Our Practice

Appointments

Please phone to make an appointment. People who make an appointment will be put in to see the doctor. People who walk in will only be seen if time allows. However if you have an emergency (chest pain – heart attack, bleeding – need suturing, can’t breath – asthma) then you will be seen by the next available doctor. We do our best to fit in sick children.

People needing prescriptions or forms filled out will certainly need to make an appointment. If you feel you will need a longer appointment please advise reception so time can be allowed for. If you want a skin lesion removed the doctor will review the lesion first, decide on what action to take, then a second longer appointment is made ensuring access to the treatment room.

Prescriptions

Patients must see the doctor for all their medical needs including prescriptions. It is not the responsibility of reception staff to consult doctors for prescriptions on behalf of patients. By seeing the doctor they can monitor the efficacy of the medication and its interactions with other medications. It only takes one thing to go wrong and the patient can end up suffering. Please call and make an appointment for your prescriptions.

Test Results & Phone Calls

The doctors review all incoming results and reports. They are all marked as either ‘FILE’ or ‘RECALL PATIENT TO DISCUSS’. When you call about your results you will be advised that it was okay or the doctor wants to see you and an appointment needs to be made. No discussion of results by the doctor will be entered into over the phone. Explanations over the phone can be misunderstood and this could harm the patient.

Fees & Charges

We BULK BILL all Medicare consultations. Overseas patients and those with an expired Medicare card have to be charged a fee. Insurance medicals, pre-employment medicals, commercial driving medicals and legal reports are not covered by Medicare and will be charged according to the complexity/time of the report required.

Out Of Surgery Visits

All efforts should be made to attend the clinic. A home visit will only be conducted after hours at the doctor’s discretion (patient in palliative care). The rule of thumb is if you are so sick you cannot get to the clinic then you should be calling the ambulance and going to hospital. If you are having chest pain go to hospital immediately do not wait to see the doctor the next day.

Reminder Register

This practice will automatically enrol relevant patients into the government Pap Smear Register, the Diabetes Register and the Breast screen Register… If you do not wish to be on these registers please notify the doctor and reception.

After Hours

If immediate medical attention is required after hours, you can call our local provider:

HOUSE CALL DOCTOR – 13 55 66

Poisons Center

If a poison has been swallowed then call 13 11 26 immediately before taking any action. Inducing vomiting of certain poisons can cause irreparable damage to the oesophagus and throat. The poison’s hotline will advise you on what action to take.

Translation & Deaf Services

Interpreter and translation services can be organised by calling 1300 131 450 or visiting www.tisnational.gov.au. For deaf services go to www.deafservices.org.au.

Hygiene

Our surgical instruments are autoclaved to Australian Standards i.e. at 137 Celsius @ 200 kpa to kill all contaminants. The rest of our materials are single use disposables.

Complaints Procedure

If you feel we have not given you a professional and courteous service then please let us know. We like to deal with any problems within the practice.

If you do not feel this is possible you may contact Health Quality & Complaints Commission:

GPO Box 3089 Brisbane 4001
ph: 07 3120 5999

Privacy ACT Change / Transferring Files

Contrary to popular belief, medical files are the property of the medical centre not the patient. The privacy act came in on 21st Dec 2001. Information on transferring or obtaining access to files is best obtained at reception. Medicare does not cover the cost of you looking at your medical records therefore a private consultation fee must be charged. This practice does not charge to transfer files but it reserves the right to do so.

Traning / Education

The doctors, nurses and staff at this practice continuously take part in training programs, education sessions and seminars to provide patients with the latest medical knowledge available.

Referrals

Make sure you have a current referral when making your specialist appointment. Medicare does not allow doctors to back date referrals. It is not the responsibility of reception to discuss your medical needs with the doctor and obtain a referral on your behalf.