Skin Health
Primary Care Dermatology
- Dermatitis
- Acne
- Psoriasis
- Rosacea
- Itchy Rashes
- Eczema
- Hair loss
- Skin infections
- Hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating)
Skin Patch Allergy Testing with Dr Sue Basson
What is allergic contact dermatitis?
This is a skin reaction that occurs when you touch or contact substances that you are allergic to. Your skin can be itchy, cracked, red, sore, and even bleed. The substances that cause this reaction can be an ingredient in your makeup, aftershave, shampoo, jewellery, medication, and clothing. You may also find these substances at work in your cleaning supplies, paper and ink, medicines, disinfectants, construction materials and rubber products.
Skin Patch Testing is designed to help your doctor find out whether you are allergic to the substances included on the test panels. The test panels contain 35 different substances known to cause allergic contact dermatitis. The patch test also includes a negative control that can help your doctor interpret your skin reactions.
The initial consult will establish whether the management of your problem would benefit from patch testing. This will be much like a typical consultation with your GP. We allow 30 minutes for this. The fee for this long consultation is $183.15 with a Medicare rebate of $125.10.
The patch testing itself involves 3 consultations, on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The reason for having 3 consultations is that allergic contact skin reactions are not immediate, unlike when testing for hay fever allergies with skin prick testing. Patch testing looks for what we call a “Delayed” rather than an “Immediate” hypersensitivity reaction.
The appointment on Monday is to have the patches attached to the skin on the back. This will be a 20 minute consultation with our Nurse. The Skin Patch testing kit is $90 (Medicare does not provide a rebate for the Kit)
Wednesday is for removing the patches and looking for early signs of a reaction and see whether it’s more irritant or allergic in nature. We take a photo of the area for your clinical record at the clinic. This will be a 20 minute consultation with our Nurse.
On the Friday, we make a more formal assessment of any skin reaction/s and take another photo for your clinical record. We will have a debrief on the patch test findings and discuss further management of any allergic or irritant reaction, including whether further patch testing is necessary. This will be 30 minute consultation with Dr Sue Basson. The fee for this long consultation is $183.15 with a Medicare rebate of $125.10.
Appointments
No referral is needed, however, if you have a complex medical history, or take many medications, a copy of your medical history or a letter from your doctor is very useful.
When you call to make an appointment, please mention specifically that it is for a general dermatology consultation.
Skin Health (General Dermatology) Fees
Tamar Skin Clinic is a private fee-paying clinic and payment is required on the day of service. A Medicare rebate is paid into your nominated bank account on the day of payment. Bulk billing is available for patients on a Veteran’s Affairs Gold or White Card.
| Initial Derm Consultations | Fee | Medicare Rebate |
|---|---|---|
| 30 mins to 40 mins | range from $154.90 to $223.35 | range from $84.90 to $125.10 |
| General Derm Review Consultations | Pensioner Fee | Health Care Card Fee | Private Fee | Medicare Rebate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard 20mins | $113.90 | $124.25 | $142.15 | $43.90 |
| Long <30mins | $154.90 | $165.25 | $183.15 | $84.90 |
| Prolonged >30mins | $195.10 | $205.45 | $223.35 | $125.10 |
