Before commencing fertility treatment at Melbourne IVF there are several preliminary steps that you should undertake in preparation.
1. Initial Fertility Specialist Appointment
The first step is to organise an appointment with a Melbourne IVF Fertility Specialist who will review your medical history, organise initial investigations and discuss treatment options with you.
Review the Melbourne IVF Fertility Specialists' profiles and contact details here.
Referral:
You will need to bring with you to Melbourne IVF, a doctor’s referral from a GP (valid for 12 months) or specialist gynaecologist/obstetrician (valid 3 months). This is required in addition to providing a referral to your Fertility Specialist and is necessary to ensure you are eligible for Medicare rebates.
Routine Investigations:
Depending on the level of testing performed by your referring GP or gynaecologist/obstetrician, your fertility specialist may order further pathology investigations including:
For her:
- Rubella immunity (German measles)
- Chicken pox
- Hepatitis B and C
- Pap smear (within last 2 years)
For him:
- Hepatitis B and C
- Semen analysis at specialist andrology laboratory (within 12 months)
Your Fertility Specialist may also require that you attend a follow up appointment to review the results of these tests and explain in detail your recommend treatment plan.
2. New Patient Appointments
After an initial consultation and follow up appointment with your Fertility Specialist, a member of the Melbourne IVF Patient Liaison Administration team will contact you to arrange your new patient appointments. These include:
- a mandatory counselling session with both partners, to assist in considering any issues that may arise throughout upcoming treatment and to sign relevant consent forms
- new patient information session with a nurse who will explain the IVF cycle (with any specific treatment ordered for you by your doctor), injections techniques taught and medications discussed.
- patient liaison administration session to explain the costs structure associated with your treatment and answer any questions that may arise.
Counselling Session:
As part of the preparation for IVF treatment, Victorian law requires a couple to meet with a counsellor to discuss treatment options and various aspects of IVF before their first cycle. Most couples find these sessions useful and informative. Consent forms must be signed with the counsellor before starting treatment.
Couples with infertility problems may have faced many frustrations, disappointments and investigations before contemplating IVF. Once started, IVF treatment can also be physically and emotionally taxing, and certainly waiting for results can be very stressful. Everyone has difficulty coping with this stress from time to time, so please contact our counsellors if you need to discuss your situation or explore ways of coping. Our counsellors are available at any stage of your treatment. Let us know if we can help, even if it is at short notice.
New Patient Information Session with a nurse:
An initial appointment with the nurses is also required and we recommend that you make this about a week before you expect your period. During this interview, an IVF cycle (with any specific treatment ordered for you by the doctor) will be explained, injection techniques will be taught, medications discussed and given to you to take home. Country patients may wish to make an appointment to see the nurses and the counsellor on the same day before the start of the treatment cycle.
Patient Liaison Administration session:
This appointment with Patient Liaison Administrator is designed to explain to you the costs structure associated with your treatment and answer any questions that may arise. This is important because it will assist you in understanding the fees involved in your treatment and provide an opportunity to discuss the complexities of the Medicare Safety Net and respective rebates and out-of-pocket costs.
To arrange your new patient appointments contact the patient liaison administrator team on (03) 9473 4444. New patient appointments are available at all Melbourne IVF clinics, and we encourage you to request your appointments take place at the most convenient clinic to you.
3. Criminal Record Check and Child Protection Order Check
The new Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART) Act 2008 came into effect on 1st January 2010. The new Act requires that all patients undertake a Criminal (Police) Record and Child Protection Order Check, prior to commencing treatment.
Melbourne IVF is very concerned about how this requirement will impact patients wishing to access treatment. While we will continue to actively communicate our opposition to the requirement for these checks to relevant government bodies, we advise anyone planning to undertake ART treatment in 2010 to proceed with applying for:
This includes patients who have already signed consent forms and those who plan to sign consent to ART treatment in 2010. Melbourne IVF believes this is the most reliable way to ensure there is no disruption to your treatment.
Should you wish to commence treatment in January 2010, or if treatment you have commenced in 2009 will continue into January 2010, we recommend you organise your Child Protection Order Check as soon as possible, in order for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to have sufficient time to process the check prior to the proclamation date of 1st January 2010.
Read more about the ART Act 2008 changes and how this may impact your future treatment.