Practice Policies
Appointments
Our practice uses an appointment system to help reduce waiting times; therefore you will need to make an appointment to see the doctor or the nurse. Please make a separate appointment for each person attending. We allocate 15 minutes per appointment. If you are a new patient, have a number of issues to discuss, or feel you may require longer than 15 minutes with the doctor, please advise the receptionist when making your appointment.
We have a $40 fee for non cancellation of an appointment within 2 hours of the allotted time.
Whenever possible, appointments are available for booking on the day, however they may not be with your usual doctor. Another doctor in the practice will be able to assist you. If it is an emergency please inform the receptionist.
Our surgery has a computerised reminder and recall system in place for preventative health care covering a wide range of health care such as Pap Smears, Immunisations, Diabetes and Asthma reviews and many more. For more information about this, please ask your doctor or the receptionist.
We have an “Ongoing Care Clinic” for the management of chronic disease for our patients. For more information about this service, please ask your doctor.
Home Visits
These have limited availability for regular patients of the practice if your condition warrants a visit after nursing triage and you are prevented from attending the surgery. Our Doctors work in GP Access After Hours which has a limited home visit service after nurse triage. Please notify the receptionist as early in the day as is practical so that the doctor can arrange their time accordingly. For details regarding home visit fees, please ask the receptionist.
After Hours Arrangements
The doctors at Brunker Road General Practice provide after hours care through GP Access After Hours Service. For after hours medical attention please contact this service on ph: 1300 130 147. A nurse will triage your call and help you to decide what to do next. Our General Practitioners are rostered to work for this service. For emergency treatment, phone the ambulance service on ph: 000, or go to the Accident and Emergency Department of the nearest public hospital.
Fees and Payment
Payment for services is required at the time of the service being provided. We have Eftpos and credit card facilities available for your convenience. If you are experiencing difficulty in paying please speak to the doctor at the time of consultation.
Health Care Card holders and Pensioners are charged a discounted fee on production of their health care card or pension card. Veterans Affairs card holders are covered by Veteran Affairs on production of their Veteran’s Gold Card.
Our consultation fees and home visit fees are displayed on the waiting room notice board and fees for additional services are available from the receptionist. If you are referred to another doctor or specialist, the doctor or receptionist will inform you regarding their fee structure. Pathology, X-Ray and other additional services may also charge a fee for their services.
Workers Compensation and Third Party Insurance fees are higher than standard fees to cover the additional reporting requirements and we ask that patients pay accounts on the day of the consultation and seek reimbursement from their employer or insurer.
With the assistance of Medicare, our practice is able to offer an online patient claiming service. This enables a patient to claim their medicare benefit at our surgery instead of attending a medicare office. If a patient pays for their consultation in full, they can elect to have their medicare benefit paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) into their nominated bank account. If you would like to know more about this service, please ask the receptionist.
Test Results
Please phone between 2pm and 4pm to obtain your test results. The receptionist will advise you if the doctor requires you to have a follow up appointment. You may receive an SMS or email from our practice via HotDoc that the doctor wants you to make an appointment for a Non-Urgent follow up about a result. Please click the link to make the appointment.
Repeat Prescriptions / Referrals
In the best interests of you health care, our doctors will not issue repeat prescriptions if you have not had a consultation with our practice for 6 months without a consultation. Where a doctor is happy to provide a script or repeat referral, you can contact HotDoc and an administration fee will be charged.
Telephoning for Medical Advice
The practice may be contacted by phone during surgery hours. If necessary, your call will be transferred to the practice nurse who will make an assessment , triaging the clinical urgency and offer advice. If you have chest pain, shortness of breath, altered body functions that suggest a possible stroke, call 000 for an urgent ambulance attendance.
Medical Students
This practice is associated with the University of Newcastle Medical School. At times your doctor will have a medical student in attendance as part of their training and you will be asked whether you are willing to have the student present during your consultation. If you do not wish to have the student present through your consultation, please inform the receptionist.
Management of Health Information
This practice has an effective system in managing patient information. In line with National Privacy Principles, our practice has a document, commonly named a privacy policy, which clearly sets out our policies on handling personal information, including health information and will be made available to anyone who requests it. Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of your personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.
Concerns / Inquiries / Feedback
We welcome any feedback inquiries or concerns that you have about the practice and ask that you address these to Lynda (Office Manager), or your Doctor. We also have a suggestion box in the waiting room and would appreciate your input. If you have an issue that you feel needs addressing by an outside body please contact The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) ph: 02 9219 7444, or toll free in NSW 1800 043 159, or view their website at www.hccc.nsw.gov.au
Our surgery has a non-smoking policy; non-smoking signs are located at the entry of the building and in the waiting room. We thank you for your cooperation.
Our instruments are placed in an ultrasonic cleaner and then Autoclaved. Sterile packs are used for all procedures.