Policies and Appointments
Policy
Request for Bulkbilling
In your interest, this practice does not bulkbill. Discounts are offered for pensioners, healthcare card holders, apprentices, students and the disabled.
****PATHOLOGY RESULTS**** Please note our policy on pathology results:
***DO RING US***WE WILL NOT RING YOU****
THIS POLICY EXISTS BECAUSE IF WE RING WHEN YOU ARE NOT IN, YOU MAY ASSUME THAT ALL IS WELL WHEN IT IS NOT.
When you ring for your results, the receptionist will only inform you if the result of your tests are normal.
To protect your confidentiality, our receptionists have been given strict instructions not to read your file, even at your request. They do not know what tests have been ordered nor can they give you any detail of the tests.
If you wish to discuss the implications of your tests, you can make an appointment to see a doctor, who will be pleased to explain the results to you.
Request for scripts and referrals *Scripts are only available to regular patients of the practice who have visited the practice within 3 months of the request and for whom the requested medication has previously been prescribed.
The patient requesting the script must give the receptionist the **exact name, **strength and **dosage of the medication
A fee of ** $5** per item is charged for NHS scripts, X-ray and pathology requests. **$10** per item for authority scripts.
**The cost of writing a referral without seeing the doctor is **$20**. The patient must have seen the doctor within 12 months, the name of the doctor and the reason for the referral must be clearly stated.
**No referral will be given for non-medical practitioners without a prior consultation to establish the validity of the request.
Allow **24 hours** from time of request to time of pick up. **20% surcharge applies if the scripts are requested and expected within the same day.
Request for reports If the doctor signs his name on a report, it is a legal document for which he/she is responsible. The doctor must review all the relevant clinical facts and exercise extreme caution in the choice of words and phrases to ensure that your interest is not jeopardised.
The cost of a written medical legal report is calculated on a pro rata basis @**$330** per hour (inclusive of GST).
Allow **5 working days** for a report to be completed.
*50% loading applies if the report is needed within 24 hours of the request.
Request for transfer or viewing of records When a patient moves to another geographical location or chooses to see another doctor, it is a professional courtesy for the original treating doctor to transfer a summary of the patient\'s medical notes to his/her new doctor so that the new doctor has enough information to provide ongoing medical care for the patient.
It is not a legal requirement nor is it necessary to photocopy every page of one's notes as the new doctor probably doesn't have time to read them all anyway.
When a request for transfer is received, all the notes that the patient has brought to the practice with him or her will be forwarded to the new doctor together with a summary of pertinent clinical details of the patient's visit at this surgery.
The notes and summary are generally forwarded to the new doctor and not given to the patient as misunderstanding and misinterpretation of medical jargon can lead to unnecessary anxiety and distress. **** We trust you understand that if too many patients make trivial requests to view their records, the smooth running of the practice, and our ability to provide care to other patients, will be adversely affected. Patients may request to view their notes in the surgery. Prior arrangement must be made with the practice so that a room is made available for the notes to be viewed. The notes may not be removed from the premises. Photocopies are available at $0.88 per side including GST. The doctor will not be available to comment on or discuss the notes. If such assistance is required, a service fee will be charged at $66 per 15 minutes or part thereof including GST.
If a legal entity requests the production of notes, standard charges for production as recommended by the joint agreement between the AMA and the Law Society apply.
Request for Schedule 8 drugs and narcotics This practice does not keep narcotics or schedule 8 drugs on the premises. If a person is in severe enough pain to require narcotic analgesics, he/she should go to the hospital.
Request for home visits Home visits are only available for regular patients of this practice.
No bulkbilling is available for home visits but discounts are offered for pensioners and the disadvantaged.
Home visits are done during lunch time or after surgery in the evening.
The fee starts at $90 for visits under 25 minutes within a 5 km radius of the surgery. Additional fee applies for visits after 8pm, visits which last longer than 25 minutes, and visits to homes which are more than 5 km from the surgery.
Expected etiquette for drug company representatives Dr Lee prefers to see drug reps who promote the same product no more than twice a year. Two different drug reps from two different companies each promoting the same product once will be counted as two visits.
Dr Lee does not see drug reps between 1st May and 30th September and he does not want to see more than one drug rep per day.
Dr Lee acknowledges that drug reps have to earn a living promoting their products. He agrees to listen attentively and gives the promoted product a fair (but not exclusive) trial provided that:
(1) The drug rep has an appointment. (2) The presentation does not take more than 10 minutes. (3) The drug rep does not ask questions about the doctor\'s prescription habit, treatment protocol or willingness to use the product. (4) The drug rep backs up his/her claims with independent reputable medical literature and does not flip through his/her company\'s promotional literature page by page or screen by screen. (5) The drug rep leaves samples for trial.
Hi, my name is xxx, I represent xxxx. The product I am promoting is xxxx. The indication for this product is xxxxx. The action of this product is xxxxx. The dosage, availability and price are xxxxx. This product is different from, or better than other products in its class because of xxxxxxx. Please give this product a fair and equal consideration if you have a patient presenting with xxxxxx. Here are extracts from some reputable independent medical journals supporting my claim. Here are some samples for you to try. Thank you for your time.
Complaints It is our charter to provide medical care to our patients with the utmost of care and diligence. However, we are human and we are not infallible. If you feel that the service of our reception staff or doctors has not lived up to your expectation, we invite you to raise the matter with us so that we may offer an explanation (and apologies, if indicated) for our actions.
Responsibilities of patients In order to help us to help you, we request that you inform us if you...
(1) will be late or cannot attend an appointment... (2) have changed name, address, phone number, or medicare card no... (3) are taking medications prescribed by other doctors or vitamin and herbal products... (4) have had pathology or imaging tests.... (5) have been admitted to a hospital.... (6) did not attend the appointment for a specialist, pathologist or radiologist to whom your doctor has referred you.
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Appointments
The surgery is usually open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. We are closed on weekends and public holidays.
*Consultations are by appointment only*.
In order to ensure that you have enough time to discuss your concerns with the doctor, our policy is to accept only four regular bookings in an hour.
We recommend that you ask for a long consultation if you: (1) are visiting this surgery for the first time (2) are having your infant immunised, or (3) have complex or multiple problems for which you are seeking the doctor\'s assistance.
We will try to accommodate emergency conditions. However, we reserve the right to decline to see patients with non urgent conditions who have not made an appointment.
As the complexity of each patient's problem varies, and the previous patient may not arrive on time, it is next to impossible to promise that we will run on time all the time.
However, we can assure you that we understand you don't want to spend hours waiting and we do try our very best to be on time for you. If we do run late, it is because we try to give every patient the time he/she needs to discuss his/her problem, and we promise you the same when it is your turn.
