Practice Policies
REFERRALS
A
referral to a specialist requires a letter from your doctor to entitle you to a
Medicare rebate. Your referral letter also should include accurate and up to
date current and past histories to ensure appropriate care is provided by the
specialist.
Associated
costs may be involved with any referral to a specialist, allied health
provider, pathology provider or radiology provider, this should be discussed
with that provider at the time of making your appointment.
- You are
required to make an appointment to see the doctor for referrals this including all review or ongoing referrals, radiology or pathology referrals
- It is illegal
to back- date referrals, this will not be done by any of the doctors at this
practice. It is therefore necessary for you to obtain your referral prior to your
specialist appointment.
- A fee will be charged for all requests of replacement lost/ damaged or misplaced referrals. * These requests may take from 24 - 48 hrs to completed depending on the doctor.
PRESCRIPTIONS/MEDICAL CERTIFICATES
Legal constraints make
over the phone scripts inappropriate, ALL renewal
of scripts will require an appointment with your doctor.
- If you require a
medical certificate, please advise the doctor at the time of your consultation as it is illegal to provide a retrospective or post dated certificate.
- A fee will be charged for all requests for replacement of lost scripts/medical certificates. * These requests may take from 24 - 48 hrs to completed depending on the doctor.
RESULTS
It is the policy of this practice that results are not given over
the phone unless directed by the doctor, an appointment must be
made with the doctor to discuss results.
We understand that you are busy: however it is important for
you to know and understand the results of all your tests and if further follow
up is required from these tests. This policy has not been put in place to
inconvenience patients but to protect both the patient and the doctor. The
doctor has a legal obligation when treating a patient to ensure that they have
discussed results with the patient as well as addressing any concerns the
patient may have regarding these results. Both the doctor and the patient
should feel confident that they fully understand and are aware of any required
treatments as well as any future follow up that may be required.
- If the doctor has asked the nurse
to contact you regarding results please note that due to medico legal reasons
nurses at this practice are unable to give the patient any further information
other than what the doctor has directed them to give you. If you require any
further information than you will need to make an appointment to discuss this
further with the doctor. Your
understanding in this matter is appreciated.
PHONE CALLS
A phone call cannot take the place of a face to face
consultation, and is not in keeping with the standard of care that our doctors
aim to provide to you. Thus in the great majority of cases it may be more
appropriate to be assessed by the doctor in person.
- It is not always possible for our
doctors to speak with their patients due to time restraints. Emergency calls
from patients will be assessed by the Nurse or the Doctor. Non-Urgent phone calls
will be recorded and either the doctor or the nurse will respond to these calls
as needed.
REMINDERS
Health promotion and
preventative care is an integral part of holistic medical care. In order for us
to be able to provide our patients optimal care we have a reminder system in
place.
- We may send
out a reminder from time to time offering you preventative health services appropriate
to your care. If you do not wish to receive these reminders, please advise the
doctor.
CHILDHOOD VACCINATIONS
Our doctors encourage
parents to ensure their children are fully immunised.
- An appointment
must be made with both the doctor and the nurse.
- For safety
reasons this practice administers childhood immunisations in the mornings only.
- Immunisations
cannot be given earlier than the AIR recommended schedule.
- Parents are
reminded to bring their "Baby Book" with them to each immunisation appointment
to ensure records are kept up to date.
- Reminders for
childhood immunisations will be routinely sent out via mail.
TRAVEL VACCINATIONS
Please make an appointment to discuss vaccination requirements a minimum of 6- 8 weeks prior to your intended travel. This practice stocks most travel vaccinations for
purchase. * depending on availability and demand. OR If you would prefer the doctor can provide you with a private script to obtain these from pharmacy. * Yellow Fever Vaccines are not available on script
.
- Bring your travel itinerary and record
of any previous vaccinations you have previously had.
- Administration of travel vaccines is usually at the following times 8.30am – 4.15pm Monday to Friday
- An International Certificate of Vaccination Booklet will be completed and given to you as your personal record. Please ensure that you carry this when travelling.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Due to Medico Legal and Privacy Issues the
doctors of this practice DO NOT accept or provide any communications to or from their
patients via email.
- If you have any
concerns regarding this please feel free to discuss this with your doctor at
your next consultation.
.MOBILE PHONE POLICY
Due to the sensitive nature of our medical equipment and for the comfort and safety of all patients in our practice we ask that our Mobile Phone Policy is followed.
- Please ensure your mobile phone is turned OFF prior to entering our practice.
- Your Co-operation is appreciated with this at all times.
NO EATING OR DRINKING IN OUR PRACTICE
Due to the increasing number of children in our
practice with food allergies along with work health & safety reasons this
practice asks that all patients refrain from eating and drinking whilst in our
practice.
- We appreciate your co-operation in helping to ensure the safety of the children in our practice.
- Our reception staff will be more than happy to supply water on request.
SMOKING POLICY
- NO SMOKING within or around our practice. ** Your Co-operation is appreciated with this at all times
PRIVACY
Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.
- A copy of our privacy policy is available on request
YOUR RIGHTS
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, things go wrong. If you have a problem
please let us know. Please feel free to
discuss this with our practice manager or doctor. You may prefer to write to us
or use our "Feed Back Box" (located in waiting room) we take your concerns,
suggestions and complaints seriously. Complaints will be fully investigated and
appropriate action will be taken.
- Should you be dissatisfied about the way the complaint
has been handled by our practice you may wish to contact Queensland- Health
Quality and Complaints Commission on 1800 077 308 http://hqcc.qld.gov.au/
ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY TOWARDS VIOLENCE
Our practice aims to provide the highest quality of care to all our patients without prejudice. However, abusive or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated towards any of our doctors or staff members. Persons doing so may be asked to seek alternative arrangements for any medical services which may be required by them.
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