Referral letter

This is a letter from the doctor who has referred you. Commonly from your family doctor, it may also come from another specialist Doctor or from the accident and emergency department you had attended. It is important

for you to be able to claim the appropriate Medicare rebate
it is dated either for the day of attendance or prior to that
to advise me of the reason for your attendance
to enable me to communicate back to your referring doctor

Referrals from your family doctor are valid for Medicare claims for 12 months. A referral from another Specialist is only valid for only 3 months from the time I see you. Should you need to be seen after that, you will need a referral from your family doctor in order for you to continue to access the appropriate Medicare claims.

For those who are ineligible for Medicare but have Private Health cover, a referral letter is still required. The Health Fund when you claim, will want proof of this in order for you to do so. Examples of people in this category are overseas students or women who are here in Australia on expatriate grounds.