Before your appointment:

Dr Brian Lee requires a referral from your GP or specialist to book an appointment. As this is a private practice, we are only able to see:

• Patients with Private Health Insurance, which covers pain management therapies (Bronze, Silver or Gold level cover).

  • We are unable to accept patients with Basic level or Extras only cover

• Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) Gold, or White card where it covers the conditions related to pain

• Workers’ Compensation patients (we will contact your insurer for authorization of treatment)

• Motor Vehicle Insurance patients (we will contact your insurer for authorization of treatment)

For privately insured patients, full payment of consultation fee is required on the day of appointment. We accept EFTPOS, Visa, Mastercard or cash (exact change required). At the time of payment, we can organize for Medicare rebate to be paid directly to your bank account.

First appointment:

Our clinic will review the referral from your doctor prior to arranging an appointment. Your first appointment will take 30-45 minutes where a comprehensive review of your condition, current treatments, scans and investigations, and other relevant aspects such as the impact of pain on physical and psychological health, will be undertaken. You will also undergo a physical examination, followed by a formulation of pain management plan that may encompass each of the following:

• Medication optimization

• Procedural inputs

• Suggestions for multidisciplinary inputs for physical and psychological wellbeing

• Provision of further information and self-management strategies

• Further investigations or tests, if required

• Referral to other specialists, if required

Procedures:

Dr Lee may recommend pain procedure options as a part of your management plan. These will generally be undertaken as a day procedure at a private hospital, under sedation and X-ray guidance.

You will need to be fasted prior to procedure (No food, milk, chewing gum from midnight for morning procedures or 6:30am for afternoon procedures). Small quantities of water can be consumed up to 1 hour prior to coming in to hospital, and to take usual medications with. Dr Lee needs to be aware of all blood thinning medications and diabetic medications, as some of these will need to be stopped before procedures. Please let us know if this was not mentioned during your consult.

Sedation for your procedure will be provided by a specialist anaesthetist, and provides for a comfortable experience for our patients compared to alternatives. While this is not a full general anaesthetic, most people will be “asleep” and have no memory of the procedure. Due to the potential prolonged effects of sedative medications, you must be picked up, and accompanied by, a responsible adult afterwards. You cannot take a taxi/Uber back home afterwards as this may not be safe.

Dr Lee has arrangements with most private insurance providers. He is a no-gap provider for most pain procedures and fees for procedure will generally be covered fully by your private insurance. Where gap payments are applicable, you will be informed in advance.

You may still be liable for insurance excess or occasional gap payments for services such as X-ray service. These are outside of Dr Lee’s control and are payable directly to the radiology provider or relevant service providers.

You must have a private health insurance with Bronze or higher level cover, as Basic level or Extra only policies will not cover the cost of pain procedures and associated hospital stay. Certain procedures such as neuromodulation will only be covered by Gold level cover. Please check with your insurer if in doubt.

Dr Lee will commonly organize a review appointment weeks or months after the procedure, to evaluate the effects including an appropriate progress with functional rehabilitation. While complications from pain procedures are rare, we encourage you to contact us if you are concerned about any unexpected effect afterwards. If you have severe site swelling, bleeding, infection/fever, new severe limb weakness and numbness, sudden loss of bladder/bowel control or other severe concerning symptoms, please contact us or your GP, or attend the nearest Emergency Department.