Right to private practice

Specialists and other doctors employed to work in public hospitals may be given a ‘right to private practice’, meaning that they may run their own private practice alongside their salaried (or public patient) work in the hospital.

Other doctors also have a right to private practice at public hospitals, but they do not provide clinical services to public patients in the hospital and therefore bill their private patients directly for all the services they provide.

Doctors with the right to private practice can charge private patients a fee for services provided and usually give a part of this fee to the hospital for use of the hospital’s infrastructure. In all cases, the salaried or contracted clinical work for the hospital with public patients, is kept very separate from the doctor’s private practice.

Doctors who wish to gain the right to private practice must be credentialled by the hospital and apply for a Medicare Provider Number. Please note that most overseas trained doctors are not able to work in private practice unless they qualify for an exemption to the restrictions on obtaining a Medicare Provider Number. Overseas trained specialists also need to obtain specialist recognition for Medicare billing purposes, if they wish to receive medicare rebates at the higher specialist rates.

Private patients in the public hospital system are free to choose or change their doctors---whether in or out of hospital---provided, in the case of in-hospital care, that the doctor they choose has the right to private practice (is credentialled) in that hospital.

Costs incurred by patients receiving private doctors’ services, whether in or out of hospital, are generally reimbursed in full or in part through Medicare benefits and private health insurance arrangements, where applicable.

You can find more comprehensive information on private health insurance under the Medicare section of DoctorConnect.