Appointments

We support the independent GPs consulting at HealthMint by running an appointment-based schedule to allow appropriate time to be allocated to each patient’s needs.

This appointment system allows for times to be kept open to fit in any urgent / on the day problems. Urgent medical problems will be dealt with promptly.

When booking, please advise the staff if your problem is urgent, if you require a long appointment, need a special medical examination or if more than one family member needs to be seen.

Please attend the reception desk before and after seeing the doctor.

 

Cancellations and missed appointments

If a patient does not show up, or give notice at least

3 hours prior to a GP appointment, the doctors reserve the right to charge a fee equivalent to 100% of the full consultation amount (Medicare rebate + gap).

48 hours prior to an allied health appointment, the allied health practitioners reserve the right to charge a fee equivalent to 100% of the full consultation amount (Medicare rebate + gap) for appointments altered less than 24 hours prior to scheduled time and 50% of the full consultation amount (Medicare rebate + gap) for appointments altered less than 48 hours prior to scheduled time.

These fees will be added onto the patient’s account, and must be settled prior to the next appointment. 

If a patient cancels their appointment without sufficient notice or fails to attend 3 times within a 6 month period, the practitioners reserve the right to do the following: no longer make appointments available for the patient, or to restrict the times of the week in which the patient is offered appointments and/or require payment to be made at the time of booking the appointment.

Pricing and payment

Part of our philosophy is to focus on supporting independent doctors who provide high-quality services. Therefore there is a gap fee for most consultations. These can be viewed in detail on our pricing page.

Payment is required on the day of the appointment, or a late payment charge will apply. Please refer to the section on late payments.

We offer on the spot rebates through our card payment facility, so that you can instantly receive your medicare rebate straight back onto a debit card and into your account!

Before your consultation, you will be sent a message, via HotDoc, prompting you to provide credit card details in order to secure your consultation. This helps to make the checkout process smoother and also removes the need for you to call the practice after a telehealth appointment to make payment. It also helps to drastically reduce the amount of ‘no-shows’, where the appointment could have been allocated to another person in need.

HotDoc will securely store your card details and take payment for appointments after they have occurred. For more details regarding how HotDoc ensures the privacy and security of your information, click this link:https://help.hotdoc.com.au/hc/en-gb/articles/204573810-Privacy-and-Security-at-HotDoc

 

Late payments

Payment is required on the day of the appointment. Accounts that have not been settled on the day will have a $15 late fee added.

Accounts that have not been settled within 14 days of the appointment will incur a late fee of $15 per week for every week that the account has not been settled.

Costs of Recovery – where a patient has an unpaid account, they shall pay for all costs actually incurred by us in the recovery of any monies owed in relation to this account, including recovery agent costs, repossession costs, location search costs, process server costs and solicitor costs on a solicitor/client basis.

 

Results of medical tests

To obtain the results of any tests, please make a further appointment with your doctor.

Please ask the doctor at the time of your appointment, how long it will take for these results to be received by the clinic so that a convenient appointment time can be made.

To maintain confidentiality, results will not be given over the phone.

 

Telephoning your doctor

To give each patient the best consultation possible, we do not pass on phone calls to the practitioners while they are consulting. Practice staff are happy to take a message and pass this on. Practice staff will either reply on the doctor’s behalf or if it is appropriate the doctor will return your call at their discretion.

 

Home visits

We encourage patients to come to the practice, if at all possible, so the independent doctors can deliver optimal care with full access to practice facilities and equipment.

Regular patients who are unable to attend the surgery because of their debilitating condition will be referred to their usual doctor who will assess the request on its merits and make appropriate arrangements in each case.

 

After hours care

In the event of an emergency, please call 000 for an ambulance.

If you need a doctor after hours, please call DoctorDoctor on 13 26 60 or visit doctordoctor.com.au to book online. Please note that out of pocket costs may apply in some circumstances.

 

Electronic communication

Patients are able to obtain advice or information related to their care or appointment reminders by electronic means, where the doctor or clinic determines this is appropriate. Electronic communication includes: email, fax, and SMS. Individual doctors will determine how they communicate electronically with patients.

It should be noted by patients that electronic communications have the potential to be compromised. If you do not wish to be contacted electronically, please let a member of our staff know.

Email is not an appropriate format for urgent communications, as doctors may only check their email accounts every few hours.

Repeat Prescriptions

You can request a repeat script using the ‘Quick Repeats’ function of our online booking platform. If your GP agrees that it is clinically appropriate, then they will arrange that for you. If they do not agree that it is clinically appropriate to issue it without an appointment, then you will need to book an appointment in order to arrange your script.

To request a Quick Repeat, please use the HotDoc booking platform either through our website or the HotDoc app.

Each request will be considered on an individual basis, and agreement to issue a repeat prescription without consultation will not automatically mean this will be repeated at the next request.

 

Lost or missed paperwork

You can request to be reissued with a lost/misplaced prescription or referrals via the Quick Repeat function mentioned above. A charge will be applicable for this.

 

Recall system

All patients are enrolled in our Recall Reminder System. This is a computer generated Reminder System. You will receive text messages from us with a link to a secure message. As the reminders can contain sensitive information, in order to read the secure message you will need to enter some basic details to verify your identity.

If at any time you wish to be removed from this, please let one of our receptionists know.

 

Medical records

We operate a computer-based medical record system. Should any of your personal details change, please ask to have your records amended on arrival.

Please make sure that your Medicare card and any Health Care or Pension Concession Cards are valid and up to date.

 

Medical record transfers

If you wish to have your previous health record transferred to an independent doctor consulting at HealthMint, please speak with our receptionists. You will be required to sign a simple form to send to your previous clinic. Usually clinics send through a health summary, at which point your GP may request a more detailed record. This may incur a small fee from the previous practice.

 

Management of your personal health information

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is our policy to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised persons involved in patient care. If you require a copy of your health information we will need to receive a request in writing and signed. A fee will be charged for retrieval of your record in line with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

 

Privacy

HealthMint Medical Centre is fully committed to respecting your privacy and takes its obligations seriously. We adhere to the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 and subsequent Amendments, the Victorian Health Records Act 2001 and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). A copy of our Privacy Policy is available here and at Reception.

 

Health promotion and prevention

HealthMint encourages patients to explore options for health prevention and promotion. Some of the independent doctors consulting at HealthMint clinics offer comprehensive health checks for all ages, which involve a thorough assessment of your health status and a forward plan for reaching your health goals. This is aimed not just at patients who have a prevailing health issue, but also those who would like to learn how to avoid encountering health issues in the future. Please speak to reception if you would like to arrange a Health Assessment session.

 

Communications services

If an interpreter is required, the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) can be contacted on
131 450.

Visual or hearing impaired patients can contact NRS TTY 1800 555 630(free)

 

Feedback

HealthMint is receptive to feedback and will always endeavour to resolve any complaints directly. Please feel free to speak with your doctor or any staff or to email any feedback to reception@healthmint.com.au

Where a matter cannot be resolved, the Health Services Commissioner can be contacted by the practice or by the patient for advice and possible mediation:

 

Health Services Commissioner
30th Floor, 570 Bourke Street
Melbourne Vic 3000

Telephone:             (61 3) 8601 5200
Toll Free:                  1800 136 066

Fax No.:                    (61 3) 8601 5219
TTY No.                     1300 550 275
E-mail:                      hsc@dhs.vic.gov.au

For more frequently asked questions click here

Zero Tolerance Policy

All our staff and the independent practitioners that consult at HealthMint are highly trained and dedicated to treating you with courtesy and respect at all times while serving you. In return, we ask that you, and anyone that you bring with you to our practice, treat our administrative and clinical staff as well as the independent practitioners consulting at HealthMint with the same courtesy and respect.

We have a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY approach to any aggressive and/or violent behaviour towards our staff and/or the independent practitioners consulting at HealthMint and/or other patients. We respectfully advise that abuse, both verbal and/or physical in nature, will not be tolerated.

If a patient, or anyone a patient brings with them to our practice, is abusive, aggressive and/or violent towards our staff and/or other patients in our practice, the police will be called and will result in removal of offending participants from our practice and an immediate cease of ongoing care.

Failure to disclose potential viral symptoms or COVID-19 exposure is also unacceptable. Should this occur, and be deemed an intensional withholding of information, we will not be able to continue providing care at our practice.

The physical and mental well-being of all of our staff and independent doctors is vital to the functioning of our practice and part of our core values. This policy is in place to ensure we are able to protect their wellbeing.