Frequently Asked Questions

We advise patients to bring any regular medication into the hospital for the nursing staff to see exactly which medications are being taken. However, this medication cannot always be administered to the patient as its integrity cannot be guaranteed. This may include but is not limited to: medication that is not in its original packaging; medication that is not clearly labelled for the patient; and medication where the expiry date is not visible.

The hospital will return this medication to the patient upon discharge. Please contact the hospital if there is any missing medication.

It is standard procedure for new medication requested by hospital staff and given to the patient to take while in hospital is from the pharmacy. Private health insurance will only cover inpatient medication costs if it directly relates to the condition under which a patient is admitted. Therefore, you may receive an invoice for these medications from HPS Pharmacies.

Due to government regulations and safety reasons, once a medication has left the hospital premises, the pharmacy cannot accept it back into their stock as it cannot be re-issued to another patient.

You may return any unused medication to one of our pharmacies to be disposed of safely, but you will still need to pay HPS Pharmacies for this medication.

If you would like to find out more information about your medication, you can call HPS’ customer service team on 1300 669 510. They will then forward you to one of our qualified pharmacists who will explain what your medication is commonly used for and provide guidance on its use, or please contact your prescribing doctor.

Once your account has been paid in full, please complete this contact form. The appropriate pharmacy will arrange for a PRF to be emailed to you or your local pharmacy.

Please watch this video HPS Pharmacies Patient Payment Information (youtube.com) to assist you with patient payments information for HPS.

The doctor whose care you were under while in hospital has prescribed this medication for you, taking into account the circumstances under which you were admitted to the hospital. As a duty of care to the patient, HPS Pharmacies has fulfilled your doctor’s request and provided this medication to you. All discharge or non-admission medication is payable by the patient.

In most instances, medicines unrelated to the reason for admission (i.e. pre-existing medicines) is not covered by private health insurance.

Private health insurance will only cover the cost of medications that directly relate to the condition under which you were admitted. This means that medications taken pre-admission or unrelated to that condition are considered non-admission related and are payable by the patient.

On occasions, we may not receive this information from the hospital. Please complete the contact form providing your concession card number and date of issue.  We will pass this information on to our pharmacy staff and ask them if it is possible to amend your account. If so, we will send you a revised invoice.

It may not always be possible for us to amend an account, as it may be outside of the time that Medicare allows amendments. In these instances, you will need to pay the invoice in full to HPS Pharmacies and request us to send you a signed pharmacy receipt for you to send to Medicare for reimbursement.

Please disregard the most recent statement you have received if you paid your account on or after the date issued on your statement. If your payment was before the statement ‘date issued’, please upload a copy of your receipt via our contact form.

Payments can be made at the pharmacy by cash, credit card or cheque. We also offer BPAY and BPOINT payment options. Your Biller Code and reference number is printed on your invoice and statement. Click here to pay your account

A patient must be admitted into a hospital under their DVA gold card for DVA to cover any charges.

If a patient is admitted under their private health insurance, DVA will not cover any costs.

The DVA gold card gives card holders access to pharmaceuticals listed on the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme according to clinical need, for all their conditions. Some restrictions apply to some pharmaceuticals which require accepted condition status.

For further information, please contact DVA directly on 133 254 (or 1800 555 254 for country callers).

The HPS Pharmacies online credit card payment system is operated by the Commonwealth Bank and provides you with a secure site to make online payments. Ensure that a padlock symbol appears in the bottom right-hand corner of your browser as this indicates it is a secure connection.

Any payments made by credit card using our automated phone system or our customer service team members will provide a receipt. Please keep your receipt number for future reference.

If you have paid your HPS Pharmacies account via your financial institution’s online banking, you will also receive a receipt or transaction number from your bank.

If you require a receipt once your account has been paid in full to claim with Medicare, private health insurance or for taxation purposes, please complete this contact form so the relevant pharmacy can issue you with a receipt.

HPS Pharmacies provide clinical services in partnership with healthcare professionals in both public and private hospitals. Most of our pharmacies are located in hospitals; however, some facilities do not have an on-site pharmacy.

Please complete the contact form to provide us with more detail.

Closing the Gap Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme needs to be approved by the prescribing doctor at the hospital. Please check with your prescribing doctor at the hospital you attended to see if you are eligible.