Your Local Family Medical Centre
18 Sinclair St, Drouin VIC 3818, Australia
Patient Forms & Resources
Access essential patient forms and resources to streamline your visit and ensure a smooth healthcare experience with us.
APPOINTMENTS
Appointments may be made by calling the clinic or online via HotDoc. Please ask our receptionists how you can book your online appointment. The practice also accepts walk-in or on-the-day appointments.
The duration of a standard appointment is 15 minutes. If you require a longer appointment, are a new patient, require a medical report, review of a complex health problem, counselling, or emotional difficulties, or if more than one family member wants to see the doctor, please advise reception so they can ensure enough time is allocated.
TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENTS
Telehealth Appointments are available. Patients can book online through our HotDoc booking platform or call, or attend the practice. Note Medicare rebates are only available, however, if a patient has attended the practice in person within the last 12 months.
All telehealth appointments are bulk billed, provided the patient has Medicare eligibility as stated above.
AFTER HOURS
For after-hours and the days the clinic is closed, please call Doctor Doctor on 132660 between 8:00pm – 9:00am Monday to Friday and Saturday 2:00pm –Monday 9am.
In the event of an emergency, please call 000 for an ambulance.
CANCELLATION POLICY
We kindly request that you notify us well in advance if you are unable to attend your appointment. For patients who fail to attend an appointment or do not advise of their cancellation within 12 hours of their scheduled appointment time, a cancellation fee of $44.00 for GP services and $90 for allied health services may be charged.
HOME VISITS
We encourage patients to come to the practice if at all possible, so we can deliver optimal care with full access to practice facilities and equipment.
House calls and visits to residential aged care facilities are available to patients who are local residents if they are too ill or incapacitated to attend the surgery. These visits will be at the discretion of the doctor.
COMMUNICATION SERVICES
Patients who do not speak English or who are more proficient in another language may utilise the Translating and Interpreter Service Tel: 1300 131450. Alternatively, a friend or family member may aid with translation.
For hearing-impaired patients, the services of AUSLAN (Tel: 1300 287526) are available.
Please discuss your needs with reception.
FEES
We are a bulk billing clinic. Please note, however, for non-Medicare rebatable consultations, out-of-pocket costs apply. Please ask reception for further information and a copy of the current fee schedule. Allied Health services may also incur out-of-pocket expenses. Please ask reception for further information and a copy of the current allied health fee schedule.
REMINDERS AND RECALLS
The practice uses a computerised reminder system to provide systematic healthcare.
Reminders are used for Health Assessments, Care Plans, Vaccinations, Pap Smears, and other matters considered to be important for patient care and prevention. Patients will be consulted before their participation is confirmed, and are able to opt out at any time.
PHONE CALLS AND EMAILS
We understand the importance of our patients being able to have access to a member of the clinical team by telephone or electronic means to discuss their care when circumstances make it impossible to attend the clinic for an appointment. However, it is not our standard practice to forward calls to the GPs, and patient queries generally require an in-person appointment.
Reception staff will either attempt to resolve the enquiry or ensure that a message is sent to the doctor or nurse requested if that is necessary. We advise our patients only to communicate with us via email for matters of a general nature, as privacy and confidentiality are not guaranteed with this method.
Patient Email Policy
Communicating via email to our patients
Before communicating with a patient via email, we always ensure that we have obtained and documented our patient’s consent in their health records upon registration. Generally, our practice will only provide information that is of a general, non-urgent nature. Whilst not encouraged, our practice allows patients an opportunity to obtain advice or information related to their care by electronic means such as email but only where the general practitioner determines that a face-to-face consultation or telehealth appointment is unnecessary and agrees to communication by email. To maintain confidentiality, any email sent by the practice is encrypted through our Best Practice clinical software. The practice also uses an email disclaimer notice on outgoing emails that are affiliated with the practice stating: This message is strictly confidential and should only be used by the intended addressee. If you are sent this message by error, please inform us immediately by phone and delete the document.
Receiving email from our patients
Note also that any information received by the patient is also used as a method to verify contact details we have recorded on file are current and up to date.
Our patients are fully informed that any information they chose to send is subject to risk that the information could be intercepted, read by someone other than the intended recipient and also forwarded on.
As a practice, other professional and security measures we take are:
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Refrain from responding to unsolicited or unwanted emails
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Delete hoaxes or chain emails
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Emails from unknown senders are not opened
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Virus checking all email attachments
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Maintain appropriate professional language when communicating
TEST RESULTS
An appointment is required for all test results. To maintain confidentiality, results will not be given over the phone by the receptionist.
Please ask your doctor at the time of your appointment how long it will take for your test results to be received so that a convenient appointment can be made.
All results are checked and assessed by your doctor. If a result requires urgent action, a doctor or nurse will make immediate phone contact with you to make an urgent appointment.
REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS AND REFERRALS
The policy of the practice, and for medico-legal purposes, is that an appointment is required with your doctor for repeat prescriptions and referrals.
FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS
This clinic is keen to receive feedback from our patients on the services we provide. This is important for us to help improve our service and meet your needs. A suggestion box is located in the waiting area, should you wish to make use of it. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the care you receive from this practice, we would like to know about it. Please feel free to contact our Practice Manager. If you are dissatisfied with the way your complaint was resolved, contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman: 133 646 or visit the website hcc.vic.gov.au
INFORMED CONSENT
Our policy is for all patients to be provided with sufficient information about the purpose, importance, benefits, risks, and possible costs associated with proposed investigations, referrals, or treatments, to enable patients to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing.
PRIVACY
Cure & Care Family Practice complies with the Information Privacy Act 2009 and the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988, together with the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000.
Cure & Care Family Practice also has a ‘Privacy Policy’ which outlines how we manage information about you and how you may access that information. If you would like a copy of our ‘Privacy Policy Brochure”, please ask our reception staff.