Appointment Types & Fees

Appointment Types
& Fees

Appointment types, fees & fine print

Billing policy

For more information on pricing and fees please contact one of our Healthcare Assistants by phone (6186 7992) or email (hello@thegardenmedical.com).

PRIVATE BILLING
– All adults 18 years and older (without healthcare or concession cards)
– All patients between 5pm and 7pm Monday to Friday
– All patients between 8am and 1pm on Saturday
– All patients of Dr Keren Witcombe at all times

DISCOUNT BILLING
$20 discount applies to:
– Patients 13-17 years between 8am and 5pm**
– Children (12 years and under), healthcare card holders and pension card holders between 8am to 11am and 4pm to 5pm Monday to Friday**

BULK BILLING
– Children (12 years and under) 11am to 4pm Monday to Friday**
– Healthcare card holders and pension card holders 11am to 4pm Monday to Friday**
– DVA card holders at all times

Billing remains at the discretion of the GP and may be subject to change.

We are a privately billing clinic. Payment is on the day of consultation only, by cash, EFTPOS or credit card. A Medicare rebate will be directly deposited back into your account if you are registered for same day claiming.

If attending for workers compensation or motor vehicle accidents, please inform us of your Workcover or ICWA claim number. If you are seen prior to obtaining your claim number, you will be charged privately and reimbursed by Workcover or ICWA upon processing of your claim.

**Effective 1st April 2023, Dr Keren Witcombe is now a privately billing doctor and will no longer bulk bill (including children and concession card holders).

Cancelling or missing an appointment

Please telephone the clinic with at least two hours’ notice if you can’t get to a scheduled appointment.

If you fail to make it without cancelling within two hours, you will be charged a fee of $40 (classic consult) or $60 (comprehensive consult). No further appointments will be made until the fee is paid.

Appointment Types

Different problems deserve different amounts of time. One way to be sure you have enough time to address everything you’d like to discuss is to ask our Healthcare Assistants to help you decide what type of appointment you need.

CLASSIC CONSULTATION (UP TO 15 MINUTES)
i.e. A single new symptom or illness, coughs and colds, cervical screening, fever, health check up, skin checks, kids tummy pains or headaches, constipation, asthma, eczema, diabetes management.

COMPREHENSIVE CONSULTATION (UP TO 30 MINUTES)
i.e. Multiple symptoms or concerns, new patient to the clinic, first antenatal visit, procedures (please book an appointment prior to your procedure appointment in order for us to plan for it), first contraception discussion, mental health consultations, long standing symptoms, second opinion on a complicated symptom, 6 week antenatal check or newborn checks.

EXTENDED COMPREHENSIVE CONSULTATION (UP TO 45 MINUTES)
i.e. Childhood development and mental health, case conferences, workers compensation and motor vehicle accident consultations, multiple complex issues needing assessment.

RAPID KIDS CLINIC (5-10 MINUTES)
Quick and easy check overs of kids that are sick in the last 24-48 hours, for example ear, throat and chest checks, tummy aches or viruses.

Please note, if you feel your child cannot wait for this service, please visit your nearest emergency department for a more rapid review.

All Rapid Kids Clinic consults are privately billed at $70 minus the Medicare rebate of $41.20 ($28.80 out of pocket).

COMPLEX KIDS CLINIC (60 MINUTES)
This is an appointment for a ‘complex kids review’. This appointment will be booked with a GP and a practice nurse, and can be for any concerns you have about your child that may require a longer discussion including childhood behavioural difficulties, mood concerns, developmental delay, family support, NDIS applications, mental health care planning, chronic disease management. Your child is required to attend but there will be an opportunity to speak without them in the room. The first 15 minutes will allow the practice nurse to take some measurements of your child’s growth.

Whilst our GP’s will review conditions such as ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder, they would need to refer you to a child specialist for formal diagnosis. The GP’s are happy to be a co-prescriber for ADHD based medications providing your specialist has authorised them to do so.

These appointments last for up to 60 minutes and are billed at $250 minus the Medicare rebate of $117.40 ($132.60 out of pocket).

WALK IN APPOINTMENTS
Walk-in appointments are not guaranteed. Our Healthcare Assistants can advise you of our on-the-day availability.

HOME VISITS
During the clinic opening hours, GP’s will offer home visits at their discretion. To obtain a home visit during clinic hours, it needs to be safe and reasonable for the GP, and within a 5km radius of the clinic. When the patient is triaged and a home or other visit is deemed neither safe nor reasonable, a telephone consultation will be offered.

Care Plans

MENTAL HEALTH CARE PLANS

Mental Health Care Plans are a tool for you and your doctor to assess your mental health and plan your recovery, often with the help of a mental health practitioner, such as a psychologist or mental health OT.

If you think you need a Mental Health Care Plan, please book a comprehensive (30 minute) consultation with your GP. Alternatively, your GP might suggest developing a care plan if he/she thinks you might benefit from one.

The care plan may take one or two appointments to develop based on your current problem and health.

Your plan, once completed and billed, will allow access to rebated psychological counselling services with registered providers. You and your GP will decide who would be best for you to see. There may still be an ‘out of pocket payment’ to see your Counsellor, however you will have access to up to 20 (reducing to 10 in 2023) rebated visits with a counsellor per year.

CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT PLANS

Chronic Disease Management Plans are available to patients who have an illness expected to last longer than six months. Developing a plan helps both you and your GP to set goals for your health and plan your care proactively.

At The Garden Family Medical Clinic, plans are discussed with your GP and then written in conjunction with our practice nurse.

If you have a Chronic Disease Management Plan, you may also benefit from a Team Care Arrangement. This allows you and your GP to develop a team of practitioners to help you achieve your health goals. Your team must consist of at least three clinicians – your GP, your specialist (if you have one), and any Allied Health practitioners, who could help you with your goals.

When you have a Team Care Arrangement, you may be eligible for Medicare rebates (up to five per calendar year) to see the Allied Health practitioners who are on your team. These referrals are developed during your care plan appointment with the practice nurse.

Complex procedures
(variable total fee will be discussed at time of booking)

Implanon insertion
Excision of skin lesions
Wedge resection of toenail
Mirena insertion
Abscess removal
Excision of skin lesions

Minor procedures
(variable total fee will be discussed at time of booking)

Iron infusion
ECG
Wound repair
Spirometry
Dressings
Skin biopsy

Wound Repair Dressings
Note: Any additional dressing charges will be discussed at the time of your appointment.