About
Fees:We are a fully bulk billing practice - Patients are required to present their Medicare card upon arrival & advise reception if you are on a valid Pension or Healthcare concession card.
| Communication Policy:If you wish to speak to the doctor by phone please let the receptionist know if your call is urgent. Your doctor may be tending to other patients & may need to call you back at a later time. All emails will be checked by administrative staff daily, but any urgent requests should be made over the phone or in person. |
Privacy policy:When speaking to staff over the phone, for privacy reasons ,we will ask for specific details such as name, address & date of birth to correctly identify you. Correct patient identification ensures we deliver the correct treatment, care & results specific to you. We are committed to provide our patients with high quality healthcare and in order to achieve this it is essential that we have an up to date and accurate health record. We require all new patients to submit a new patient registration form prior to your appointment.
| Test Results Policy:It is our clinic policy that results can be given in face-to-face consultations or over the phone over a telehealth by the General Practitioner. Your Doctor will advise when results are expected to arrive at the practice. In the event of clinically significant results, you will be contacted as soon as possible to make a follow up appointment to discuss the results with your doctor. Telehealth calls will be made to the phone number listed in your file, please ensure that you advise reception to any change to your contact details. Test results that are received electronically through medical software are downloaded hourly and are checked by the Doctor at multiple intervals throughout the day. |
Collection of Information:The practice will need to collect personal information, such as:
A patients information may be stored in the practice in various forms:
The practice procedure for collecting & updating patient information is as follows: Reception staff will ask all new patients to fill out a new patient registration form when they arrive for their first appointment. Upon arrival, patients will be asked to confirm their details such as, name, date of birth, address & contact details to ensure the correct patient record is being added to the appointment list. Please advise reception if your details have changed or need updating. During consultations the doctors & nurses will collect further information such as medical history, medications, allergies & adverse events. The practice stores all personal information securely in either electronic or hard copy format. The practice takes steps to ensure all stored information is retained in a secure environment that is only accessible to doctors, practitioners & staff of the practice. The practice has strict backup procedures in place to ensure security for patients data at all times. | Complaints:The practice takes complaints & concerns about the privacy of patients personal information very seriously. Patients have the right to complain & where possible patients & others are encouraged to raise concerns directly with the Practice Manager or Director who are trained to make sure patients of the practice feel confident that any feedback or complaint made will be handles appropriately & within a timely manner. All feedback received will be kept confidential at all times. All complaints received are reviewed by the Practice Manager & Director. Any actions required to minimise the circumstances from happening again are documented & signed off on completion. We believe that most complaints can be responded to & resolved when the complaint is made known to the clinic. The practice will acknowledge the complaint as soon as possible or within 2 working business days from being received. The practice will respond & look to resolve any complaints received within 30 days. If a resolution of the matter is to take longer than 30 days, an update of the resolution activities will be provided to the patient, with an anticipated revised time frame for resolution. Complaints can be submitted in writing addressed to the Practice Manager or Director or by filling out a feedback form located in the contact section of this site. Alternatively, feedback can be submitted in writing directly to the practice. If the matter cannot be resolved, the patient may wish to contact the Health Care Complaints Commissioner:
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Interpreter service:Our practice is registered with TIS (The Translating & Interpreting Service). Any patients that do not have English as their first language can use this service to assist with translation. https://www.tisnational.gov.au/ If translation services is required, please advise reception upon booking an appointment or email thespecialistmedicalcentre@gmail.com. Interpreting services can be booked in advance or on the day of the appointment as the service is over the phone. We are also registered with NABS (National Auslan Bookings Service). Any patients presenting with hearing impairment can engage in these services, however, booking in advance for an NABS interpreter is essential as an interpreter will be present in the consultation, with the patients consent.
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Use & Disclosure of information:
Personal information will only be used for the purpose of providing medical services & for claims & payments, unless otherwise consented to by the patient. If your Doctor has referred you to a specialist, we may release information to the referred practice to help gather information regarding your health status. If you do not consent to this please advise your Doctor when being referred. Our clinic is committed to following Patient confidentiality safeguarding - We will not disclose your personal information to any other company until consent from the patient is obtained.
The practice will not disclose personal information to any third party other than in the course of providing medical services, without full disclosure to the patient other than in the course of providing medical services, without full disclosure to the patient or the recipient, the reason for the patient transfer & full consent form the patient. The practice will not disclose personal information to anyone outside Australia without need (i.e. in the case if overseas medical emergencies) & without patient consent.
Exceptions to disclose without patient consent are where the information is required by law. Where it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patients life, health or safety or public health safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patients consent.
