Simply visit your GP and ask them to refer you to a consultant who practises at St. Vincent’s Private Hospital. Your GP will write a letter of referral and then either you or your GP can contact us to arrange your first appointment.

Once you and your consultant have agreed if any treatment is required, his/her secretary will be in touch to schedule an appointment for you.

It’s important you understand the coverage your insurer provides, as you’re responsible for the costs of your treatment. There are many variations in the type of cover provided by the various health insurance companies, and your cover can be affected by pre-existing illnesses and/or whether you have recently changed your policy or switched insurer.

Your policy may also include a waiting period, during which time you are not covered. It is also helpful if you have a procedure code, which your Consultant should be able to give you, when speaking to the insurer as this will help establish your level of cover.

Before attending your first appointment, you should contact your insurance company to also check that that your condition is covered for all stages of treatments. Let them know then about your treatment details and confirm your insurance coverage. You should also check your policy for any limits on the amount you can claim on certain types of treatment. Most policies will have an annual excess and limits – for example on the amount payable for outpatient treatment.

Claims processes differ from insurer to insurer and yours will guide you through their specific process.

Below is a list of contact details for popular insurance companies:

	Irish Life Health Contact details: 1890 717 717 Website : www.irishlifehealth.ie
	Laya Contact Details: 1890 904 067 Website: www.layahealthcare.ie
	VHI Contact details 1890 444 444 Website www.vhi.ie

Gather the insurance details you’ll need to bring to your appointment:

• your policy documentation even if you have attended St. Vincent’s Private Hospital before
• your insurance company name and scheme details
• your membership or policy number

If you cannot provide full insurance details or if your insurance does not cover the full cost of your out-patient treatment, we will ask you to pay any hospital charges on the day of your visit.

For most patients, treatment costs are based on agreements with your insurer and payment will be made direct by your insurance company.

We charge for our hospital services such as nursing, use of our facilities, medical consumables etc. Our consultants – surgeons, anaesthetists and physicians – charge independently for their time and your insurer may/may not settle your bills from your consultants and us directly. In order to do this we’ll need to know:

• your insurer
• your registration number
• your scale/level of cover
• your scheme details if you are insured under a company scheme
• your pre-authorisation number for your treatment.

Excesses and balances not covered by private health insurance
If you do not have sufficient cover or if there is an excess on your policy, we will ask you to any shortfall on the day of your visit

For those patients wishing to attend the hospital and who may not have health insurance, we also have a self-pay option for our hospital procedures. For an estimate of the costs, please call the Patient Accounts Department (01) 263 8965 or (01) 263 8960

Certain medical costs are tax deductible. For more information see www.revenue.ie, download your MED1 form here or contact your local tax office.