How to Find Specialist Doctors Quickly and Avoid Lengthy Hospital Waiting Times

MELBOURNE, Victoria August 2014 – The Victorian public hospital system is so congested that patients with private health insurance looking for specialist doctors often wait for weeks or even months for an appointment in Melbourne.

An expert panel on waiting list management, chaired by Eastern Health director Stuart Alford, and including Latrobe Regional Hospital CEO Peter Craighead and Melbourne Health clinical leader Associate Professor Daryl Williams, revealed that the median waiting time across all Victorian health services and specialties in June 2011 was 114 days. Among health services assessed as having high data reliability, the median wait time for some specialties was even longer. For example, the wait for allergy clinics was almost nine months.*

Victorians are required to wait up to four years just to get a hospital outpatient appointment, according to health figures. In a snapshot, the data showed the average wait for a new outpatient appointment at Royal Children’s Hospital was nine months. A Bendigo Health patient waited 1,493 days for an ear, nose, and throat appointment, while at Royal Melbourne Hospital there was more than a three year wait for a neurology outpatient appointment. At Monash Medical Centre in Clayton, patients waited almost three years for orthopaedic and urology care, and the average wait for a new or first appointment at Geelong Hospital was 230 days.**

I Need a Specialist (INAS), a company that reduces hospital waiting times by connecting patients with Australia’s leading healthcare specialists, offers a free online service to patients that provides them with a real choice and peace of mind. Patients can request an appointment at any time of the day and night – quickly and easily through the INAS website.
Melissa of Epping, Victoria who used the INAS service states, “I can’t tell you how thankful I am. I am crying right now. Thank you! You have saved my daughter’s life.” www.ineedaspecialist.com.au

INAS director Darren Lemin says, “Over the years, we have witnessed many friends and relatives face their own health issues. Each of them has turned to my wife, Michelle for help and guidance. I have seen her spend many hours talking with friends, family and even strangers who need help finding medical specialists. “That got me thinking… wouldn’t it be great if everyone could have access to healthcare specialists in the one place, to give them support during an uncertain time in their life, and knowledge to make a firm medical choice. As a result, I Need a Specialist was born. www.ineedaspecialist.com.au

“I Need a Specialist is based on the service that Michelle has provided most of her working life. An informative, compassionate, and supportive environment that offers patients peace of mind knowing they have made a choice of who in the medical field will look after them. In the past, when you wanted to find a specialist, you either had to rely on your GP’s local network, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, or place your trust in the specialist practicing at your local hospital.”

I Need a Specialist started from a need to connect patients with medical specialists faster and easier, and so that specialists can connect with new patients, grow their business and increase their online marketing presence.

Discover how INAS can help patients reduce outpatient hospital waiting times and connect patients with specialist doctors quickly at www.ineedaspecialist.com.au.
 
Source:
*http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/6791-report-gives-a-first-everclear-picture-on-outpatient-waits.html
**http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/outpatients-wait-four-years-data-20100620-yp75.html

Contact Information

Sheridyn Morgan

Marketing Manager

I Need A Specialist

(61) 0439 102 292

sheridyn@ineedaspecialist.com.au