THE alleged scam by cardiologists at the Gold Coast University Hospital involved encouraging public patients to become private clients, bulk billing their visits and expensive testing.
Some of the visits, rather than being costed as a normal referral, were allegedly billed as an “initial consultation” – which carries much higher fees of more than $300, health sources said.
Coast GPs who are required to sign off on referrals to a specialist at the hospital say they began tracking an increase in requests in the past 12 months.
They fear some of their patients sent for referrals at the hospital may have been subjected to extra testing and intrusive screenings which could have put older clients in some danger.
A Coast GP, who asked not to be named, told the Bulletin: “They (the specialists) have ordered investigations on someone that sometimes have had dubious nature to them.
“You are getting a public patient, you are getting paid by the hospital and you’re charging them off Medicare. The Federal Government is the one paying out the large amounts of money.
“You can rack up thousands upon thousands of dollars in bills. It’s been going on a long while.
“The GPs on the Gold Coast have been uncomfortable about it.”
Since the Bulletin on Saturday revealed that seven staff had been stood down pending an investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission, few details have emerged about the alleged scam as the hospital scrambles to ensure patient appointments.
Gold Coast Health late yesterday said no patients had to be transferred to Brisbane, which was the last option in an emergency.
Five of the unit’s seven doctors remain suspended on full pay as the investigation continues.
A hospital source said the referral process in the beginning had worked for both the doctor and patient along with Gold Coast Health in reducing the outpatient load at the hospital.
“The demand on the service is so great. For patients who don’t require acute care, it was suggested that they follow up as a private patient,” the hospital source said.
Another health source said the alleged rorting was made worse when patients after several months had another “first-time” visit.
“It’s a rort of Medicare. You’ve got a referral that lasts for 10 months. Your initial consultation, it’s much more expensive,” the source said.
“They then tell their patient that their referral is out of date and they charge for the initial referral. People are seeing specialists for $360.”
Gold Coast Health has declined to comment on the allegations since the investigation into the issue was launched by the Crime and Corruption Commission.