You will need a referral
Appointments with Dr Hoskins are made by referral from your GP or another health professional. This is the standard arrangement for specialist care in New Zealand and it exists for good reasons: it means the specialist has your history, your medications and any imaging already done, and it means you are not paying for an appointment that turns out to be the wrong one.
Ask your GP, physiotherapist or another treating clinician to send a referral. The make a referral page has the details they need. If you have already been seen at a hospital or emergency department, the team there can refer directly.
What to bring
- Your referral letter, if you have a copy
- Any imaging you have had, or the details of where and when it was done, so it can be retrieved. Bring the images or discs themselves if you have them, not only the report
- A list of your current medications and doses, including anything you buy over the counter
- Your ACC claim number, if your problem relates to an injury
- Your health insurance details and policy number, if you have insurance
- Any operation notes from previous surgery on the same joint, if you have them
- Shorts or loose clothing, so the knee or hip can be examined properly
You are welcome to bring a support person. It helps to have a second set of ears, and it is worth writing down your questions beforehand, because appointments cover a lot of ground.
What happens at the consultation
Dr Hoskins will:
- Take a history: how the problem started, how it has changed, and how it affects your life
- Examine the joint, and often the joints above and below it
- Review your imaging with you
- Explain what he thinks is happening, in plain terms
- Set out the options, including doing nothing for now, and what each involves
Sometimes further imaging or tests are needed before a plan can be settled, in which case those are arranged and you come back to discuss the results.
Will I be booked in for surgery?
Not necessarily, and not usually on the day.
A specialist appointment is an assessment, not a referral into an operating theatre.
Many consultations conclude with a non-surgical plan, a referral for physiotherapy, or a decision to review the joint again later. If surgery is the right option, you will have time to think about it before deciding.
What about costs?
How your appointment and any subsequent surgery is funded depends on whether it relates to an injury covered by ACC, whether you hold health insurance, or whether you are self-funding. The ACC, insurance and fees page explains how each of those works.