Setting up a private surgical practice.
Going private hands a surgeon a second, unpaid job: provider numbers, claiming, credentialing, billing, referrers and a back office to run it all. Here's the groundwork — and how to start without it consuming the time you'd rather spend operating.
- 1
Provider numbers & registrations
A Medicare provider number for each location you'll bill from, plus health-fund and DVA registration. Get this moving early — lead times can stall your first claims.
- 2
PRODA & HPOS access
Provider Digital Access (PRODA) and HPOS underpin Medicare claiming and delegate authorisation. Set up correctly, they let your practice (or a delegate) lodge claims through the proper channel.
- 3
Hospital credentialing & theatre access
Credentialing and scoping at each hospital, theatre list bookings, and the relationships with bookings staff, anaesthetists and assistants that keep a list running.
- 4
Billing & accounts
Practice-management software, Informed Financial Consent, ECLIPSE in-hospital claiming, and a reliable process for rejections and receivables — before the claims start flowing.
- 5
Patients, referrers & marketing
Referral intake and tracking, patient communication from first consult to recovery, and AHPRA-compliant marketing that builds your referrer base without breaching the rules.
- 6
The back office to run it
Reception, scheduling, inbox and document management — the day-to-day that turns a provider number into a working practice.
Start early, scale as your list builds
You don't need a full practice on day one. SSPM starts with you while your list is still building and grows into a complete back office as your books fill — billing, theatre coordination, patient communication and compliant marketing under one accountable team. You operate; we run the rest.
Planning your move to private practice?
A short discovery call is the best place to map what you'll need and when.
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