Have just enquired about a private consultation to review and discuss my medical data,medication etc. I have had with hospital. Although I knew it was going to be expensive wasn’t prepared for how much.Initial consult £275, ecg £65, Fee to review ecg £35. Don’t need a referral and Cardiologist has direct access to my records. Are these costs normal. Would appreciate your views.
Private Cardiologist consultation costs - Atrial Fibrillati...
Private Cardiologist consultation costs
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Taichid
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A bargin by U.S. standards..
I'm afraid that yes these are the norm from my experience.
BobDVolunteer
That sounds quite reasonable to me. I have just paid £448 + to have my car serviced by a monkey with no education.
Ha! Yes Bob, so true. I baulked at my projected dental bill but had just paid £1500 for dentistry for the 🐈 😻 cats.
I was astounded at the dental bill for the cat! Much much more than I pay for my own bill at the dentist. How can they get away with that?
You were astounded....how did you think I felt 😱 This was several years ago. My young cat needed all her teeth removed bar the 2 big top ones ( they have a name but it eludes me !) .. . £900 and then not long after my other cat needed several teeth removed fir about £600. The vets managed to make me feel quite guilty when I hesitated. The cats were from the same mother, different litters and it appears several of the cats hsve dental problems so must be congenital as I've never had cats requiring dental treatment in the past. Unfortunately dental problems are invariably excluded from pet insurance. You can see why!!
You have the choice to say no and find a cheaper garage
How do you know he had no education? Presumably he knew a bit about cars?
Priceless response!
BobDVolunteer
Not quite on point here but worth repeating. (this is an American joke)
Mechanic in a motor repair place spots local cardiolgist at the desk. He goes over and says to the cardiologist "See this engine , I've just stripped it down, replaced the valves and put it all back together and it is now running perfectly. " " Good for you " says the cardiologist. Mechanic then asks " Since we are doing the same sort of things how come I'm on $15 an hour and you are on $500?!"
Cardiologist leans over and whispered " Try doing it while its running."
Thanks,I’m now coming round to the idea of booking appointment as he will look at all my records from hospital which he has direct access to and doesn’t need a drs referral.Also in his favour he is very senior in one the best hospitals in the uk
Book yourself a holiday in South Africa! Recently saw my Cardio (UK specialist trained) Consultation, Doppler exam, ECG. 2 dimension cardiac exam . Total R2250. Divide by 20 and you have your pound equivalent!
I paid approx £750 for consultation and testing (including ultra scan) plus referral to the consultants list at an NHS hospital for a Cardioversion - which I had in under 2 months. Quite honestly to feel as I now feel and back to being able to enjoy long walks and table tennis twice weekly, I would have paid twice that amount. Ive paid my NHS dues the whole of my working life - 50 years (minus 6 weeks maternity leave in the 70’s) but all I got from my doctor was a script for blood thinners/beta blockers ( the latter made me feel awful) and a total lack of interest in referral. ‘It’s a common condition’…. I felt effectively written off! They say money can’t buy happiness, but if it helps buy me good health …. and I had it, I would splash it!
belindalore• in reply to
Same in the USA with a lot of the insurances we have. If you can't afford great insurance you're not going to get the better care. Our Medicare system is much like your medical system.
Money well spent in having a prompt appointment, a tad more courtesy (they can afford the time) and an extra 10 mins with the consultant, all reduces stress. If you haven't got insurance like me just request that the battery of tests (at the outset of AF diagnosis) are done on the NHS.
• in reply tosecondtry
When you say ‘battery of tests’ I was sent for blood tests etc at a NHS facility but had to have an ultrasound privately - the NHS queue was long! From initial consultation/2nd consultation with scanning / being placed on the Consultants list at the NHS hospital to being free of AFib was approx 3 months - and the cost was less than the cost of a holiday
secondtry• in reply to
Yes, I refer back to pre Covid re NHS tests, which of course will be a different ball game now!
Hi,
£275 is a little on the high side for a cardiologist, although a first appointment can be more expensive. You don’t say where you are but if it’s one of the top hospitals and he is fairly senior then that’s what you can expect to pay, if not more.
If you are having any follow on appointments then they usually are less.
Cost for ecg is about right.
Taichid• in reply to
I’m close to Cambridge Papworth and addenbrookes.I have to say my doctors are exceptional, can always get a telephone and face to face appointment.
The reason for a private consultation is for him to go through my medical notes and medications and discuss with me. He does not need a a referral as he can access all the hospital notes/decisions etc.
• in reply toTaichid
Yes, I can see why - good healthcare is often an outcome of the ‘postcode lottery’ or teaching hospitals which attract the most enthusiastic and more able medics - which is understandable - but for those of us having to cope (and buy our way around our GP’s medical ignorance or apathy) it’s the only option.
Those are high in my experience, but fees are variable. I think I paid £200 for the consultation which included the review of the ECG.
Steve
Yup. Totally normal in my experience. I paid £350 all told back in 2020. Absolutely worth it though. Find a really good EP is my advice if you're going private. Don't just pay your local cardiologist unless it's someone in an excellent department.
Yes thats what it cost me, more or less. And tbh i thought it was worth every penny. I got to spend an hour with an intelligent, caring cardiologist and get his knowledge and advice. Better than 5 mins with someone rude and uncaring. I had a 4th h.a. in october and was still waiting for a follow-up appointment, (still am!) , and it helped to put my mind at ease.
Very normal I’m afraid. I feel for the service offered value for money, I was seen on time in pleasant surrounding and spent a full and very welcome 30 mins with a top cardiologist. He was able to talk me through my AF and treatment options and managing my medications. Well worth it. Having a pet and paying excessive I feel vet fees the cardiologist worked out far cheaper.
To shorten the NHS waiting time by 2 months I saw my Consultant Electrophysiologist & Cardiologist privately at a private hospital. We had 45 minutes of unhurried conversation during which he added me to the NHS Ablation waiting list, viewed my Apple Watch recordings and altered my prescription medications. This was £245, and probably the best £245 I have spent this year.
He also checked my blood pressure and heart rate for which the private hospital charged £18.
I will still be seeing him on my NHS appointment later in May.
Yes, I paid about £250. They "let me off" the ECG charge. Which was just as well since it was a phone consultation and I couldn't obviously do it over the phone!! Luckily, he referred me back into NHS as private hospitals were not doing cardioversions due to Covid.
Yes they are normal costs.Mine was £280.,£60ecg.£150 followup and another£60ecg.
I paid thousands for gynae surgery a few years ago as the wait for this where I am can be over 5 years. I was in extreme pain and unable to work. I didn't have the money going spare but felt didn't have choice. I did this rather than have building works to my house.2.5 years on I've just had letter from NHS for an intial consult.
For me it was the best money I've ever spent. AND I appreciate the privileged position I'm in to do that. Many remain on a waiting list sadly.
I have had all my heart treatment on NHS but I think the costs you describe sound very reasonable to me.
I looked into private cardiac MRI Last year and that was in the thousands. I had one 18 months later through NHS.
Hope that adds something to the discussion. Wishing you well!
Sounds a bit right, though slightly high, in US prices, which would be covered by your medical insurance.
That’s the going private rate by the looks of it. My husband has gone down this route & it’s the best money he’s spent recently. At least he has been taken seriously now, & has since had a cardioversion on the NHS following the private consultation & is due to have an angiogram, also on the NHS. His Consultant has been marvellous.
Best wishes. Ally
Hi Taichid, If you have AFIB I would pay privately to see an EP not a cardiologist. My initial cost I 2020 for a top Professor in the UK cist me £275 for initial consultation plus £75 for ECG. Follow up appointments cost me £175
Who was he please, I believe the cardio I want to err is also an ep
Hi Taichid, Professor Andrè Ng at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester. Hit the National papers a couple of years ago pioneering robotic ablation....top man, Google him
Hi Taichid, it pays off to get a specialist privately to explain NHS tests and records. I had an echocardiogram a few years ago. I got a copy of the report bit the GP didn’t have time/didn’t understand it herself so in 2013 I paid £175 for 35 mins privately but I got 45 mins. It was so worthwhile. He had the time and explained everything thoroughly plus wrote a letter to my GP which resulted in his request for a Holter to be carried out when a routine BP showed irregular heartbeat at a time of stress. This followed with a diagnosis of PAFib and also at his suggestion if that ever showed up going on to an anticoagulant. The cardiologist practises privately and in NHS Scotland but his suggestions still carried weight in Dorset. It was easier to make an appointment to see him while on holiday at relatives in Scottish city rather than go a long way to an IBM in Dorset. Thank goodness the NHS and NHS Scotland still have links. That consultation may have had life saving consequences. Money well spent. Good luck!
I think the costs you have indicated are fairly similar throughout the country (UK) - however, given my own experience I would just caution you to ask for the costs of any proposed tests before you agree to undergo them. What happened to me is that the Consultant I saw wanted to run some blood tests to rule out any alternative causes for my symptoms. These were not obscure blood tests, they were to check for anaemia, thyroid function, plus vit B and vit D levels. In my naivety I anticipated they might add about another £200 to the final bill - but in reality the charge for them was £700........ three times more than the cost of actually seeing the Consultant himself. I therefore dread to think what the cost of a procedure might be. When I saw the Consultant for a follow-up appointment I told him how shocked I was when I got the invoice and it turned out he had no idea that the cost of the blood tests would be so high as the fees are not set by him but by the private company that engages his service.
• in reply toMarytew
That’s really shocking! Im hypothyroid and a full set of bloods/Vit levels etc is less than £200. Alas there are so many companies out there who aren’t upfront about their charges and I’ve certainly been mislead in the past. I’m very careful now…..
I was £450 for a 45minute consultation with a cardiac surgeon. £240 for half hour with an EP. Your charge sounds about average to me. Soon adds up when tests etc added on. I had an echo £650. 😳
I’m in Berkshire and pay my Consultant about £125 I think it is, just consultation. I’ve a Kardia ECG which my consultant thinks are brilliant so unless I n Ed a wider view is sufficient. I can sent him readings via his PA for assessment. He will send a recommendation to my GP for blood tests etc. lovely chap, had him for years.
HiI'm in NZ.
If the Dr refers you this makes it cheaper in NZ.
$345 special price.
But he came without my file and computer was down. I consented to being moved earlier as someone had cancelled.
My place was cleared and specialist thought that I had cancelled.
Lucky I had brought some written letters.
Then the CCB Diltriazem @ 180mg far too much for me and between Heathline Dr at the Sunday we moved Bisoprolol until p.m but the following Wednesday my day heart rate at rest was dropping to 51. Scary so I rung Health Foundation and talked to a nurse. She knew the specialist, informed me to have Diltriazem down to 20mg, reduce Bisprolol to 2.5 at night only.
She ramg my priv specialist.
My script was taken down to 120mg. for Diltriazem.
Well balanced I have been taking this dose for 3.5 months MAGIC.
The Specialist refunded the whole amount.
I said this drug needed to be monitored carefully. Full dose is 360mg a day!!!
Night rate at rest has always been low ands now average is 48.
Controlled. Day average at rest is 93 heart rate.
Cheers JOY
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