There are currently 1316 hospitals registered throughout Australia, which can make choosing a hospital complicated and overwhelming. There are several different reasons why you might need to visit a hospital, and the type of hospital you should choose will depend on your health needs.

  • Emergencies
    • Often recommended to attend the closest emergency department
    • If you require an ambulance dial Triple Zero (000) and they will take you to the nearest public emergency department
  • Elective surgery
    • You will likely have more time to consider which hospital suits you best depending on your individual needs
  • Seeing a specialist
    • Both public and private hospitals have consulting rooms which doctors work from
    • Some private specialists consult in clinics separate from a hospital
  • Managing a chronic condition
    • Some illnesses have exacerbations that require a stay in hospital

Things to consider:

  • Public hospital vs. Private hospital vs. Private patient in a Public hospital
    • Public hospital
      • Medicare covers the full cost of your hospital stay and treatments
      • All Medicare card holders receive care free of charge
      • You will be treated by a team of doctors that the hospital has appointed
      • You may be able to specify which public hospital you would prefer to attend, ask your GP for a referral to that hospital. The hospital will review your referral letter and if accepted you will be put onto the wait list to be seen by a specialist. The waitlist is categorised around the urgency of your condition. If the specialist determines that you will benefit from a procedure or surgery you will be put on another wait list categorised by your urgency for that procedure.
      • You will have less flexibility about when you are treated compared with private patients.
    • Private hospital
      • Your GP can refer you directly to the specialist of your choice, and you will be treated in the hospital that they work from.
      • If you have health insurance, your fund will pay for the cost of treatment and accommodation, however there is often an excess fee and some out of pocket expenses you will need to pay.
      • If you don’t have health insurance, you can still attend a private hospital however you will need to be prepared to cover all outstanding expenses yourself.
        • Medicare will cover 75% of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) fee for your treatment and stay, you will need to pay the remaining 25% and any amount your doctor or the hospital charges above the MBS fee.
      • In general, you will be seen by a specialist sooner and have more flexibility around the timing of procedures and admissions.
    • Private patient in a public hospital
      • Patients with private health insurance may attend public hospitals.
      • The public hospital will ask you to elect to use your private health insurance, this means that your health insurance will pay for the bulk of your treatment rather than Medicare.
      • Hospitals vary in what extras they offer patients when using their health insurance, it may include a private room if available (although need is prioritised over ability to pay), choice of doctor or access to cable TV etc.
      • When electing to be a private patient in a public hospital it is important to ask what benefits this will bring you, and speak with your health insurance provider to find out if you will be out of pocket for any expenses that Medicare would otherwise have paid for.
      • As a private patient in a public hospital you can choose which doctor treats you, as long as the doctor you choose works in that hospital.
        • If you don’t have health insurance and your GP has referred you to a private specialist it may be worth discussing with the specialist if they perform your procedure in a public hospital and are willing to treat you there.
  • Proximity to home
    • For ease of attending follow up appointments and for friends and family to visit.
  • Wait list times
    • For some conditions, the public waiting list is very long, hence some patients may choose to pay to see a specialist privately without health insurance.
  • Visiting hours
    • Making sure your family and friends can visit and support you.

Useful resources:
https://www.myhospitals.gov.au/

  • An Australian Government website that has collected data from most hospitals across Australia both public and private, although more information is available for public hospitals
  • They have made the data simple to compare
  • It is useful for comparing wait times in emergency departments and for elective surgeries, rates of hospital acquired infections, length of stay in hospital and how good the staff are at following hand hygiene

https://www.privatehealth.gov.au/healthinsurance/whatiscovered/

  • A simple description of what Medicare covers compared with health insurance

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/choosing-hospitals-and-specialist-doctors

  • A Victorian Government resource but much of the information is applicable Australia-wide

http://performance.health.vic.gov.au/

  • Further information on the Victorian public healthcare system
  • You can find hospitals nearby and see the services they provide, statistics on time to treatment for elective surgeries, statistics on emergency department waiting times, and how many patients are treated within each specialty

http://www.bhi.nsw.gov.au/search_local_hospital_performance

  • Specific to NSW
  • They provide statistics on emergency departments, elective surgeries and average length of stay

https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Our-performance/WA-Public-Hospital-Activity/ED-activity-now

  • If you are in WA this provides live activity of waiting times and the number of patients currently in public emergency departments

http://www.performance.health.qld.gov.au/

  • Specific to QLD
  • You can search public hospitals by region and see data on emergency department and elective surgery wait times, along with a comparison of how well the hospital is performing compared with national performance