Patient Medical FAQs

Call 000 immediately. Getting to the clinic will be too slow and a hospital emergency department will probably be better equipped to help you. If the operator or paramedic thinks you don’t need to go to a hospital then call reception and we will try and fit you in as soon as we can. 

You can make an appointment by either calling us on 03 9645 7775 or online through our website or through online booking portal HotDoc.

Our standard appointments are 15 minutes and a long appointment is 30 minutes. You should make a long appointment if you have multiple issues or if you have a complex medical issue or mental health concerns. Procedures require a long or a prolonged appointment. It is important that you allow sufficient time to discuss your health concerns with your doctor so that your doctor is not rushed and it helps them keep on time. 

Our nursing staff are highly trained and eager to help and for some issues like a simple injection or a blood pressure check you do not need to see the doctor. This will only be done if you and your doctor have agreed that this is appropriate and will always be under doctor supervision. 

If you feel comfortable you can make an appointment with one of our other doctors who may have available appointments. All our practitioners are highly qualified and compassionate and work together as a team (and with your consent any of our doctors or nurses can access your medical file) so you can feel confident nothing will be missed. Otherwise you can call reception and make an enquiry, we often have reserved appointments on the day for emergencies so a fit in can sometimes be arranged. 

You can make an appointment online and usually we can see you the next day. If your problem can’t wait then you should call 000 or the after hours service (13SICK). We have a partnership with the National Home Doctor Service and they provide home visit and Telehealth care from 6pm on Monday to Friday and 12pm Saturday and all day on Sunday and public holidays. They will send us a report after your consultation so we can follow up your care at the clinic. 

The best way to contact your doctor is to make an appointment. That way we can fully assess you and make sure your needs are met. On a rare occasion our doctors may be able to return your call or contact you via email. You may contact our reception staff and a message can be left for your doctor, however, in most circumstances you will still need to make an appointment with your doctor. 

We are a privately billing medical clinic so almost all our consultations are not bulk billed although pensioners (blue and purple card) do receive a discount. This is because we pride ourselves on providing thorough and compassionate care and we feel this cannot be done in five minutes. We hope you understand that to maintain the clinic upkeep and our level of care it is not possible for us to bulk bill. There are always some exceptions and special circumstances where our services will be bulk billed for example, routine childhood vaccinations. 

Our practice does not use email as a routine form of communication with our patients. Occasionally, patients are provided with an opportunity to obtain advice or information related to their care by electronic means, but only where the doctor determines that it is suitable and the only form of communication available. Our practice will only provide information that is of a general, non-urgent nature via email and will not initiate electronic communication unless absolutely needed.

If you have lost a referral to your specialist or a script that was recently issued by one of our doctors, then you may request this online through our HotDoc appointment booking page. Click on “Repeat Prescription” or “Repeat Referral” and you will be directed to further instructions. A small administrative fee is charged and is payable at the time of the online request. If the doctor cannot fulfil your request then this fee is refunded. You cannot request pathology or radiology referrals this way.

In some instances you may be able to request a renewal of your referral or a prescription without an appointment. If you are a regular patient of our practice and are on a regular medication or see a specialist on a regular basis then you may request your repeat prescription or repeat referral through our HotDoc appointment booking page. A small administrative fee applies which is payable at the time of the request. This fee is refunded if the doctor declines your request. You cannot request a new medication or a new referral or medications of addictive nature or antibiotics. For these you will need to book an appointment with a doctor.