Clinic Information

Booking an appointment

Appointments can be booked online or by contacting our reception team on 3519 6963.

Please book an appropriate consultation type and length to ensure that your chosen doctor has enough time to address your concerns. If you have multiple problems or want to deal with a complex issue, you will require a longer appointment time. The GPs providing services at our clinic do their best to run on time, and choosing the correct appointment type helps minimise waiting times for everyone.

You can visit the dedicated Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain clinic website by clicking here

Urgent appointments

If you feel that an urgent appointment is required for yourself or your child please contact our reception staff by phone and we will do our best to fit you in. The GPs providing medical care at Neighbourhood Medical aim to keep appointments each day for this purpose.

Please don’t use email to contact us about urgent issues. If you need more urgent help please call 000 or attend a public or private emergency department. 

Cancellations

Please give 24 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment so that your appointment time may be offered to another patient. If an appointment is not cancelled within a reasonable time frame, or if you fail to attend, a cancellation fee will apply.

Further appointments cannot be made online while cancellation fees are outstanding, and a booking deposit may be required to book an appointment after a cancellation fee is applied. $50 for standard appointments, $100 for long consults and $110 for Saturday appointments.

Billing Policy

The GPs providing medical services at Neighbourhood Medical offer high quality care and are private billing with a gap fee for most consultations. Payment will be required on the day of your appointment. Payment by Eftpos or credit card is preferred as we are a cashless business. 

A sample fee schedule is available from reception on request. Doctors consulting at Neighbourhood Medical may choose to set their individual fees. Reduced fees are usually charged to concession card holders. Concession cards must be provided to reception at the time of billing to avail of these reductions.

Additional fees may apply for items such as dressings, local anaesthetics, private vaccines and other services not funded by Medicare. The doctor providing care to you will discuss these with you at the time of consultation.

Your Medicare rebate can be processed at the time of payment via your debit card straight back into your bank account. This rebate is the amount of money paid to you by Medicare towards the cost of your chosen healthcare service. This rebate has been frozen by the government for many years, meaning patients may notice increasing out of pocket fees as costs of providing quality care continue to increase.

Bulk billing means a doctor accepts this rebate payment on your behalf as the only fee charged, and is essentially pro bono work as it often does not cover costs. The doctors providing services at Neighbourhood Medical may offer this for some immunisations and GP management plans for chronic disease care, at doctor discretion.

After Hours Medical Care

If you require medical advice or assessment outside of our opening hours please contact House Call Doctor. This out of hours service can provide home visits.

House Call Doctor can be contacted on 13 55 66 or www.housecalldoctor.com.au

Referrals and Repeat Prescriptions

An appointment is required for all specialist referrals. This enables the GP to provide another specialist with the accurate details of your current medical condition. A referral letter is a legal document, which enables you to claim benefits from Medicare, and cannot be backdated. It is illegal both to backdate referrals and to provide one without having had a consultation. For ongoing referrals that require a renewal, a brief telehealth appointment may suffice.

If a repeat prescription or replacement for lost prescription is required your GP may be able to offer this in a brief telehealth consultation. If this is not available or suitable then a script fee of $25 ($20 with a concession card) will apply. If you have not had a recent appointment with your GP, an appointment may be required to renew your prescription.

Results and Recalls

It is important that you obtain the results of any investigations including blood tests or imaging that your doctor has requested. Results will not be given over the phone unless your doctor has specifically arranged to do so. You may be notified of normal test results by text message if you have provided consent to be contacted via SMS. Alternatively, your doctor may request you to make an appointment to discuss your results and arrange any necessary follow up.

All abnormal results will require an appointment in clinic or by telehealth to arrange follow up. You will be contacted in person, by SMS or by letter to advise you that results need top be discussed. Please ensure that your contact details are kept up to date for this purpose.

Please do not assume that your test results are normal if you have not heard from us. Rarely, an abnormal result may not reach our clinic. If you have not received communication regarding your results within a reasonable time frame – usually 3-5 days from collection – please contact our reception team by phone or email.

With your consent, we may send SMS messages for recalls and reminders to let you know when investigations, appointments and routine cancer screening tests are due.