Information for Patients
Organizing Your First Appointment
Referral Information
To make an enquiry, simply phone our rooms on 08 6317 9627
Alternatively, you can contact us via Email: admin@wpain.com.au Fax: 08 6323 8888 (enter all 10 digits)
Western Pain clinic is located in: Murdoch Rooms: Suite 14, Murdoch Clinic, 100 Murdoch Drive, Murdoch 6150 Nedlands Rooms: Suite 22, Hollywood Specialist Centre, 95 Monash Avenue, Nedlands 6009
Western Pain clinic is located in: Murdoch Rooms: Suite 14, Murdoch Clinic, 100 Murdoch Drive, Murdoch 6150 Nedlands Rooms: Suite 22, Hollywood Specialist Centre, 95 Monash Avenue, Nedlands 6009
A referral letter from your General Practitioner or other Medical Specialist is required before we are able to book you an appointment.
Valid Referral
With a valid referral you will receive a Medicare rebate. We will contact you to book your appointment.
No Valid ReferralWithout a valid referral you will be unable to receive a Medicare rebate.
We will add your name and phone number to our waitlist system.
Once a referral is received, we will contact you for the next available appointment.
Patient Questionnaire
Please complete our Patient Questionnaire prior to your first visit. A copy will be sent to your email address once an appointment is scheduled.
This ensures your appointment time with our doctor is maximized with less time spent collecting your medical history and more time for explanation, discussion and answering your questions. Allow 10-15 minutes to complete.
You can also simply download this from the link below.
Please print a copy and answer the questions. We recommend you to email this to admin@wpain.com.au prior to your first appointment.
Your First Visit
What to Expect on Your First Visit
We recommend arriving 20 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment as you will be asked to complete some paperwork if you have not already done so. Allow enough time to find parking.
Please ensure you bring with you: - Referral letter- Medicare card / DVA card- Private health fund details - Employer's letter (if Workcover) and a current claim and approval from their case manager- Copies of any scan reports (Xray, ultrasound, CT, MRI) - List of current medications
You will be greeted by reception upon arrival and then seen by the doctor soon after.
A comprehensive pain assessment will be performed by the doctor which often involves:
- Medical history including current pain problem, other pain problems, general health and other medical problems, current medications, how the pain is impacting you.
- Physical examination of relevant areas
- Review of investigations
We will endeavour to answer any questions you may have as anything dealing with your health is of extreme importance to us
After Your First Visit
Appointment Policy
Diagnosis and Recommendations
After a comprehensive assessment, an appropriate management plan will be recommended.
Management / Treatment
Management options for your pain can involve:
- Interventional procedures
- Medications
- Request for further investigations
- Referral to other specialists
- Referral to allied health (physiotherapist, occupational therapist, psychologist)
We will send a detailed letter from the consultation to the referring healthcare professional.
Letters are usually sent out promptly (within 1-3 working days).
Your time is valuable. We endeavour to run on schedule and your punctual attendance assists this. If you have provided your mobile number, our staff will send an appointment reminder 3 working days prior to your appointment. Please respond to the SMS as directed to confirm your appointment.
If we have not received your confirmation of attendance by SMS, our practice staff will try to contact you by telephone.
Late Arrivals
We do understand that circumstances may arise unexpectedly, however, late arrivals can compromise the service and time provided to you and may also inconvenience other patients.
We will endeavour to accomodate late arrivals, but in some instances appointments may need to be rescheduled.
Cancellation
If you are unable to attend your appointment or procedure, please inform us at least 48 hours prior to your appointment to allow other patients to be seen. Otherwise a $80 late cancellation fee applies.
Consultation Fees
Procedural Fees (Our No-Gap Policy)
- Please contact us directly for our current consultation fees.
- Fees are payable in full at the completion of the consultation. - We accept cash, EFTPOS, Visa and Mastercard credit cards. - We can process the Medicare rebate for your consultation into your nominated bank account.
- For consultations paid by Workers compensation scheme or motor vehicle accident insurance, we require approval documentation prior to consultation. We can liaise with them on your behalf and gain the approval required.
Western Pain endeavours to charge no gaps for procedures.
Privately Insured with Hospital Cover
This means no out-of-pocket expenses if you have Bronze, Silver, or Gold level hospital cover. We bill your health fund directly. Your health fund may charge a separate excess which is dependant on your policy. Although we endeavour to work with Anaesthetists and Radiographers who don't charge an out-of-pocket expense, this is not always guaranteed.
Workers Compensation and Motor Vehicle AccidentWe require pre-authorization from the insurer prior to procedures. We will contact them on your behalf, but this can result in a delay which depends on the time it takes them to respond.
Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
There are no out-of-pocket expenses if you are DVA Gold or DVA White (approved condition).