OPENING HOURS

8.00 am – 5.00 pm    Monday – Friday
9.00 am – 12 noon    Saturday & Sunday

APPOINTMENTS

Consultations are by appointment. Emergencies will always be given priority. Every effort will be made to accommodate your preferred time and GP. Longer consultation times are available on request, please advise the receptionist at the time of booking your appointment.  Please advise the receptionist if more than one person in your family needs to be seen as more than one appointment slot will need to be allocated – unless the second consultation if for a minor issue (i.e. prescription).

As your time is important we do encourage patients to phone ahead of their appointment time to check the doctor’s progress to avoid any unnecessary waiting time for yourself.

AFTER HOURS EMERGENCIES
(Outside of our normal opening hours)

City Heart Medical has an After-Hours Service for EXISTING PATIENTS of the practice.

Should you wish to see a doctor from City Heart Medical outside of our normal opening hours please call Hillcrest Hospital Outpatients Department on 4932 1321.  Attendance by one of the doctors will only be considered for urgent, but not life-threatening matters, and is at the discretion of the on-call doctor.

We will not attend for routine matters that can wait until regular opening hours.

FEES  APPLY  FOR  AFTER  HOURS  CARE

$330 before 11pm  –  Rebate from Medicare $129.80

$400 after 11pm     –  Rebate from Medicare $153.00

We do not bulk-bill any after-hours care.

PRACTICE BILLING

We are a private billing practice and payment is to be made on the day of consultation – no accounts will be issued.  Fees vary according to the nature of the consultation, the length of the consultation or the procedure performed. If you are a holder of a concession card please present these to our staff as we offer discount to patients with concession cards.  Aged pensioners will be bulk billed.

To help with payment we have facilities for cash, Visa, MasterCard and EFTPOS. We can also send your claim through to Medicare and the refund will go into your nominated bank account.

There may be a fee for NON ATTENDANCE of appointments – this is at the Doctor’s discretion.

MANAGEMENT OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION

Your medical record is a confidential document.  It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.  Any health information collected requires the signed permission of the patient to be disclosed to any other party.

Copies of the Keeping Your Personal Information Private In Our Practice is available from Reception or if you would like to read our Privacy Policy it is available through the link at the bottom of this website or alternatively you can request a copy at Reception.

We abide by the ten National Privacy Principles available at http://www.privacy.gov.au/health/index.html

CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATIONS

We strongly recommend to parents to ensure that all children complete their childhood immunisations.  All government funded immunisations are available at the practice.

Childhood immunisations are performed by our nursing staff.  A consultation with a doctor is required prior to ensure they are well enough to receive their immunisations.  Our practice notifies the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) once the immunisation has been given.
Please ensure you bring your BABY BOOK to this consultation so that your records are kept up to date.

TRAVEL IMMUNISATIONS

The doctors can advise you on what immunisations are required for overseas travel. A consultation is required with a doctor to discuss travel immunisations.  Our practice is able to supply most travel immunisations or if required the doctor will issue you with a prescription and when available can be given by one of our nurses.

REFERRALS

You will need to have an appointment with your doctor who can assess the nature of your condition and the urgency.  You may request a specialist of your choice.  The surgery does not predate referrals.
This includes any referrals for review of ongoing conditions and radiology or pathology services.

If referred to a Specialist, Pathologist or Radiologist it is suggested that you contact the specific office for their fees.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS

An appointment with the doctor is required for all repeat prescriptions. It is the patient’s responsibility to ensure an appointment is booked before their medication runs out.

RESULTS

All abnormal results will be notified to you by either your Doctor or Practice Nurse via telephone, We do not notify you of normal results. You are required to make a follow up consult with your Doctor should you wish to discuss these results further.

REMINDERS

RECALL/REMINDERS

Our practice is committed to preventative care.  The practice will seek your permission to be included on our recall/reminder system.   We may issue you with a reminder notice from time to time offering you preventative health services appropriate to your care.  If you do not wish to be part of this system please let your doctor or reception know.

AVAILABILITY OF CONTACTING YOUR DOCTOR

If urgent please give reception a clear, concise explanation of the nature of the emergency.  This information will be passed on to the doctor.  Any non-urgent phone messages will be addressed when time permits. If you wish to send an email please ask at Reception for details.

HOME VISITS AND OTHER VISITS

Home visits are available for our regular patients of the practice who are unable to attend the surgery.  This is at the doctor’s discretion and only following discussion with the doctor.

HOSPITALISATION

Should this be required your doctor will make arrangements, for either public or private admission.
Inpatient care will be provided by your doctor, or if required or requested, by referral to an appropriate
specialist.  We admit to both the Mater and Hillcrest hospitals.

INTEPRETER SERVICE

We provide a health service for a diverse multicultural population and are here to assist with any language barriers and to assist our deaf patients.  This practice encourages patients to use the Translating & Interpreting Service (TIS) – 131 450. This service operates 24 hours a day.

Deaf or people who have a hearing or speech impairment can contact the
National Relay Service – 133 677. This service operates 24 hours a day.

PATIENT FEEDBACK (COMPLIMENTS, COMMENTS & COMPLAINTS)

We strive to keep the standard of service to our patients at a high level. From time to time we invite patients to participate in a survey on their views of the practice. Your participation in these surveys is greatly appreciated.

If you have any comments with any aspect of the care received at this practice we would like to know about it.
Please feel free to talk to your doctor or our practice manager about any matters you have.  You may prefer to write to us or use our suggestion box.

Should you wish to have some formal support in lodging a complaint you may contact the – Office of the Health Ombudsman (OHO) – Phone 133 646 or www.oho.qld.gov.au

MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH ACCREDITATION

Our practice goes through the process of accreditation every 3 years. This is the process of measuring and ensuring quality against a set of guidelines set by our peers, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Accreditation is a sign of this practice’s ongoing commitment to Quality Patient Care.

STERILISATION

All reusable instruments used for procedures are sterilized in an autoclave under high temperature and pressure conditions to meet Australian Standards. Disposable equipment is also used and disposed of as per Australian Standards