Practice Information

 When possible, appointments should be made with your regular Doctor, as this will improve your ongoing care by providing continuity.

If your doctor is not available, our staff will organise for you to see an alternative doctor. Practice staff are vigilant at providing patients with an urgent appointment on the day as necessary.

A standard appointment is for 10 - 15 minutes, that allows the discussion of 1-2 matters or the review of an ongoing condition.

Certain consultations such as insurance & workplace medicals, mental health, complex medical problems, cervical screening and minor procedures can take longer than a standard appointment. When booking your appointment please tell the receptionist that you may require a longer appointment.

                                                                                PRIVATE              CONCESSION           REBATE 

Item 23 - Consult less than 20 minutes           $103.00                     $93.00                   $42.85

Item 36 - Consult 20 minutes or more             $145.00                   $135.00                    $82.90

Item 44 - Consult 40 minutes or more             $191.00                   $181.00                   $122.15

Item 123 - Consult 60 minutes or more           $286.00                   $276.00                   $197.90

Item 2715 - Mental Health Plan                        $165.30                   $155.30                    $103.70

Item 2712 - Review Mental Health Plan          $143.30                   $133.30                    $81.70

Please note: Saturday morning consultations will incur an additional $10 surcharge.

Payment for consultations is required on the day.

Bulk Billing is not available for appointments in our Saturday morning urgent clinic.

We understand that something may come up preventing you from attending an appointment. If you cannot keep your appointment or you need to reschedule it, you can do it over the phone or in person.

We know that your time is valuable, as is our doctor's and staff. As a busy medical practice we require notice if you cannot keep your appointment so that your appointment time may be used by another patient.

Any missed appointment without notification will incur non - attendance fee of $50.

Cancellation of any appointment that is booked for 40 minutes or more such as Chronic Disease Care Plans, Spirometry and Procedures with less than 12 hours' notice will incur a fee of $50.

The fees incurred for a missed appointment or late cancellation is not rebatable through Medicare, and must be paid prior to your next appointment.

If there are any circumstances beyond your control which prevent you from cancelling your appointment with sufficient notice you should let us know as soon as possible.

Due to COVID-19 temporary MBS telehealth items have been made available to help reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 and provide protection for patients and health care providers. 

TeleHealth appointments can be provided for any patient with respiratory symptoms or by exceptional circumstances.

A fee for TeleHealth consultations applies. You may be eligible for a Medicare rebate on your TeleHealth appointment providing you have had at least one face-to-face service with our practice in the 12 months preceding the telehealth attendance.

It is appreciated if patients telephone for test results 1-2 days after your investigations. For anything other than straightforward test results, it may be best for you to make an appointment to see your doctor to discuss them thoroughly. When the results are reviewed and an abnormality is found requiring an appointment, we will attempt to contact you. Please ensure that we have your current contact phone numbers and address.

Please be aware that when you are referred by your doctor for pathology tests, imaging or if you are referred to see a specialist you may incur Out of Pocket Expenses. It is not common practice for items to be Bulk - Billed.

It is advised to enquire regarding these costs when making an appointment with the appropriate health provider.

Requests for repeat prescriptions are left to the doctor's discretion. We require 48 hours notice for requests. Staff cannot guarantee that the doctor will provide all prescriptions that are requested, it is policy of our practice that any script request for controlled medications (SCHEDULE 8) requires an appointment. 

For all other requests patients are asked to call prior to collection to make certain that the doctor does not require a consultation. A prescription fee of $10.00 will be levied for repeat prescriptions outside of an appointment. This does not attract a Medicare rebate.

If you have an appointment with a specialist you will require a letter of referral from your treating doctor. As this letter is valid for a specific period, please ensure that your referral is current prior to your next visit to the specialist. A referral fee of $10.00 will be levied for referral requests outside of an appointment. This does not attract a Medicare rebate.

It is a legal requirement under the Medicare Act that a referral to a specialist can only be given after "due consideration by the treating physician". Therefore, it is necessary that you are seen by your doctor. 

A referral cannot be backdated after the patient has been seen. The Health Insurance Act makes it an offence to offer a false statement relating to Medicare benefits, backdating a referral is fraud.

The Highton Clinic's after hours coverage is provided by The National Home Visiting Doctor Service.
They provide home visits Monday - Friday 6pm to 8am, from Saturday 12pm right through to 8am Monday and all Public Holidays.

This service is for established patients of this practice and a fee may be charged.

If you are unable to contact The Home Visiting Doctor Service, and require urgent medical attention please call an ambulance on 000.

If you are likely to have difficulties with the ramp leading to our front door, or through the chemist please let our reception staff know. They will be able to assist you entering and exiting our rear entrance. 

Our practice is committed to preventative care. 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 a part of this system please let us know at reception. 

New patients to the practice can request a transfer of medical records from your previous practice, please ask our reception staff for a transfer form.

Transfer requests for existing records with our practice may incur a transfer fee.

In accordance with the Health Records Act 2001 and Health Records Regulations 2023, we charge a minimal fee for electronic copies of $20.00 and paper based copies 20 per page plus postage for supplying patient histories to another practice.

If you have chosen to leave our clinic and subsequently wish to return to our practice in the future please note our new patient policies would apply to you. 

This may mean we are unable to accommodate the practitioner of your choice.

New patient policies are regularly updated, please call reception for our current policy. 

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.

A full copy of our privacy policy can be found below or is available at reception.

Telephone:

Patients can contact the Practice via telephone between the hours of 8:30am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday and between 9am and 12noon on a Saturday.

Our Doctors are available to speak with patients if medically necessary. Reception staff will ask the patient to briefly explain the reason for the call to determine if the Doctor should be interrupted during a consultation or an internal message sent.

Fax:

All patient related faxes are scanned directly into the patients’ medical record for review by doctor. Any urgent patient related faxes are immediately handed to the Doctor. If the Doctor is not available the fax will be given to their delegate. Any faxes not patient related are handed to the relevant staff member.

Email:

The Highton Clinic email address is not encrypted and therefore is not a secure way of communicating patient health information. 

Whilst not encouraged, our practice allows patients an opportunity to obtain advice or information related to their care by email, but only where the general practitioner determines that communication by email is suitable. 

Our practice’s primary reason for communicating electronically to patients is to issue appointment reminders, accounts for consultations or following a Telehealth consultation to provide the medical certificate or referrals. The correct details of the patient are to be verified at the time of the appointment being made and within a Telehealth consultation.

All emails sent contain the following disclaimer:

Important Notice: The contents of this email are intended solely for the named addressee and are confidential; any unauthorised use, reproduction or storage of the contents is expressly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and any attachments immediately and advise the sender by return email or telephone.
The Highton Clinic does not warrant that this email and any attachments are error or virus free.

Our practice will only provide information that is of a general, non-urgent nature and will not initiate electronic communication (other than SMS appointment / account reminders) with patients. Any electronic communication received from patients is also used as a method to verify the contact details we have recorded on file are correct and up-to-date. 

We do not encourage medical and allied professionals to use this form of communication. We encourage all health professionals to send patient information using an encrypted messaging system. 

Website:

The Practice’s website is updated regularly with new information. We use Health Engine online appointments which is available via our website or by downloading the App. 

SMS:

We send SMS appointment reminders the day before appointments by consent.

Social Media:

The Highton Clinic does not utilise any social media platforms such as Facebook, X or Instagram.

Practice Information Brochure:

Our Practice Information Brochure is available at Reception. or on the webpage. This brochure will keep you up to date with current practice information and policies.

All practitioners have access to the Translating & Interpreting Service National by phoning 131 450.

Patients with hearing difficulties are encouraged to utilise the National Auslan Booking & Payment service by phoning 1800 246 945.

To assist with ongoing quality and improvement patient feedback is appreciated. Our suggestion box can be found in our waiting room.

If you are happy with the service we provide we would be grateful to hear from you.

If you are unhappy with the service then we feel it is even more important to hear for you so we can take steps to rectify the problem.

We feel that problems are best dealt with within the practice and would encourage you to speak to your Doctor or Practice Manager.

If you feel the matter can not be discussed you may prefer to contact:

Victorian Health Services Commissioner

Level 30 - 570 Bourke Street

Melbourne, VIC 3000

PH: 03 8601 5222