Specialist doctors have the highest incomes in the country and run the most profitable business. But patients often can’t afford their fees.
Articles on Specialists
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A ‘no gap’ private health arrangement sounds great, but you may not be able to choose your specialist. Here’s what else you need to know.
Knowing in advance what your specialist will charge is a good step forward. But we need fairer fees to start with.
Private hospitals perform around 70% of elective surgery in Australia. But many are in financial trouble.
There are effective ways to reduce outpatient waiting lists that can be implemented now
Specialists’ fees are high, vary across specialties and across geographical regions. And you can search for who’s charging what near you.
We suspect these drug company payments are just the tip of the iceberg.
Governments spend billions of dollars every year to encourage us to take up private cover. But our research shows this does little to reduce pressure on the public system.
Many more people need long-term specialist care, or are waiting a long time for elective surgery. These and other factors tell us we need to update how specialist referrals work.
Professional societies of doctors, surgeons or physiotherapists are more likely to recommend against treatments provided by others, our new research shows.
Seeking and making sense of specialist fees is an unfair burden to place on vulnerable patients. A website might be helpful for some – but health professionals need to be held to higher account.
Experts may be dismissed when they express values, offer advice or make mistakes. But these expectations are unreasonable and unhelpful.
Few African emergency centres are able to provide comprehensive emergency care because they are staffed by general practitioners.
Big data is about processing large amounts of data. It is often associated with multiplicities of data. But the ability to generate data outpaces the ability to store it.
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Professor of Health Economics, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Health Economics and Director, Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School, Monash University
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Senior lecturer in the Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town
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Consultant psychiatrist and PhD candidate, Deakin University
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Associate Professor (hon) at the Centre for Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University
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Associate Professor, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University
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Professor, Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
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Research Fellow - Digital Health Testbed | eHealth Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (EPIC2) | Centre for Health Technology, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth UK, University of Plymouth
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Senior Associate, University of Newcastle
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Professor in Pharmaceutical Policy, School of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor of Economics, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor, Physiotherapy, University of Sydney
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Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne