How does the health care system work

[The Bolers]

Hi everyone,

We've finally arrived in NZ and now we have found somewhere to live we are hoping to sign up with a doctor etc but...

we have no idea how it works here. Can anyone help?

Thanks

[JasonS]

after asking around about some of the local drs, i called the office of one dr that a friend recommended. it turned out that he was not taking any new patients at the time, but he shares a practice with 3 other drs and 2 of them were taking new patients. so the receptionist took our names and address down. then she mailed us some general information/ health history forms to fill out and that was it. after they received our paperwork and got it into the system, we had a dr.

laurel

[mgbridges]

To add to this:

You'll be charged per visit by your GP and there can be quite big differences between practices so ask before you register anywhere. Usually kids are cheaper than adults though. Prices are also different between being a 'walk-in' or a registered patient. Some practices also charge differently if you need to see somebody in a hurry and can't see the GP you're registered with.

Equally once you're registered if you have any particular problems that need regular care/visit to the GP (e.g diabetes, asthma etc) I think you can get a 'high user' card or something which will bring the costs down further but having not had any reason to investigate that I'm afraid I'm rather vague on it.

You might be able to claim some of your GP costs back dependent on what private health cover you have. Also if your employer has connections with the Marram Trust (www.marram.co.nz) you can claim a percentage of some (not all) GP and prescription costs.

The other thing is that I've found that by using the same pharmacy over and over my prescription costs have eventually come down but I have no idea how/why.

A few random bits of info, HTH
Anneliese

[nickiware]

you will have to pay for every appointment, not sure if it is cheaper if you have PR, free for under 6's then you pay a prescription charge as well for any drugs etc

[JandM]

Make sure they know you're a resident/on a x years' work permit (whichever applies), as the costs for visiting a GP are cheaper (the same as for a Kiwi) for those categories of people, than for someone who's a visitor.

[Familyofmonkeys]

you will have to pay for every appointment, not sure if it is cheaper if you have PR, free for under 6's then you pay a prescription charge as well for any drugs etc

Some places still charge a small fee for under 6's. Our local surgery charges $20 so we are still registered with a surgery 20 minutes drive away as it is significantly cheaper for adults as well.

[Tara Sage]

Also Doctors appointments for injuries resulting from an accident are subsidised by the ACC...

I even had an infected insect bite where my whole had was swollen this was also susidised by ACC...

[Familyofmonkeys]

Also Doctors appointments for injuries resulting from an accident are subsidised by the ACC...

I even had an infected insect bite where my whole had was swollen this was also susidised by ACC...

But again some Dr's will charge an excess above and beyond this for a consultation if the ACC subsidy they get does not cover their standard consultation fee. This happens alot with the out of hours fees too. However any treatment they provide apart from the actual consultation is free.

[pamg9]

There is reference to private health cover - is this something that most people take out? What advantages do you have if you have private cover?

[Wooly_Cow]

Got to say, we used the health sytem for the first real time last week (OH had a badly sprained ankle which we thought was broken) ....it was excellent. Doctors appoitnment inside a couple of hours, referal to the Out of Hours clinic for an xray straight away. Xray took minutes (and was clear -thank goodness).

The whole thing cost under $80 including painkillers at $3! (ACC covered most of the costs)....and we are getting 60% back through Marram.

We've dealt with the NHS in the UK which I have to say was good too but glad to report it's equally good here.