that visit and the prescription

Shelflife

sam34 wrote: »

why shouldnt they charge for a visit? they are providing a service to you. they are highly trained professionals. if you needed a solicitor for some reason, theyd charge you for every visit, they even charge you for phonecalls! why should gp's be providing their expertise free?

re "not fixing it the first time"- thats a bit ridiculous. in this case the op went in with ear pain. that could be a myriad of things - infection, referred pain from teeth, brain tumour to name a few. how is a gp supposed to know at first visit? they dont. so they treat the most likely cause. the op was told to return if not better - v reasonable. at that stage gp would need to consider further tests, perhaps referral to a specialist, neither of which would have been indicated at first presentation.


imagine a worst case scenario - someone goes in with eg back pain. v common. gp gives painkillers, says rest etc. patient returns, no better. further tests, investigations etc, turns out patient has cancer. patient will require many gp visits over the next few months and years. should all these be provided free because the gp "didnt get it right the first time"?:rolleyes:

a better idea would be to give a full and thorough exam and tests and to find out exactly what the problem is rather then treat the most likely ailment.

the best one is i havent a clue whats wrong with you ill refer you to someone else ---thats €60 please.

sam34

Shelflife wrote: »

a better idea would be to give a full and thorough exam and tests and to find out exactly what the problem is rather then treat the most likely ailment.

the best one is i havent a clue whats wrong with you ill refer you to someone else ---thats €60 please.

the economics of your first suggestion wouldnt work in reality- imagine sending everyone who comes into the surgery with back pain along to the hospital, for bloods, xrays, ct scan.... the helath service would come to its knees within a week!

as regards referring onto someone else - whats wrong with that? they are still providing a service to you, and as such are entitled to charge for that

kippy

Lads,
Seriously,
If ye think they are fleecing the general public that badly, ye should consider spending 7+ years of yer lives doing the time to get into that position (as many GP's have to) as well as fork out for the various insurances and running costs they have.
A referal also takes time and experience to process.
Tis easy talking when you havent actually got the knowledge to back up yer armchair diagnoses.

sam34

leesmom wrote: »

they may be highly trained proffesionals but it doesnt take a genius to take someones blood pressure and write a one lined prescription for the pill,it literally takes me two seconds to go in and out to the doctor for my pill and i get charged 50 quid and then my pill on top of it.
plus the last time i went i told him about another problem i was having, i told him what it was and showed him, he gave me a prescription for a cream which when my problem wasnt clearing up i decided to look the prescription up,only to discover it was something completly different he had prescribed to me,even though it was very clear what the problem was...and i paid for that visit and the prescription

in fairness the doctor is not responsible for the cost of the tablets/cream, they do not set that charge

sam34

kippy wrote: »

Lads,
Seriously,
If ye think they are fleecing the general public that badly, ye should consider spending 7+ years of yer lives doing the time to get into that position (as many GP's have to) as well as fork out for the various insurances and running costs they have.
A referal also takes time and experience to process.
Tis easy talking when you havent actually got the knowledge to back up yer armchair diagnoses.

7 years?! try 6 years in med school (some are now doing it in 5 yrs, but the majority of currently practicing gp's will have done 6 yrs), then an intern year, then, you get on the gp training scheme... if you're lucky you get on it at first attempt, if unlucky you do another hospital job for a year then reapply... the training scheme is a minimun of three years, four in some places.

realistically, you'll be studying/training for at least 10 years before you can call yourself a gp

sam34

Shelflife wrote: »

the best one is i havent a clue whats wrong with you ill refer you to someone else ---thats €60 please.

the more likely scenario is "i am a GENERAL practitioner, so while i know the basics of treating your condition i would rather you be seen by a SPECIALIST in the area, who has more expertise in this condition, and who has access to radiology, imaging etc that i dont have"

sam34

leesmom wrote: »

they may be highly trained proffesionals but it doesnt take a genius to write a one lined prescription for the pill,
QUOTE]

it doesnt take a genius but it takes many years of training to be legally allowed prescribe

Shelflife

im not suggesting that each patient gets sent to hospital and has every test run on them, im saying that the doctor gives a proper and slow checkup.

in my case the referral was go to mr x with this note, on the note was abdominal pain.

sam34

Shelflife wrote: »

im not suggesting that each patient gets sent to hospital and has every test run on them, im saying that the doctor gives a proper and slow checkup.

in my case the referral was go to mr x with this note, on the note was abdominal pain.

thats an appalling referral, if i (as a specialist) received that referral i'd be seriously pissed off.
there are good and bad gp's out there, same as every walk of life. #if i was to attempt to defend your gp, i'd hazard a guess that he felt you had more than a tummy bug, was unsure if you had appendicitis/kidney stones/whatever, but still he could have had the courtesy to give a more detailed referral letter

fofs

Does Ireland not have universal heath coverage ? In Canada we are covered for almost all illness. This past year I had a quadruple heart by pass and it cost me nothing from my pocket. If I have a persciption and it cost 100 I pay only 20 and the goverment covers the rest. I haven't paid to visit a GP in my entire 60 years.

Pythia

My GP charges e25 for repeat visits about the same issue.

loyatemu

Pythia wrote: »

My GP charges e25 for repeat visits about the same issue.

same here and I've seen this in other surgeries too.

If you're not happy with the fee they're charging then go elsewhere. I know people say they want to see a doctor they know and trust, but with so many practises now having multiple GPs, the chances of getting to see the one you want are slim.

Davidth88

This brings out the socialist in me , I strongly believe that health care should be free at the point of delivery.

You should not have to make a choice about taking a sick child to the Dr or feeding them .

Before people jump on this and say there is a medical card scheme etc etc , there is a large chunk of people just above the threshhold of the card scheme who are just about making ends meet, and then they have to pay 50-60 euro !

Although the health service in the UK is a mess, the GP's there get paid by the state I believe ( I am open to correction )

Of course Dr's have the right to charge this price , as previous posters say they are highly trained , but the question should be who pays the bill (directly )

UsedtobePC

loyatemu wrote: »

same here and I've seen this in other surgeries too.

If you're not happy with the fee they're charging then go elsewhere.

I haven't had the "pleasure" of dealing with GP's this year so far but i can realte to the pain of dealing with dentists in Dublin so I went up north to Belfast where a root canal and a crown cost me €1260 v €2885 which is what I was quoted here. Exchange rates aside how can anybody jusitify a 129% mark up for the same job? :mad:

brettmirl

My old GPs in Cork and Kilkenny used to have a reduced rate for a "follow-up" consultation. Used to be half the full rate...but since I moved to Ashbuorne, I've always been charged the full whack each time, even if it is a follow up.

Very annoying!

Just make sure you get receipts each time and claim back on tax (MED1) or VHI/Quinn/Hibernian

Lollipops23

leesmom wrote: »

it literally takes me two seconds to go in and out to the doctor for my pill and i get charged 50 quid and then my pill on top of it.

that really pisses me off too-i mean of course you need to go back every 6months to make sure your veins aren't about to expolode!But it's literally a 30 second check,the doc even treats it like she's just going through the motions rather than actually looking for problems.then it's "55 of your finest euros please!" the price of GPs in this country is atrocious,yes they have spent years training(and i know it is exceptionally harder to become a GP)and i have every respect for that,but it's gotten to the point where you'd need to be almost dying before going to the doc!crazy!:mad:

brettmirl

Lollipops23 wrote: »

that really pisses me off too-i mean of course you need to go back every 6months to make sure your veins aren't about to expolode!But it's literally a 30 second check,the doc even treats it like she's just going through the motions rather than actually looking for problems.then it's "55 of your finest euros please!" the price of GPs in this country is atrocious,yes they have spent years training(and i know it is exceptionally harder to become a GP)and i have every respect for that,but it's gotten to the point where you'd need to be almost dying before going to the doc!crazy!:mad:

Well why don't you ask for a full check up while you are there?
Get more 'bang for your buck'!

Lollipops23

i have actually "saved up" minor complaints for my next visits!!i know the french health system is one of the best in the world,but apparently it is crippling their economy as they are the worst hypocondriacs around!

loyatemu

Davidth88 wrote: »

This brings out the socialist in me , I strongly believe that health care should be free at the point of delivery.

You should not have to make a choice about taking a sick child to the Dr or feeding them .

Before people jump on this and say there is a medical card scheme etc etc , there is a large chunk of people just above the threshhold of the card scheme who are just about making ends meet, and then they have to pay 50-60 euro !

if you have kids (or are just on a low income) its worth looking into the GP card scheme - threshold is a fair bit higher than for the Med card and they take acount of number of kids, mortgage, travel expenses etc...

Paddyo

My wife went to our local GP with an ear ache - go chareged the normal rate. Went back the following week as she felt it was not right. Got examined by the DOC - all was ok and he did not charge her for the second visit.

I bet you all want to know where this DOC is

Paddyo

A Dub in Glasgo

Davidth88 wrote: »

the GP's there get paid by the state I believe ( I am open to correction )

You are correct, the money the government take out of my pay every week goes to provide free NHS doctor and fixed rate drug charges.