fee policy
At Lagoon Medical Centre, we are passionate about providing a service which allows our patients to prioritise their health in an affordable and accessible way.
As of the 1st February 2023, Lagoon Medical Centre will transition into a mixed billing practice. Our fees will be renewed on an annual basis, taking into consideration the consumer price index, staff wages, rental increases, accreditation, insurances, information technology and medical consumables. Having access to healthcare is highly important to us, which is why we will continue to bulk bill on the weekdays the following criteria;
- Children and minors under 16 years
- Pension and Concession Card Holders
- Department of Veterans Affair Card Holders
- Chronic Disease Care Plans
- Health Assessments
- Mental Health Care Plans
If you do not fall in this criterion above, full payment will be required on the day of your appointment and your Medicare rebate will be processed online. Please review our fee structure below for further information;
| WEEKDAY CONSULTATION FEES (BETWEEN 8AM - 8PM) | |||
| SERVICES | FEE | MEDICARE REFUND | FINAL COST |
| Standard Consult | $75.00 | $39.75 | $35.25 |
| Long Consult | $120.00 | $76.95 | $43.05 |
| TELEPHONE CONSULTATIONS (All phone consults booked will attract the same fee as in person consults in line with the billing policy of the practice.) | |||
| SERVICES | FEE | MEDICARE REFUND | FINAL COST |
| Brief Consult | $65.00 | $18.20 | $46.80 |
| Standard Consult | $75.00 | $39.75 | $35.25 |
| Please note, new patients or patients who have not seen a GP face-to-face in the last 12 months are not eligible for a Medicare rebate. | |||
| AFTER HOURS, WEEKENDS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAY FEES (AFTER HOURS IS BETWEEN 7AM - 8AM, 8PM - 9PM ON THE WEEKDAYS, AFTER 1PM SATURDAY, ALL DAY SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS) | |||
| SERVICES | FEE | MEDICARE REFUND | FINAL COST |
| Standard Consult | $95.00 | $51.80 | $43.20 |
| Long Consult | $140.00 | $88.80 | $51.20 |
Please note that any procedures (i.e., skin biopsies, excisions, iron infusions, toenail wedge resections, ear syringing or micro-suction, lacerations, implanon insertion/removal, IUD insertion/removal etc), skin cancer assessments, will incur a private fee - Medicare rebates apply.
Services that are not covered by Medicare include Worker’s Compensation, Motor Vehicle Accident claims, Pre-Employment Medicals and Driver’s License Fitness to Drive medicals, overseas immunisation and immigration paperwork. There will be a fee for these services, please refer to our billing schedule or contact the clinic directly for costs.
We operate on an appointment based system. If you require urgent care and come in as a walk in patient, our staff will triage appropriately and advise you of any potential wait times and the out of pocket costs involved. The wait time may due to the nature of the urgency and doctor availability.
To view our current fee schedule, please click here.
To download and view our Practice Information Guide - please click here.
Failure to attend / Late Cancellation Policy
There is an increasing demand for bulk-billing appointments and due to the high number of non-attendances and late cancellations for GP appointments; to ensure equal access of care, we will charge a fee for any DNA or cancellation less than 2 hours prior to your appointment time.
Single Appointment $40.00
Double Appointment $80.00
Until this account is settled, your access to services at this practice will be suspended. An indefinite suspension may be issued to repeat offenders. There are many wasted appointments each day and this decision has been made to encourage attendance and adequate cancellation notice to allow access for other patients awaiting medical care.
Results If you have tests done, we encourage booking a follow up appointment with your doctor to discuss your results and any further management required.
Confidential information is not included in these letters. All personal information is stored on our clinical management software, which is specific and on a encrypted computer database. Patients are contacted for recalls and reminders by our Practice Nurses. |  |
continuous education
Our practice is committed to participating in ongoing professional development and education for all our staff - doctors, nurses and administration members.
privacy statement
We are consistent with our commitment to providing quality care; as such, our practice has developed a policy to protect patients privacy in compliance with privacy legislation.
To download and view our privacy policy, please click here.
Patient Health Information
communication policy
Our practice endeavours to provide patients with access to timely advice or information about their clinical care. We aim to communicate effectively and use simple, straight forward language and cross-check that patients have understood what has been said. This communication can occur through the following channels;
Face to face
This can be via consultation with your doctor, nurse or interactions with other staff members i.e., Practice manager or reception staff.
Telephone
Patients are able to contact the practice via the telephone between the hours of 7:00am – 9:00pm Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm Saturday and 8:00am – 2:00pm Sunday on (08) 6117 0480.
As the first point of contact, receptionist must review the triage support guide to ensure they are correctly addressing patient’s needs and concerns. Receptionists will often need to ask questions to determine that the patient receives the most appropriate care, at the most appropriate time. At times you may also be referred to speak to one of our practice nurses to determine the urgency or best course of action for your issue or concern.
Phone calls from patients requesting to speak to the doctor will not generally be put through at the time of the call. This is to minimise disruption to the doctor as they are usually in consultation with another patient and respectfully not wanting to interrupt their consultation. Doctors may take phone calls if time permits and at the doctor’s discretion.
Reception staff will ask the patient to briefly explain the reason for the call and will determine if the doctor should be interrupted or if a message can be given to the doctor to return the call at a later time. This may be throughout the day or after the doctor has finished consulting for the day. Where clinically significant information is discussed, a note will be made in the patient’s file.
Fax
Faxes received that are patient related are imported directly into the treating practitioner’s inbox to review and action, which then allocates into the patient’s file. Any urgent patient related faxes are immediately handed to the nurse on duty to flag with the doctor. If the nurse is unavailable or after hours, the results will be handed to the doctor or if that doctor is not available another doctor in the practice will review the fax. All non-patient related faxes are given to the relevant staff member.
All outgoing faxes will be accompanied with a practice cover sheet advising details of who the fax is addressed to, fax number, number of pages and confidentiality and privacy notice.
Results
It is the practice policy that results will be given out during a follow up consultation with a doctor only. Under exceptional circumstances (with the treating doctor’s approval) the nurse on duty may be able to advise over the telephone, providing that the patient has given the three approved patient identifiers.
Email is not a secure form of communication and we do not use this to communicate personal information to patients without their consent. Whilst we make every effort to keep your information secure it is important for patients to be aware of the risks associated with electronic communication, in that the information could potentially be compromised and accessed by someone other than the intended recipient. Patients must be aware that any communication they direct to the surgery via email is also NOT secure and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Patients communicating through email do so at their own risk. This is obtained when patients sign and declare on the new patient registration forms.
If you do choose to contact the surgery via email this will be considered as patient consent to reply via email. We endeavour to reply to all emails within two (2) business days. Our emails are checked on a regular basis by the receptionists (reception@lagoonmedicalcentre.com.au) and practice manager (admin@lagoonmedicalcentre.com.au), however they are not constantly monitored. If you have an issue that requires urgent attention, we request that you contact the practice via telephone.
Our practice has a declaration and acknowledgement on each email and reply signature stating the following:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thank you for emailing Lagoon Medical Centre. Please note, emails will be responded to within 2 business days. If you require immediate action regarding the nature of your email please phone our clinic on (08) 6117 0480 during clinic hours, which are 7:00am – 9:00pm Monday to Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm Saturday and 8:00am – 2:00pm Sunday. If you require urgent medical attention please call 000 or attend your closest emergency department.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
The information contained in this email (including any attachments) are confidential and intended solely for the use of the named addressee. If you have received this email in error, please immediately advise us by return email (admin@lagoonmedicalcentre.com.au) and delete the email document. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any perusal, use, distribution, copying or disclosure is strictly prohibited.
SMS
SMS messages are sent for a variety of health management purposes which may include;
- Appointment reminders are sent the day prior to confirm your appointment
- Health reminders (i.e., cervical screening reminders, care plans, health assessments)
- Health recalls (i.e., follow up of test results). We need to ensure that your mobile number is up to date and at each visit to ensure that this information is sent to the correct number. Patients must be aware that if another person can access their mobile phone, then the confidentiality of these communications cannot be protected by the practice.
Post
From time to time, letters may be sent to eligible patients and for health reminders and recalls for patients who do not have a mobile number or land line, or who have opted out of our electronic messaging systems.
Incoming mail is collected and opened each day. Letters that are received that are patient related are stamped with the received date, and directly imported into the treating practitioner’s inbox, which is reviewed and actioned and directly placed into the patient’s medical record. All remaining letters are provided to the addressee.
Website
Our practice’s website is updated regularly with new information. You can also locate our opening hours, about our practice, information regarding our fees and services, book appointments online, view our doctor’s profiles and view our contact information. Our website also includes access to our Email and Privacy Policy and patient information guide (PDF format).
Our Facebook page provides general health updates and practice information. This page however, is intended for announcements only by Lagoon Medical Centre and not for the provision of individual medical advice. If you have any queries or questions, we ask that you please contact the practice via telephone.
Communicating with patients with special needs
A contact list of translator and interpreter services and services for patients with a disability is maintained, updated regularly and readily available to all staff at reception. These include:
• National Relay Service (NRS) found here
• Auslan services 1300 AUSLAN
• Translation and Interpreter Service (TIS) Doctors Priority Line 1300 131 450
home visits
Our doctors can provide home visits, enquiries can be made by talking to one of our receptionists, however the provision of these visits are at the discretion of the treating practitioner. If for any reason one of our doctors is not able to see you at home, or you are unable to come into the practice, please contact Dial-A-Doctor on Phone: 1300 030 030 or Night Doctor on Phone: 1300 644 483.