Anureet Selach

Yes, two of them. If you have diabetes, a break in the skin on your foot needs looking at within days rather than weeks, even a small one, and especially if it does not hurt, because reduced sensation means damage announces itself late. And go to a hospital rather than booking an appointment if you have any of the following:

• A foot that is hot, red and swelling quickly
• Redness spreading up the leg
• A fever alongside a wound on the foot
• A toe that has changed colour and gone cold

Those are infections and circulation problems, and they are measured in hours rather than days. Everything else is a normal podiatry appointment. If you cannot tell which one you have, call Brunswick Health on (03) 9380 8099 and describe it, reception will get you an answer rather than a booking.

Podiatrists diagnose and treat problems of the foot, ankle and lower limb, including:

• Heel pain and plantar fasciitis
• Ingrown toenails, including nail surgery and ONYFIX correction
• Diabetic foot assessment, ulcers and circulation checks
• Bunions, hammer toes and other structural changes
• Fungal nail infections, corns and calluses
• Flat feet, high arches and gait-related problems
• Sports injuries of the foot and ankle
• Morton's neuroma and forefoot pain
• Arthritis affecting the foot and ankle

In everyday use, yes. A podiatrist is the practitioner people mean by 'foot doctor', and the one to see for heel pain, ingrown toenails, corns and calluses, diabetic foot checks and foot or ankle injuries. The precise answer is that podiatrists are AHPRA-registered health practitioners who complete a four-year degree, not medical doctors: they diagnose and treat the foot, ankle and lower limb, prescribe orthotics, administer local anaesthetic and perform minor nail surgery, but do not prescribe general medicines or carry out reconstructive foot surgery, which is a podiatric or orthopaedic surgeon's work. You do not need a referral to see one.

Yes, booked as a standard podiatry appointment. 'Medical pedicure' is a marketing term rather than a defined treatment, and what it describes is podiatric nail and skin care: nails cut back and thinned, corns and calluses removed rather than filed around, hard skin reduced, and anything that looks wrong picked up while you are there. It is done in a treatment room with sterilised instruments by a registered podiatrist, so unlike a salon pedicure it can be claimed on private health extras cover. There is no polish and no foot spa.

No. You can book a podiatrist directly. A GP referral is only needed if you are claiming under a Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan, which covers a limited number of allied health visits per calendar year for people with an eligible chronic condition.

Only through a Chronic Disease Management plan arranged by your GP, which covers up to five allied health appointments per calendar year across all providers combined. That rebate does not cover the full fee, so there is still a gap. Everyone else claims through private health extras cover, which Brunswick Health processes on the spot.