‘Out of Pocket’ Fee
‘Out of Pocket’ relates to the end cost, after your Medicare rebate is refunded to you ‘on the spot’.
The same ‘Out of Pocket’ fee applies for both in clinic and phone consultations.
Patients who don’t have a Medicare card, aren’t eligible for an ‘on the spot’ rebate. They will be charged the full consult fee.
Discount Fees
A $10 discount is offered to children 15 and under, concession card holders and pensioners, on weekday appointments prior to 5pm.
Standard fees apply for all other times.
WorkCover and Traffic Accident Commission Fees
WorkCover and TAC patients will be required to pay the usual practice fees and seek their own reimbursement from WorkCover or TAC.
Payments
Doctors of Northcote is a private billing practice.
Fees are to be paid on the day of consultation.
Fees that aren’t paid on the day will require external processing via your personal myGov account, in order for you to receive your Medicare rebate.
Unpaid accounts exceeding 7 days may be charged an administration fee for debt recovery.
We do not accept cash, cheques, AMEX or bank transfers.
EFTPOS merchant fees are passed onto the patient for use of debit and credit cards.
Appointment Recommendations
We recommend a 15 minute standard consultation for patients with simple medical needs.
For example, someone who might need a script or medical certificate.
A 30 minute long consultation is recommended for patients with more involved medical needs.
For example, mental health discussions, full skin check, travel health and post natal appointments.
The same ‘out of pocket’ fee applies for 15/30 minute appointments.
Cancellation Policy
We understand our patients run busy lives and that you may need to cancel an appointment occasionally.
To give other patients a chance to be treated, please contact us at least 4 hours before your appointment time to avoid a cancellation fee.
If you no-show to an appointment, cancel or reschedule within 4 hours, a cancellation fee is payable. The fees are as follows:
New patient Appointment – full fee
15 minute appointment – $40
30 minute appointment – $80
Consideration to waive the cancellation fee may be given under compassionate grounds and is at the doctor’s discretion.
Results
In most cases, you’ll need to book an appointment to talk through your results. This way, we can ensure a consistently high level of care.
Blood tests and radiology reports will usually take 2-3 days to return to your GP for review. Some specialised pathology tests are sent to reference labs, which in some cases are interstate and results can take more than a week to return.
Once your test results have been reviewed by your GP, you’ll receive a call or SMS asking you to book an appointment to discuss your results.
Under special circumstances, you may receive an SMS informing you that your results are normal. However, if you feel the issue has not resolved or you feel it requires further assessment – please make a review appointment with your doctor.
If you don’t have a review appointment booked and you don’t hear from us within the timeframes mentioned above, please call us and we will follow up on the status of your results for you.