Dear valued clients,
In the coming days, my new book — How to Avoid the Medical Bill Rip-Off! — will be officially launched.
I know the title might raise a few eyebrows, and for some of your colleagues or other health professionals, it may make for an uncomfortable read. But I want to share, from the heart, why I wrote it — and why it matters so deeply for our health system and for patients. Because ultimately, this book is about something much bigger than you, me, or Synapse.
As many of you know, I am not just a billing expert – I’m also a practising solicitor. That means I’m bound by strict legal and ethical duties as an officer of the court. If I knowingly break or facilitate the breaking of the law, I could lose my legal practising certificate. More importantly, I would lose my integrity, and that’s something I will never do.
Why I had to write It
Every single day, my team and I are pressured to cross lines we cannot.
At one end of the spectrum are well-intentioned clinicians who nonetheless insist we follow incorrect AskMBS advice or ask us to bulk bill a patient without their knowledge or consent “just this once.” At the other are far more serious behaviours – illegal, even fraudulent – rationalised with the familiar refrain that “everybody does it.”
These moments are too frequent and they put us in impossible positions.
The purpose of the book
This book is a plain-English guide for consumers – your patients – to understand how Australia’s medical billing system actually works. It explains the rules, the laws, the rebates, and the rights that belong to patients. It is not an attack on doctors.
No one – not the government, not the insurers, not even the medical profession – can legitimately argue that teaching consumers how the system works is wrong.
For too long, confusion has been the currency of healthcare billing. This book is an attempt to change that.
A message to medical practitioners
Imagine the powerful message you’d send if a copy of this book sat on your reception desk. You’d be saying to every patient who comes through your door:
“We believe in honest, transparent billing. We have nothing to hide.”
You could even go a step further and tell your patients, “If anyone we refer you to does any of the illegal things described in this book, please tell us and we won’t refer to them again.”
That single act would do more to rebuild public trust than any government campaign ever could.
The bigger picture
Our health system is cracking under the weight of misinformation and mistrust. The gap between what doctors know, what patients think they know, and what the law actually says is growing wider every year. This book is one small step toward closing that gap.
If we all stand together and demand transparency and accountability – even when it’s uncomfortable – we can start to rebuild the integrity of the system we all rely on.
From me to you
I will always respect the work you do and the care you provide. My hope is that you’ll read this book as an ethical and moral call to action to end bad billing behaviour and make Australia a world leader in healthcare payment integrity.
This is a challenge that demands leadership from both the legal and medical professions.
Because without it, Medicare will sink beneath the waves and our grandchildren will lose the promise of universal healthcare.
With respect and gratitude,
Dr Margaret Faux
Founder & CEO, Synapse Medical Services
Lawyer | Nurse | Author
