FAQs and Fees

How We Protect Your Health and Safety

Your health and safety is at the heart of everything we do. You can be confident in our care.

  • All instruments are cleaned and sterilised after use.
  • Surfaces are disinfected after every patient
  • We maintain safe social distance
  • We minimise the number of people in the practice at any one time

You Can Help Too

We depend on your help to reduce spread of infection:

  • Please do not attend if you are unwell or if you’ve had recent contact with anyone who has been unwell. Our ever friendly front desk team will happily reschedule your appointment. Call us any time on 93193030
  • Maintain a safe social distance of 1.5 meters
  • When you arrive for your appointment and on leaving the practice, wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser.
  • If you need to cough or sneeze do so into your elbow. If you use tissues, dispose immediately into a bin and use sanitiser afterwards.

Do I need a referral?

Podiatry is a branch of allied health, like physiotherapy, optometry or dentistry so you can make an appointment without a referral from your doctor.

If you have complex health issues your doctor may give you an Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) Referral for Medicare rebate of $58 for up to 5 visits per year. As this practice does not bulk bill there will be an out of pocket payment after your Medicare rebate.

DVA referrals

This practice does not bulk bill treatments through Department of Veteran Affairs.

Can I claim my private health refund?

Yes. Bring your private health insurance card with you and we can help arrange your rebate through HICAPS, so there’s usually just the gap payment to settle at the time of your appointment.

Laser wart treatment

Will it hurt?

Once preparatory work is done, laser treatment is very quick, in fact just a fraction of a second. However, we want you to be as comfortable as possible for this treatment. If you have large or multiple warts, we recommend you have a local anaesthetic so you are completely comfortable during the treatment. If you are a little needle shy we can offer Penthrox, a self-administered pain relief.

Can I drive home afterwards?

As long as your foot is not completely numb, it should be safe for you to drive home. You will need a lift if you have been given Penthrox. Your podiatrist will advise of any special requirements beforehand.

Can you treat this wart on my hand?

Our professional and legal obligations do not allow us to use this treatment on areas other than the feet and lower limbs.

Can you also do hair removal, remove tattoos etc with your laser?

Our professional and legal obligations do not allow us to use this treatment on areas other than the feet and lower limbs.

Ingrown nails and nail surgery

Will it hurt?

When the area is inflamed, it can be quite tender. Our podiatrists are very gentle and treat ingrown nails every day. If the area is very sensitive, you may need a local anaesthetic to numb the toe. That way you will be completely comfortable while the problem area is being treated.

Can you prescribe antibiotics?

Our principal podiatrist is licensed to provide a script for some medications if medically indicated.

Do I need  to fast before nail surgery?

This is a minor procedure using local anaesthetic and /or Penthrox for pain relief. There is no requirement for fasting before this procedure. 

Can I drive home afterwards?

As long as your foot is not completely numb it should be safe for you to drive home. You will need a lift if you have been given Penthrox for pain relief. Your podiatrist will advise of any special requirements beforehand.

Why is my first appointment so long?

If we have not seen you before or if it has been some time (more than 12 months or so) since we last saw you we like to allow 40 minutes for review and treatment. That way we have plenty of time to work through your medical history, assess your current issue and treat the most pressing problem comprehensively at that time. If you have multiple or complex issues, your podiatrist will treat whatever is most important medically first and further visits may be required to treat other problems and to review your progress.

Fees

We believe you’ll find our service excellent value.

We always allow 40 minutes for your first comprehensive appointment, Item 004  $179.00. Some painful or complex problems may require additional time or treatments. If your podiatrist needs more time with you to treat complex, painful or urgent medical issues, additional fees will charged.

Payment is expected at the time of your appointment. We have HICAPS so we can assist you with your private health insurance claim.  We accept most major credit cards (except AMEX and Diners) for the gap payment. Please call us  on 9319 3030 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday or 9:00 am to 12:00pm Saturday for more information about fees for other treatments and services.

Health Insurance Rebates

Health funds are all different. Any rebate you receive depends on your health fund and the level of cover you have.  Our patients have usually receive health fund rebates between $20.00 and full cover for consultations.

Rebates for other treatments and services such as nail surgery and prescription orthotics vary between health funds. We’ll do our best to help you with your health insurance rebate. Your health fund should be able to answer your queries about rebates for specific items.

Medicare Rebates / EPC referral

Some people, with chronic multiple health problems, may be eligible for Medicare rebates through an Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) referral from their doctor. Your doctor will decide whether you are eligible and how many visits you are eligible for (maximum of 5 visits per year). Feet First is a private practice and we do not bulk bill so there will be a gap between the Medicare rebate and the fee for service. The Medicare rebate is usually $54.60.

Can I use my EPC plan?

If you have a team management plan with your GP, you will have an Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) referral. The number of podiatry appointments on your EPC referral is based on your medical needs and determined by your doctor. A maximum of five allied health visits is available each calendar year under an EPC referral. We do not bulk bill so there will be an out of pocket payment after your Medicare rebate.

Are you ‘preferred providers’ for my health fund?

Our primary relationship is with you. We are passionate about serving you well, gently and effectively.  We value our independence from legal agreements with private health insurers and the restrictions those agreements impose on the services and treatments we are able to offer you.