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.

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

Carepoint Medical Clinic is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.

A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au

What is Personal Information and why do we collect it?

Personal Information is information or an opinion that identifies an individual. Examples of Personal Information we collect include names, addresses, email addresses, phone and facsimile numbers.

This Personal Information is obtained in many ways including correspondence, by telephone and facsimile, by email, via our website, and from third parties. We don’t guarantee website links or the policy of authorized third parties.

We collect your Personal Information for the primary purpose of providing our services to you, providing information to our clients. We may also use your Personal Information for secondary purposes closely related to the primary purpose, in circumstances where you would reasonably expect such use or disclosure. You may unsubscribe from our mailing/marketing lists at any time by contacting us in writing.

When we collect Personal Information we will, where appropriate and where possible, explain to you why we are collecting the information and how we plan to use it.

Sensitive Information

Sensitive information is defined in the Privacy Act to include information or opinion about such things as an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, membership of a political association, religious or philosophical beliefs, membership of a trade union or other professional body, criminal record or health information.

Sensitive information will be used by us only:

• For the primary purpose for which it was obtained

• For a secondary purpose that is directly related to the primary purpose

• With your consent; or where required or authorised by law.

Third Parties

Where reasonable and practicable to do so, we will collect your Personal Information only from you. However, in some circumstances we may be provided with information by third parties. In such a case we will take reasonable steps to ensure that you are made aware of the information provided to us by the third party.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Your Personal Information may be disclosed in a number of circumstances including the following:

• Third parties where you consent to the use or disclosure; and

• Where required or authorised by law.

Security of Personal Information

Your Personal Information is stored in a manner that reasonably protects it from misuse and loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure.

When your Personal Information is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was obtained, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify your Personal Information. However, most of the Personal Information is or will be stored in client files which will be kept by us for a minimum of 7 years.

Access to your Personal Information

You may access the Personal Information we hold about you and to update and/or correct it, subject to certain exceptions. If you wish to access your Personal Information, please contact us in writing.

Carepoint Medical Clinic will not charge any fee for your access request, but may charge an administrative fee for providing a copy of your Personal Information.

In order to protect your Personal Information we may require identification from you before releasing the requested information.

Maintaining the Quality of your Personal Information

It is an important to us that your Personal Information is up to date. We will take reasonable steps to make sure that your Personal Information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the information we have is not up to date or is inaccurate, please advise us as soon as practicable so we can update our records and ensure we can continue to provide quality services to you.

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