APPOINTMENTS
The easiest way for you to see your doctor is to make an appointment. Appointments can be made in person or by telephone.
Doctors make every effort to see the appointment as close to the allocated time as possible, unavoidable delays can occur when our doctors must attend to a patient with complex or serious medical conditions. Certain consultations may require a longer appointment e.g. insurance/ pre-employment medicals/ health care plans or you may have problems that need more time to discuss. Please inform that receptionist when booking if you may require an extended appointment.
If you are unable to attend your appointment please notify our reception staff at least 2 hours in advance of your appointment time.
WALK-IN PATIENTS
The practice welcomes walk-ins and emergency patients. However, non-emergency walk-in patients will need to wait until the doctor has time to see them to maintain fairness for those who have booked an appointment.
CANCELLATIONS
If you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment, it is important that you notify us as soon as possible by phoning reception on 8555 1001 (ideally at least 2 hours prior to the scheduled time). This can help us to offer the appointment to other patients seeking medical assistance.
PRIVACY POLICY
Your medical record is a confidential document. Our policy is to maintain security of personal health information to ensure that this information is only available to authorized members of staff. Only information necessary to manage your healthcare and associated tasks will be collected. A copy of the Privacy Policy is available on request. (Our detailed Privacy Policy)
REFERRALS
Please ensure you have an up to date referral prior to your specialist appointment because referrals cannot be backdated. Failure to have a valid referral will result in you losing the Medicare rebate entitlement for the specialist appointment.
REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS
Please book an appointment with one of our doctors to obtain a prescription. This is to make sure that suitable medication is prescribed and allows the doctor to assess your ongoing needs and effectiveness of such medication.
FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS
The practice greatly values all feedback provided by both patient and staff for its continuous improvement. Feedback and complaints can be made in several ways, and the person providing feedback has the freedom to remain anonymous to eliminate all bias. Feedback forms are made accessible to patients by the entrance desk and at the reception counter. Online feedback is available through the Clarinda Medical Centre website.
Feedback is also welcomed through direct calls to the Centre to speak with practice manager.
All feedback will be reviewed by the practice manager and relevant actions will be brought up in staff meetings.
Further complaints can be made to Health Services Commissioner on phone: 1300 582 113 https://hcc.vic.gov.au/
COMMUNICATION POLICY
- Telephone: Our practice can be contacted by phone from 0930 to 1800 on Monday to Friday and 0930 to 1500 on Saturday. Our staff may use a triage system to assess the urgency of the call and will perform a 3-point identifier check.
- Policy in receiving and returning telephone calls: We aim to minimize interrupting the doctor to maintain the quality of consultations. Only urgent requests will be transferred to the doctor. Messages will be taken and documented for non-urgent requests for the doctor’s attention and action. All messages are recorded in our communication system.
- Emails: Emails are not a secure form of communication and are not encouraged by Clarinda Medical Centre. If you choose to contact the practice by email, this is considered as consent for our staff to reply via email. We endeavor to respond to emails within 24 hours.
- SMS: SMS may be sent as reminders for scheduled appointments, health reminders and recalls. Please update the practice if you change your mobile number.
- Reminder System: We may issue you with a reminder notice offering our preventative care services appropriate to your care. Please advise the reception staff if you do not wish to be part of this system. We participate in the National and State reminder systems. e.g. immunization, cytology.
- Receiving Results: Results will not be given over the phone by administrative staff. Your doctor will advise when results are expected to arrive. You may call the practice when you are ready to find out if your results need to be discussed with the doctor.
- Communicating with patients with special needs: A contact list of translator and interpreter services and services for patients with disability is maintained, updated regularly and readily available to all staff at reception. These include National Relay Service, AUSLAN services, Translation and interpreter services