Appointments

All of the independent practitioners consulting from Heidelberg West Medical welcome all patients, including new patients. The consulting doctors offer in person and telehealth appointments, both of which can be made through HotDoc. You may also arrange an in-person consultation with a consulting doctor by calling reception at the clinic that your doctor is consulting from.

The consulting doctors strongly recommend telehealth appointments wherever possible, to protect the doctor, other patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19. If a telehealth consult is not possible, a face-to-face appointment can be arranged with your doctor. This is in accordance with the latest national recommendations.

Online bookings with a consulting doctor 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 or your doctor. Standard and longer consultations with a consulting doctor 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 the doctors we support, please contact reception during business hours. 

Home Visiting Service

The independent consulting doctors we support may offer home visits to patients who have previously visited a doctor consulting from Heidelberg West Medical. Home visiting and after-hours services are also provided by National Home Doctor Service on 13 SICK (7425). Your request for an after-hours home visit consultation from a consulting doctor will be triaged by our staff.  during our opening hours or by the National Home Doctor Service call centre when we are closed.

Walk-in appointments

Where possible and upon triage, the doctors we support may provide services to patients who ‘walk in’ without an appointment. Your doctor will give priority to their patients who hold appointments except in emergency presentations.

Cancellations and Missed Appointments

If you are unable to attend a scheduled appointment with your consulting doctor, we request that you inform reception as soon as possible. This will allow your appointment slot to be offered to other patients. For appointments during the afterhours time, your doctor may charge a cancellation fee. Your doctor will charge a cancellation fee of $40 in the following situations:

• • With respect to weekend after hours general practice appointments: if you miss your appointment or fail to cancel before 4pm the day before your appointment
• • With respect to weekday after hours general practice: if you miss your appointment or fail to cancel before 4pm on the day of your appointment
• • With respect to all other appointments: if you miss your appointment or fail to provide at least two hours’ notice of your cancellation.

Please note this applies to both phone and online bookings. Your doctor may restrict your availability for appointments if you persistently fail to attend your appointments. For more information, please contact reception.

Allied health practitioners may charge their patients a non-attendance fee if appointments are not cancelled or rescheduled in an appropriate time frame. All of the practitioners we support request their patients to provide at least 24 hours’ notice if they are unable to attend their appointment. Please contact your allied health provider for more information.

Repeat Prescriptions

Consulting doctors have a duty of care to consult via telehealth or face-to-face before issuing a repeat prescription. We understand that patients may have medications which they take daily and will periodically require updated prescriptions. However, for many medications, your doctors will ordinarily need to consult with you via Telehealth or Face to Face 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 reception during business hours.

Lost or Misplaced Paperwork

An electronic copy of your medical records, including pathology results, is stored by your doctor at our premises. For questions relating to accessing your medical records, please contact your doctor or reception.
If you have misplaced a script, referral, or other paperwork issued to you by a consulting doctor, please contact reception.

Recall System

If you have a scheduled appointment with your consulting doctor, 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 reception so that your appointment time may be offered to another patient.

Occasionally, and in the interest of your health, you may be contacted by phone or HotDoc with reminders of recommended preventative health assessments or to receive information regarding 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 reception.

Medical Records

We provide the independent practitioners who consult from Heidelberg West Medical a fully computerised medical record system, so patients can be ensured their information remains secure. Passwords are changed regularly, and data is backed up daily.

If you are an existing patient of a consulting doctor and any of your contact details change, please advise reception 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 reception. This service may attract a fee which is not eligible for a Medicare rebate.

Medical Record Transfers

All of the independent practitioners consulting from our premises support continuity of care for their patients. If you are an existing patient of a consulting doctor and wish to transfer to a new healthcare provider, your doctor will prepare a relevant summary of your medical records. When your doctor receives a signed form from you, authorising the transfer of your medical information, this summary will be sent 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 reception. Please note that your test results may not be disclosed over the phone for your privacy. 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 you will be contacted to arrange a time and date for your appointment. In the interest of your health, you may occasionally be contacted 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 reception or your doctor.

If your address or phone number changes, please advise reception promptly to ensure you continue to receive all updates, appointment reminders, and clinical correspondence as normal.

Telephoning Your Consulting Doctor

If you wish to speak with your regular GP, please contact our reception 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, your doctor will not be able to answer the phone while in a patient consultation. If your matter is urgent, please inform reception 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, all of the doctors consulting from our premises encourage preventative health checks for their patients. Your doctor 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, a regular health assessment can be invaluable. To best understand your specific health promotion and prevention needs, book an appointment with your doctor today

Electronic Communication Policy

We and the independent practitioners support and value privacy and patient confidentiality.

Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with professional and legal obligations relating to privacy, including electronic communications.

General Enquiries

General enquiries can be made with reception staff who will provide the best possible service and information for you on behalf of your consulting doctor. If the matter is important, please inform reception staff so the matter will be directed accordingly. Your doctor 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

None of the doctors consulting from Heidelberg West Medical can guarantee that consultations or requests for clinical advice can be provided by telephone.

Responding to a telephone message requesting a return call is at the discretion of your doctor.

Requests for medical assistance or information is best discussed via a pre-booked Telehealth consultation appointment with your doctor. Please note that eligibility criteria may apply for Telehealth consultations and in certain circumstances your doctor will not be able to offer this service or if offered, the service may incur fees that cannot be claimed through Medicare.

Email communication

All electronic correspondence you receive from your doctor or from our practice staff will be delivered through secure, encrypted email.

Further, all correspondence between your doctor and other healthcare providers will be conducted through secure email services.

Emails are not constantly monitored. If you have non-clinical issue/s that requires urgent attention, please contact reception via telephone to ensure reasonable and timely assistance.

Unless explicitly agreed with you by your doctor, or via a formal agreement with any third parties, our practice does not respond to unsolicited emails from patients. 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 sender.

Email communication received by our staff does not imply responsibility or a duty of care for offering you clinical care unless you have registered to see an independent practitioner consulting from Heidelberg West Medical.

Secure Message Service (SMS) communication

SMS messages are sent for a variety of purposes. This method of communication will be at the absolute discretion of your 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 guaranteed.

Feedback

All feedback is welcomed. All our premises provide forms for patients to complete with feedback. Should a matter with your doctor or with one of our locations remain unsatisfied, the complaint can be pursued externally. To raise an external complaint, please contact the Health Complaints Commissioner on 1300 582 113.

Fees

Please note that each of the independent practitioners we support determine the consultation fees that they charge to their patients. Accordingly, this section is intended as a guide only. Please contact reception for further information.

All of the independent practitioners we support aspire to ensure excellent healthcare is accessible. Accordingly, your doctor may bulk-bill for general consultation fees, however some procedures and specialised services may attract an out-of-pocket fee. Credit card and EFTPOS payment facilities are available, but EFTPOS payment is the preferred method of payment by consulting doctors.

Weekdays normal hours

Bulk billing is generally offered for all General Practice services provided before 6pm during weekdays for All Concession Card Holders & Children Under 16 Years of Age. This criterion may not be applied when certain medical procedures and specialised services are provided, for 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, the consulting doctor will charge fees in accordance with the Worksafe fee schedule.

Afterhours

Ordinarily, consulting doctors will not offer bulk-billing for medical services provided after 6pm on weekdays, or on Saturdays or Sundays. For more information, please contact reception for any clarification.

Referred services

Consulting doctors may charge an out-of-pocket fee for “referred services”, including certain Allied health services, specialist referrals or certain pathology requests. 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.