FAQ's

Most of the standard consultations are Medicare claimable with Gap fee. 

There is an out of pocket expense of approximately $20 for standard and long appointments on weekdays. 

All Saturday and Public holiday appointments are approximately upto $32 out of pocket, the fees will be depending on time of the consult. 

All accounts need to be paid at the point of service, we do not hold accounts. There will be a late fee charged if there is a delay in payment.

All Chronic Disease Care plans and Health assessments will be bulk billed. 

Patients with Health care card, Pension card, DVA card holders and kids under the age of 16 years are bulk billed without a Gap fee.

Are there any Charges involved for procedures?

Yes, all surgical procedures are charged $50 -$300 out of pocket depending on the procedure.

Procedures will not be bulk billed to any patient irrespective of health card or pension status. 

Please discuss the fees with the Doctor at the time of your appointment.

Iron infusion 

Iron infusion will not be performed without having an initial consultation with the Doctor. It is up to the Dr's discretion if they can provide the infusion, A follow up appointment should be booked after consulting the Doctor. 

Private Vaccines

Price will be dependent on the vaccine you receive, consultation fee will be charged for administering the vaccines, these consults can be bulk billed or privately charged at Doctors Discretion. 

We can deny to book appointment if administering charges are refused to pay. 

 Please check with Reception for Price of vaccines. 

• We have been bulk billing  for past 8+ years though Medicare rebates have not increased as per cost of living, which increased our practice running costs, in some areas as much as 100%. we are left with no choice but to move to Mixed billing. As an example, for a standard consultation MBS Item 23, Medicare rebate in Dec 2012 was $35.60 and now in June 2022 it is $39.10, an increase of $2.80 in 10 years or a overall increase of 7% in 10 years.
• When we bulk bill we are effectively taking a 50% discount from the AMA advised rate. This is no longer sustainable .
• Please feel free to contact our local members of parliament to lobby for appropriate primary care funding to ensure we can maintain quality care at an affordable price for the community we care deeply about.

  Isn’t your centre funded by government? Don’t Medicare pay for all your costs?

  • No, we are not funded directly by government or Medicare. We are a private business like most other small businesses. Our majority of income come from fees paid by the patient for their visit to see the GPs.
• What other costs do practice have? Isn’t the Medicare rebate enough to run the practice?
  • We are a private business like most other small businesses and have similar costs including rent, staff wages, power bill, telephone bills, IT, medical supplies, office/IT supplies, cleaning etc. Medicare rebate has only increased by 7% overall in last 10 years. 

• How do I get my Medicare Rebate back?

  • If you have registered your bank account details with Medicare, our system allows us to process your rebate (refund) to your account as soon as possible. Please ask our friendly staff for more details.

TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENTS

All Telehealth consultation appointments will incur a private fees with an upfront payment before booking the appointment. (This fee will apply to Healthcare card holders, pension care card holder and Children)

Standard fee for Telehealth on weekdays is $60, Saturday 9 am to 1 pm is $70.

Saturday 1 pm to 5 pm and Sundays will be $80. 

Scripts will be sent to your mobile phones, if you have a valid Medicare card. If the scripts are doesn't have access to smart phone or not able to receive the script, we advise patients to pick the scripts from reception after your consultation.

If the payment is declined before seeing the Doctor, your telehealth appointment will not proceed as scheduled.  (We strictly do not hold accounts and all outstanding amounts to be paid on the same day). A Late fee will be charged if not obliged.

Results will not be given on the Phone by staff, an appointment is required to discuss the results with your Doctor. 

If you need a printed copy of the results, please speak to your Doctor at the time of your appointment as staff does not have access and not authorized to such documents.

If you are seeing an other practitioner in a different clinic, we will not be able to send any results without sending Authority signed by patient. This is also applicable to any other practitioners within Australia due to privacy laws. 

Patients without a valid or expired Medicare card will be charged for $60 for a standard appointment, this will vary with the type of consult, each patient is charged individually when visiting with a family.

We need a valid Medicare or Insurance card on the day of your consult. If the card in not valid on the day for any reason. There will a charge of $60 for a standard consultation and any other fees depending on the consult type.

We will invoice a receipt and the patient can claim the rebate from Medicare or insurer later. We don't hold on accounts.

If the patient walks out of the clinic with out payment, abusive and threating to staff. Patient will be banned permanently from the clinic. 

We charge $30 for patients who fail to attend or do not cancel their appointment with 2 hours notice. This will be payable at the time of next consultation before seeing the Doctor.  

No email correspondence will occur with patients.

No files will be transferred in the emails as these are strictly confidential documents and can only be requested at the time of your consultation with the Doctor or by obtaining a request of medical information from other practice. 

There is an Exempt for Medical Certificates from telehealth appointments only. 

We are not able to transfer a call to the Doctor as they might be busy with their patients. If you need to consult a Doctor we can offer a Telehealth appointments. If you have an emergency and want to see a Doctor please let the Reception know about the nature of call so they can triage you appropriately.

We encourage you appointments for Scripts and referrals, they will not be issued over the phone without an appointment.

A private fee of $15 should be paid for any scripts without an appointment(this is not claimable from Medicare). However, if a patient has not been reviewed at the clinic in the past 6 months, they must come to see the Doctor to review.

This Medical Practice has a Zero Tolerance for abusive and/or threatening behaviour towards our Staff and Doctors either in person or on the Phone.

This includes shouting and  swearing, aggressive actions, verbal threats and harassment, inappropriate gestures, discrimination remarks, property damage,name calling and refusing to leave the property.

Any one engaging in this type of conduct will be required to leave the clinic, the police may be called and/or the individuals may face dismissal from our practice.

Patient Privacy Policy

Why and when your consent is necessary?

​When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

​Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

What personal information do we collect?

​The information we will collect about you includes your:

• Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details

• Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunizations, social history, family history, and risk factors

• Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes

• Healthcare identifiers

• Health fund details

​

Dealing with us anonymously

​You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorized by law to only deal with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

​Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.

When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.

​During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.

​We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.

​In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from your guardian or responsible person, other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services, your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (as necessary).

​

When, why, and with whom do we share your personal information?

​We sometimes share your personal information: 

• With third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply With APPs, and this policy

• With other healthcare providers

• When it is required or authorized by law (eg court subpoenas)

• When it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent

• To assist in locating a missing person

• To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim or the purpose of a confidential dispute resolution process

• When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg. some diseases require mandatory notification)

• During the course of providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).

​

Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.

​

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.

Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

​Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. Electronic records, visual records including but not limited to ECG’s X-rays CTs audio recordings.

Our practice stores all personal information securely.

Via electronic format, in protected information. These are accessed by clinical staff using individual password-protected logins. Confidentiality agreements are compulsory for all staff and contractors.

​How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?

​You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing and our practice will respond within a reasonable time. Fees are associated with the preparation and transfer of full medical history however a patient summary can be issued free of charge.

Your personal information can be forwarded directly to the clinic of your choice or emailed password protected.

Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing via email to practicemanager@carepointmedical.com.au. We may also request photo identification if you are not known to staff.

Policy Updates

This Policy may change from time to time and is available on our website.

Privacy Policy Complaints and Enquiries

If you have any queries or complaints about our Privacy Policy please contact us at:

PO Box 42570 Care point Medical Clinic

Casuarina NT 0811

practicemanager@carepointmedical.com.au

08 8920 5555

If you have a complaint or feedback regarding our services, please do not hesitate call us at 08 8920 5555. 

practicemanager@carepointmedical.com.au 

If your complaint is not resolved, you can contact.

The Health & Community Services Complaints Commission has been set up to give members of the community a means of effectively making a complaint about health services in the Northern Territory.

The Health & Community Services
Complaints Commission
Toll Free: 1800 004 474
Ph: 08 8999 1969
Fax: 08 8999 6067
GPO Box 4409 Darwin 080