Our Practice consults by appointment and you can make an appointment by telephoning the Clinic. Our appointment schedules are kept one month in advance. We strive to keep on time and your waiting time to a minimum. You can usually expect to spend 10 to 15 minutes with the Doctor. If you have a number of matters to discuss and feel you will require a longer consultation or that you need a more ur-gent appointment, please discuss this with our receptionist. Urgent medical problems will be dealt with promptly by the on-call Doctor in the Clinic. We would also like to advise that emergency time slots are charged at $55 which we ask to be paid on the date of service. Although we try to allow for such emergencies sometimes the Doctors will run unavoidably late – at these times you will be notified by our Staff and schedules may need to be re-arranged to minimise everyone's waiting time. Should you require a special appointment, such as for your child's vaccination, minor surgery such as removal of a lump, an insurance report or commercial driver's licence, please let our Receptionist know when you book so that appropriate arrangements can be made. We would appreciate at least one hour's notice if you are running late for, or need to cancel an appointment as a cancellation fee of $30 may apply.
The Doctors are happy to take brief calls regarding clarification or follow up of your treatment. If they are with another patient when you call, they may need to call you back at the end of the consulting session, usually after 12.30pm or 5.30pm.
When your need is medically urgent and you are not able to wait please explain this to our receptionist so that she may give your request top priority.
Making an appointment to discuss the results of any tests in detail is the best way to make sure the Doctor has adequate time to deal with your problem – this is not always appropriately done over the telephone.
Pathology and Xray results usually return via our computer system and waits in a holding file for the Doctor to check it. Once checked, a note is made available to our records staff. Please be aware that the staff are not able to access the result itself, only the note left by the Doctor. Should your Doctor need to discuss the result with you he will leave a message for the staff to make an appointment for you or he may ask our Clinic Nurse to discuss the result with you.
Please phone for results between 2pm and 5pm Monday to Friday and ask for Results.
Our Doctors are happy to write repeat prescriptions and referrals to specialists if they consider that this is in your best interests and you have been seen within the last 3 months. Requests can be made by phone, letter or by calling into the surgery. Apart from exceptional circumstances, we require 48 hours notice to allow time to process a prescription and there is a $3.00 per item fee for this service. Prescriptions which are required ― on the day are charged at $6.00 per item as these requests are not able to be processed through the normal routine. Request for repeat Authority Prescriptions are charged at $6.00 and if you require telephone approval for the prescription to be dispensed urgently, then you will need to make an appointment. We would also ask that you give us 7-10 days notice to request an authority prescription.
Our practice currently operates a recall system for bi-annual pap tests, childhood immunization, asthma and diabetes checks and health assessment for the over 75's. Should you not wish to be included in these recall systems, please advise the Doctor or our Clinic Nurse. If you have any other checks that you feel you would like us to remind you about please discuss this with your doctor.
In line with the National Privacy Principles - "Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff". All patient consultations and medical records are kept strictly confidential. Please be aware that our staff are unable to give test results to anyone other than the patient, or in the case of a minor, the parent, without the express permission of the patient. Staff are required to ascertain the identity of callers requesting patient information and may ask questions when you call . Even information regarding patient appointments is confidential to the patient and cannot be divulged to anyone other than the patient without written authorisation , and this limitation extends to friends, relatives and employers.
From time to time this Practice invites patients to complete questionnaires on their view of the Practice. These surveys are totally confidential and help us to improve our services. Regardless of whether you are happy or unhappy about a service given we are keen to know. Feel free to discuss this with the Doctor or our Practice Manager or put your comments in the "Suggestion Box" at Reception. We believe that problems are best dealt with within the Practice.
Should you wish to take the matter up externally contact:- Health Advice & Complaints Office Ph. 8226 8699