Before the procedure
Quotes and informed financial consent
An estimate calculated from the patient's payer and your billing rules, issued with wording that explains why an anaesthetic fee cannot always be fixed in advance — and retained as a consent record.
The problem this solves
An anaesthetic fee is one of the few medical costs that genuinely cannot be quoted as a fixed figure beforehand, because it depends in part on how long the procedure takes and what is clinically required on the day.
That creates a real communication problem. A patient who is quoted nothing is surprised by the account. A patient who is quoted a single number is surprised when it changes. Informed financial consent is the mechanism for handling this properly, and it has to be documented at the time — not reconstructed during a dispute.
Estimates calculated, not guessed
Quotes are produced from the patient's fund or payer type, the item numbers selected and your configured billing rules. The calculation is the same one that will produce the account, so the estimate and the eventual bill are derived from a single source.
- Calculated from payer type and item numbers
- Uses the same billing rules that price the case
- Removes case-by-case manual estimation
Wording that explains variability
The estimate is issued with clear wording explaining why an anaesthetic fee may differ from the figure quoted — because the duration and clinical requirements of the procedure are not fully known beforehand. This is the substance of informed financial consent, not a disclaimer bolted to the end.
Consent captured and retained
The estimate, the patient's consent and the full communication history are retained against the record, so what the patient was told and when is answerable later.
- Estimate retained as issued
- Consent recorded against the patient record
- Complete communication history
- Supports a query or dispute months afterwards
Automated delivery
Communications are issued automatically before and after the procedure. Templates for consent forms, email and SMS can be customised on Anaemate Premium and Anaemate Groups.
Reading this screen
- What you are viewing
- An automated patient message carrying estimate and payment information.
- Who uses it
- Received by the patient; configured by the practice.
- What it supports
- Informed financial consent before the day of the procedure.
- What happens next
- The patient's response and consent are retained against the record.
Who does what
The same record, seen differently by each role
Patient
Receives a written estimate and provides consent before the procedure.
Anaesthetist
Confirms items and rules; the estimate follows from them.
Billing staff
Reviews the consent record when an account is queried.
Next step
Talk through how your practice bills today
A consultation covers how cases are captured, how quotes and consent are handled, where accounts are being lost, and what moving to Anaemate would involve for your practice or group.