Appointments
Consultations are generally by appointment only. Although we can cater for walk-in patients, please note that priority will be given to Emergencies and patients with pre-booked appointment.
- Standard Consultation is 10 minutes duration – Discuss 1 item.
- Long consultaion is 20 minutes duration – Discuss 2 or more items.
- Extended consultaion is 30-40 minutes duration.
Longer consultation is required for:
- New patients to the practice
- First antenatal visit (Mother and baby)
- Travel health,
- Mental health care plans,
- Insurance medicals,
- Pre-employment medicals,
- Female health checks (including Pap Tests)
- Procedures
- Refugee health check
- 2 or more items to discuss.
Following services may be classified as non-standard doctor visits:
- Suturing of wound
- Hormone implant insertion/removal
- Insurance and commercial forms
- Centrelink and other forms may be privately billed at discretion of doctor. There is no Medicare rebates for visits not related to an illness
- Pre-employment and Driving medical assessments
- Cosmetic consultations and treatments are generally not covered by Medicare
- Ingrown toenail removal
- Excisions
Fees
All standard consultations are generally Bulk Billed Monday-Friday for patients with a valid Medicare card. Please note private fees may apply on weekends and public holidays.
Non-standard consultations and certain procedures like IUD removals, dressing changes using particular dressings, flu shots etc. attract an out of pocket fee. Reception staff will inform you prior if this applies to you.
Standard Hours (Monday to Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm) – All patients (Medicare card holders)
- Bulk Billed*
Standard Hours (Monday to Friday 8:00am to 6:00pm) – Private Patients without Medicare Card
- Standard Consultation Fee: $72.85
- Long consultaion Fee: $112.90
- Extended consultaion Fee: $152.15
Saturdays (before 1pm):
- Standard Consultation Fee: $72.85 Medicare rebate: $42.85 Gap: $30
- Long consultaion Fee: $112.90 Medicare rebate: $82.90 Gap: $30
- Extended consultaion Fee: $152.15 Medicare rebate: $122.15 Gap: $30
- Pensioners/Healthcare card holders and Children under 16 years: BULK BILLED*
Saturdays (after 1pm), Sundays and Public Holidays:
- Standard Consultation Fee: $85.80 Medicare rebate: $55.80 Gap: $30
- Long consultaion Fee: $125.70 Medicare rebate: $95.70 Gap: $30
- Extended consultaion Fee: $164.20 Medicare rebate: $134.20 Gap: $30
- Pensioners/Healthcare card holders and Children under 16 years: BULK BILLED*
* Bulk billed at Medicare rebate amount for standard consultations. Terms and conditions apply.
Non Attendance Policy (DNA)
Appointments that are missed or cancelled at the last minute interfere with appointment availability for other patients, as well as place a significant cost to our practice. If you are unable to attend your appointment, we require the following notice period so we can give your appointment to someone else otherwise the below fees apply.
- GP Standard appointment: minimum of 2 hours notice or $45 private fee applies.
- GP Procedures or Long appointment: minimum of 24 hours notice required or $90 fee will apply
- Allied Health:
- For Podiatry we require 24 hours notice or $45 fee applies.
- For Physiotherapy we require 24 hours notice or $30 fee applies.
- For Dietitian we require 24-hour notice or $45 fee applies
We send SMS reminder to all patients booked with GP a day in advance where you are asked to confirm whether you are able to attend or not. For allied health you will receive a call 1 day prior.
- Replying to the reminder SMS with a YES or Y confirms your intention to arrive
- Replying with a NO or N will automatically cancel your appointment making that time available for someone else.
Recalls and Reminder System
We SMART Recalls through to send secure recall notifications directly to your mobile. The message will contain name and phone number of our practice so you know it is from us, plus it will have a secure and unique link we want you to feel confident to open. By clicking the link it will verify patient by asking only the surname and date of birth of the person named in the message. For your privacy, after patient is verified, only then it will display the type of appointment required. No health information is shared in this message.
Our practice is committed to preventative health care. It is practice policy to enrol patients for Pap smears, Health Assessments, Asthma, Care plans and reviews, Diabetes, Immunisation, Contraception, Blood tests, Blood pressure and Cholesterol reminders appropriate to your individual care.
For a video of how SMART recalls works click here
Results Advice
To protect your privacy and ensure that all results are managed in accordance with Best Practice, staff at CGMC are unable to comment on or discuss any results over the phone. All results need to be discussed with your doctor, in person or over the phone.
We usually send a secure link to your mobile saying “Your doctor has requested you book a follow up appointment to discuss recent test results” with a link to book your appointment or you can call the practice and speak to our friendly receptionist to book for you. Please ensure a follow-up appointment is made to discuss your results with your doctor.
For a video of how SMART recalls works click here
Drug Policy
It is the general policy of this practice not to prescribe drugs of dependence. (For example Benzodiazepine, Narcotics etc). For new patients requesting certain restricted medications, you doctor will require your complete medical record.
We use SafeScript.
SafeScript is computer software that allows prescribing and dispensing records for certain high-risk medicines to be transmitted in real-time to a centralised database which can then be accessed by doctors and pharmacists during a consultation. SafeScript provides prescribers and pharmacists with a clinical tool to make safer decisions about the prescribing or dispensing of high-risk medicines, and facilitate the early identification, treatment and support for patients who are developing signs of dependence.
Home Visit & After Hours Service
Our practice employs the National Home Doctor Service to provide you after hours medical attention when the practice is closed.
You can call 137 425 (13SICK) to speak to doctor on duty.
The National Home Doctor service is FREE for valid Medicare Card holders, however they will advise if there are any other fees.
In certain circumstances we do provide home visits during normal hours of practice operation to regular patients if you are too sick to attend the surgery, providing you live in the practice local area.
Multilingual Services
We have male and female multi-lingual doctors at the practice to help you. If an interpreter is required, please let us know and we are happy to arrange one for you.
Hearing impaired patients can contact Casey Gate Medical Centre
Option 1: TTY – 1800 555 630
Option 2: Use National Relay Services (NRS) via website or instant messaging services (Skype and MSN) to enter (03) 9510 7888 to make a call.
Waiting times
We understand your time is valuable and that no one likes to be kept waiting, so we work hard to adhere to appointment schedules. It’s important to realise that our doctors take a holistic approach to patient care and will spend the necessary time to appropriately assess and complete each patient visit. We will do our very best to ensure we run on time and minimise any potential wait times.
You can help reduce waiting times by informing us if you require a longer consultation or if more than one family member will be consulting with the doctor. Pleas see “Appointments” below for further information.
Due to the unpredictable nature of medical practice, it means that doctors sometimes run late for a number of reasons:
Please feel free to call our surgery prior to your appointment to check whether your doctor is experiencing any unforeseen delays.
Feedback
In an effort to continually improve and provide the best service, we encourage patients to give feedback. If you think we are doing a fantastic job, or if you are unhappy about any aspect of the care you receive from this practice we are keen to know about it. Please feel free to talk to the practice manager about any problems you have with the service we provide.
You may want to leave a letter at reception for the attention of practice manager, or use our feedback form and drop in the suggestions box at reception. Alternatively you may prefer to email us at manager@caseygatemc.com.au
We believe that problems are best dealt within the practice. Indeed, we want to know if you are concerned about any aspect of our service. We will try our best to resolve any issues and obtain the best outcome. However, if the problem cannot be resolved to your satisfaction at the clinic, you may prefer to contact the Victorian Government centre that handles complaints. The address is:
Health Services Commissioner
30th Floor, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.
Telephone: (03) 8601 5200 or 1300 582 113
Fax: (03) 8601 5219