Appointments
Our Practices welcome all patients, including new patients. We offer in person and telehealth appointments, both of which can be made through HotDoc. You may also phone your preferred clinic by phone to arrange an in-person consultation.
Telehealth appointments are strongly recommended wherever possible, to protect both patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19. If a telehealth consult deems it necessary, a face-to-face appointment can be arranged with your doctor. This is a requirement under our COVID-19 National Health Plan, and is in accordance with the latest national recommendations.
Online bookings can be made through the HotDoc link at the top of our website. After a booking is made, you will receive an email confirmation of your appointment, as well as a reminder email at least 24 hours before your appointment. Please note that these emails are sent from HotDoc, not directly from our clinics. Standard and longer consultations can be booked using this service. We do not guarantee that our website, or any content on it in relation to our online appointment system, will always be available or be uninterrupted. Access to our website is permitted on a temporary basis. We may suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of our website without notice. We will not be liable to you if for any reason our website is unavailable at any time or for any period.
You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to access our website (including, having access to an internet connection and an appropriate browser).
You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our website through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.
If you have questions about our appointment system, telehealth appointments, or the availability of our doctors, please contact our friendly staff during business hours.
Home Visiting Service
Home visiting is available to patients who have attended the medical centre. Home visiting and after-hours services are provided by National Home Doctor Service on 13 SICK (7425) and our doctors in exceptional circumstances. Your request for an after-hours home visit consultation will be triaged at our practice
during our opening hours or by the National Home Doctor Service call centre prior to any attendance from 6pm weekdays and from 10am Saturday and all-day Sunday and Public holidays.
Walk-in appointments
Where possible and upon triage, our practice may provide services to patients who ‘walk in’ without an appointment. Appointments are given priority except in emergency presentations.
Cancellations and Missed Appointments
If you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment, we request that you inform our clinic staff as soon as possible. This will allow your appointment slot to be offered to other patients. For appointments during the afterhours time, a cancellation fee may be charged. Cancellation policy incurring a fee of $40 applies for all After hours General practice appointments if you miss your appointment or fail to cancel in a reasonable timeframe. If the appointment is cancelled within two hours, or failure to attend an appointment the cancellation will be incurred. For After-hours appointments, cancellation of appointments is required before 4pm on the day on weekdays and before 4pm on the previous day for weekend appointments. This applies to both phone and online bookings. Persistent non-attendance by a patient may result in restricted availability of appointment times. For more information, please contact our clinic staff.
Allied health services may charge a non-attendance fee if appointments are not cancelled or rescheduled in an appropriate time frame. We highly recommend informing all practitioners at least 24 hours in advance if you are unable to attend your appointment. For more information relating to allied health appointment policies, please contact your allied health practitioner directly.
Repeat Prescriptions
We understand that patients will often have medications which they take daily and will periodically require updated prescriptions. However, for many medications, our doctors have a duty of care to consult either via. Telehealth or Face to Face with you before issuing a repeat prescription.
If you are unable to make an appointment to see your doctor and urgently require a repeat prescription, please contact our clinic staff during business hours. Repeat prescriptions may be issued without appointments on a case-by-case basis, at your doctor’s discretion.
Lost or Misplaced Paperwork
Our Practices keep an electronic copy of your medical records, including pathology results. For questions relating to accessing your medical records, please contact our clinic staff.
If you have misplaced a script, referral, or other paperwork issued to you by your doctor, please contact our clinic staff for assistance.
Recall System
If you have a scheduled appointment, you will receive a reminder email or text message at least 24 hours before your appointment. If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact us to cancel it, so that your appointment time may be offered to another patient.
Occasionally, and in the interest of your health, we may contact patients by phone or HotDoc with reminders of recommended preventative health assessments or educate patients of the need to undergo certain tests as recommended by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Should you not wish to be notified of these in the future, please advise our staff.
Medical Records
Your medical record is stored electronically on our fully computerised medical record system. Passwords are changed regularly and data is backed up daily, to ensure your information remains secure. At this time, it is the policy of our practices to retain all medical records.
If any of your contact details change, please advise our staff as soon as is convenient to ensure your medical records remain up to date. If you wish to access a full copy of your medical records, please enquire with our practice staff. This service attracts a fee which is not eligible for a Medicare rebate.
Medical Record Transfers
Should a patient move to another medical practice, we will support continuity of care by preparing a relevant summary of your medical records. When we receive a signed form by you, authorising transfer of medical information, we will send this summary to your new GP.
Results of Medical Tests
Test results and clinical correspondence will be returned in 3-5 business days unless marked urgent by your doctor. To check on the status of a test result, please contact your clinic by phone. Note that due to our privacy policy, we may not disclose your test results over the phone. Please note that unless your doctor deems it necessary, you will not be contacted if your results are normal. For abnormal results and further clinical correspondence, a follow-up appointment will be required. In this instance, our clinic staff will contact you to arrange a time and date for your appointment.
In the interest of your health, we may occasionally contact you via phone or HotDoc with reminders of recommended preventative health assessments. Should you not wish to be notified of these in the future, please advise our staff.
If your address or phone number changes, please advise our staff promptly to ensure you continue to receive all updates, appointment reminders, and clinical correspondence as normal.
Telephoning Your Doctor
If you wish to speak with your regular GP, please contact our friendly staff during business hours. If appropriate, our staff can take a message and pass this onto your doctor. Please note that phone calls will be returned at the discretion of your physician. To ensure exemplary patient care, our doctors will not be able to answer the phone while in a patient consultation. If your matter is urgent, please inform our staff at the start of your call.
Health Promotion and Prevention
While most people think a medical checkup is only needed if you’re already sick, our Practices encourages preventative health checks. Our doctors can assist with comprehensive health checks, including areas such as cholesterol screening, blood sugar testing, skin checks, and breast or prostate checks. Regardless of your age or perceived level of health, regular health assessment can be invaluable. To best understand your specific health promotion and prevention needs, book an appointment with one of our friendly doctors today
Electronic Communication Policy
Our practice values the privacy and confidentiality of our patients.
Procedures are in place to ensure we comply with professional and legal obligations when handling your information, this includes communication using electronic means.
General Enquiries
General enquiries can be made with our reception staff who will provide the best possible service and information for you. If the matter is important, please inform our staff so the matter will be directed accordingly. The doctors and clinical staff will review and return telephone calls as soon as practicable.
Please do not wait for telephone assistance or advice if the matter is urgent. Please seek urgent medical assistance and call the ambulance service on 000 or visit your nearest public hospital emergency department.
Telephone communication, including Telehealth
Our practice does not guarantee all consultations or requests for clinical advice will be provided by the telephone. Responding to a telephone message requesting a return call is at the discretion of the practice clinical team.
Requests for medical assistance or information is best discussed via a pre-booked Telehealth consultation appointment with your doctor. Please note that eligibility criteria apply for Telehealth consultations and in certain circumstances we will not be able to offer this service or if offered, may incur fees that cannot be claimed through Medicare.
Email communication
We use secure encrypted email service to communicate with our patients and only where necessary, by the clinical staff. We use secure email communication strictly only for outbound communication with other healthcare providers such as your referring doctor.
Our emails are checked on a regular basis, however they are not constantly monitored. If you have non-clinical issue/s that requires urgent attention, we request that you contact the practice via telephone to ensure reasonable and timely assistance.
Unless explicitly agreed with you by one of our clinical staff, or via a formal agreement with any third parties, our practice does respond to unsolicited emails from patient. At times, other healthcare providers may communicate to us via Emails.
An automatic message on our system confirms to the sending party that the email service is not constantly monitored and if the matter is urgent, this message states that any third parties need to call the practice in these circumstances.
Email communication received by us at any of our practice email address/es does not imply responsibility or a duty of care on our clinical or administrative staff of clinical care.
Secure Message Service (SMS) communication
SMS messages are sent for a variety of health management purposes. This method of communication will only be at the absolute discretion of the doctor and does not imply that it can be used for general enquiries or requests for advice.
These may include:
• Appointment reminders – a reminder message will be sent the day prior to your appointment.
• Health reminders
• Health recalls
We need to ensure that your mobile number is up to date at each visit to ensure that this information is sent to the correct number. Please update your contact details if they have changed. Patients must be aware that if another person can access their mobile phone, then the confidentiality of these communications cannot be protected by the practice.
Feedback
We welcome all patient feedback, both positive and negative. All our clinics provide forms for patients to complete with feedback, and we constantly strive to improve our quality of service and care. Should a matter with the practice remain unsatisfied, patients can pursue this externally. To raise an external complaint, please contact the Health Complaints Commissioner on 1300 582 113.
Fees
Our Practices aspire to ensure excellent healthcare is accessible. Depending on the ICO Health Group practice you visit, General Practice consultation fees may be Bulk billed under some circumstances. Some procedures and specialised services will attract an out-of-pocket fee. Payment may be made by credit or debit (EFTPOS) card. Our preferred method of payment is EFTPOS.
Weekdays normal hours
Bulk billing is standard for all General Practice services provided up to 6pm during weekdays for All Concession Card Holders & Children Under 16 Years of Age. Exception to this criterion where out-of-pocket fees will apply is when certain medical procedures and specialised services are provided, for all pre-employment medicals, insurance-related medicals, and for some administrative procedures. For all Workcover consultations until such time claims are accepted and a claim number is issued, fees will apply as per the Worksafe fee schedule.
Afterhours
Across all the ICO Health Group practices which operate during the afterhours time (weekdays from 6pm and Saturdays and Sundays), most General Practice Services provided during these hours will no longer be Bulk billed. Please refer to the table under each practice website for information related to fees applicable. Please contact our reception staff for any clarification.
Referred services
Referred services including certain Allied health services, Specialist referrals or certain pathology requests may attract an out-of-pocket fee. Fees applicable for these referred services varies, please enquire directly with the relevant Allied Health Practitioner, Specialist, or the Pathology provider. If you have private health insurance, you may be eligible for a rebate for some of the referred services.