Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group

Colleagues

For referrers.

Three routes in, depending on who you are. Scope, how to refer, and what warrants a phone call instead.

Referrers

For GPs

How to refer, which imaging to send, what makes a referral useful, the red flags worth a phone call, and what comes back to you afterwards.

For GPs Referrers

For surgeons

Scope of practice, revision hip and knee referrals including implants placed elsewhere, technique, and the fellowship.

For surgeons Referrers

For physiotherapists

Procedure-specific protocols and the clinical milestones, published openly so you are working to the same plan.

For physiotherapists

Before you refer.

Professor Daevyd Rodda performs hip and knee replacement only. Primary, complex primary and revision, in both joints. There is no shoulder, spine, foot, hand or sports knee reconstruction practice here and no general orthopaedic list. For anything outside that, Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group has subspecialist surgeons across the other areas, so a patient sent to the wrong sub-specialty inside the group can be redirected without another referral.

How to refer.

Send referrals to the rooms by secure messaging, fax or email to reception@scorthogroup.com.au. The rooms contact the patient within two business days and offer an appointment within four weeks. Mark it urgent if it needs to be sooner and it will be triaged accordingly.

A referral from a GP or a nurse practitioner is required, and it is also what allows the patient to claim the Medicare rebate. Patients without one can use Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group's free nurse practitioner telehealth clinic, which can assess them and arrange the referral.

Worth a phone call rather than a letter.

Call the rooms on (07) 5493 8038 rather than referring in writing if you are seeing a hot, swollen, painful joint replacement, a periprosthetic fracture, or a replaced joint that has acutely become unable to weight bear. Suspected prosthetic joint infection should not wait for an outpatient appointment, and where possible the joint should be aspirated before antibiotics are started, because starting them first compromises the culture.

This page provides general information about a medical condition and a surgical procedure. It is not individual medical advice and does not replace consultation with a qualified practitioner. Outcomes vary between individuals and all surgery carries risk. A referral is needed for a consultation with Professor Daevyd Rodda; without one, you can start with the practice nurse practitioner, who can provide it.