General Practice - FAQ

How much does it cost to see a doctor?

The full cost of a standard consultation is $64.90. A standard consultation is typically when a patient presents with a single health problem and the appointment lasts between 5 and 15 minutes. For Australians with a Medicare Card, the rebate is $34.90. For a longer visit, typically lasting more than 15 minutes with complex or multiple problems, the cost is $97.65. For Australians with a Medicare Card, the rebate is $67.65. Your out-of-pocket expense for any length of consultation is never greater than $30. If you are an International student or Australian student, please visit the Student Health section for guidance regarding Fees, by clicking here.

How do I claim my Medicare rebate?

Our clinic has Medicare Easyclaim. This is a quick, easy, secure and convenient way to receive your Medicare rebate. Medicare Easyclaim lets you claim your rebate on the spot, using our Medicare Easyclaim equipped EFTPOS terminal. Your rebate is paid directly into your cheque or savings account almost immediately (10-15minutes). This saves you a trip to a Medicare office where you might find yourself in a long queue. For more information regarding Medicare Easyclaim, please visit Fees, click here

You can still go to a Medicare office if you choose not to use Medicare Easyclaim. Alternative claiming options are also available including by mail, over the phone or at a Medicare Australia Access Point. For more information on claiming options for your Medicare rebate, please visit Medicare Australia – How do I claim from Medicare? click here

Why don't you bulk bill?

Bulk-billing is when the doctor bills Medicare directly, accepting the Medicare benefit as full payment for the service. The reason why we are unable to bulk-bill is because our clinic is entirely privately owned and funded. The overheads involved are significant due to inner city centre rents and maintaining superior facilities including sophisticated information systems. The fees we set are on the basis of meeting the running costs of our practice, in combination with what is fair, reasonable and appropriate for the service provided by our team of experts. Our doctors will sometimes waive the gap payment at their discretion. This might be for example when the doctor has asked you to return to discuss results or when the visit is very quick, such as replacement of a prescription. We do not charge a gap for children under the age of 16.

What is your appointment availability?

Our clinic is usually able to provide a same or next day appointment. We are continuing to grow our clinic by building extra rooms and recruiting experienced doctors to join our team. In addition, we do our best to ensure that our clinic is open at times which are convenient to you. This includes operating two night sessions (Mondays and Thursdays) and a Saturday session. For more information, please visit Opening Hours, which has further information about clinic hours as well as session times for each doctor.

How long will I have to wait?

We hope we don't keep you waiting for any longer than 15 minutes. If you are kept waiting for longer than this, it's usually due to one or both of two reasons. Firstly, sometimes a patient is 'fitted in' because they are visibly unwell and the doctor feels they need to be seen as a matter of urgency. Secondly, our doctors sometimes encounter unexpectedly complex problems, which unfortunately were not anticipated by our reception, at the time of scheduling the appointment. If you are asked to wait for a little longer than expected, we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

How do I make an appointment?

You can make an appointment in either of the two following ways.

Simply phone us on (08) 8232 7372 and if you have any further questions, please feel free to ask our receptionist, while you’ve got them on the phone. If phoning to make an appointment, please let the receptionist know if you would like to see a specific doctor, or have preference to see a male or female doctor. Additionally, if you think you’ll need longer than a standard 15 minute time allocation, please let the receptionist know over the phone.

Alternatively, you can use our online form to request an appointment click here. Please note our clinic hours of opening

What should I do if I'm waiting on pathology results requested by the doctor?

Most pathology results take between 24-48 hours before we receive them back electronically from the pathology partner used by our clinic. The turnaround time depends upon the level of urgency, indicated by the requesting doctor and/ or nature of the result. At the conclusion of your appointment, the doctor will ask you to follow up with our reception regarding your results and indicate what timeframe you should allow before contacting us again.

Once the results arrive back, the doctor will indicate in your patient file whether or not an issue needs to be discussed further. If nothing further needs to be discussed, they will indicate this to our front desk team by flagging 'No action' next to your name, in our patient database. Our receptionists will only see 'No action', keeping the nature of your pathology and results strictly between you and the doctor. The receptionist can then inform you over the phone about the status of your result (e.g. 'No action'). If there is something the doctor would like to discuss with you face-to-face, they will flag 'Follow up appointment requested'. When you call, our receptionist can then assist you to arrange a follow-up appointment. We would prefer if you try and arrange an appointment with the same doctor who requested the pathology tests.