FAQ

Appointments

Our reception staff, Michelle Grant, Antonella Marmotta and Annabelle Murphy will be happy to make an appointment for you.  Appointments for emergency consultations will be given priority. 

Please let us know if you need a long appointment (> 15 mins). 

If you call the practice to speak to a doctor, a message will be taken and brought to the doctor’s attention. Your call will be returned at lunchtime or at the end of the day.

We make every effort to keep to appointment times but occasionally emergencies or unforeseen circumstances may prohibit this.  If you are concerned about waiting times, please ring the surgery before coming in. 

Please request your preferred GP when you make your appointment.  If they are not available, another doctor will be happy to see you.

Cancellation fees

If you need to cancel an appointment, please give as much notice as possible to allow another patient the opportunity to be seen. If appointments are cancelled at short notice (< 2 hours), a cancellation will be charged.

Home Visits

Home visits are available for regular patients who live within a 5km radius and whose condition prevents them from attending the surgery.  Home visits are subject to doctor availability.

after-hours visits

Our practice uses a deputising service called National Home Doctor Service who will do home visits for medical emergencies between 6pm and 8am weekdays and from 6pm Friday for the duration of the weekend. Please call them directly on 13 74 25 to arrange a visit. These visits are bulk-billed and a report is forwarded to us.

Repeat Prescriptions, Referrals & Medical Certificates

Please make an appointment if you are due for a repeat prescription of your medication or need a new referral to a specialist. 

Referrals are done through appointments to ensure an accurate summary can be given to the specialist. Health records are also updated with the specialist’s communication back to your gp and important events are added to your health summary manually by your gp and uploaded to the PCEHR if you have signed up for an electronic health record.

Referrals cannot be backdated.

To obtain a medical certificate, please arrange an appointment to see a doctor.  Unfortunately medical certificates cannot be backdated.

test results

Doctors will make arrangements with patients regarding test results.  Patients need to make a follow-up appointment which can be a telehealth appointment.

recalls

Our practice is committed to preventative care. We use HotDoc to send you reminder messages. You will be asked to verify your identity by entering some personal details before your medical reminder is displayed. There is a handy link to book your appointment online.  We may phone to remind you of upcoming vaccinations or tests that are due.  If you do not wish to receive these reminders, please advise our reception staff.  We also participate in state and federal reminder systems (e.g. Cervical Screening Register).

interpreter services

Please notify reception or medical staff if an interpreter is required.

safety in health care

We have information about safety in healthcare in the practice information folder in the waiting room.

patient registration

We need to have a record of your emergency contact person.  Please notify reception staff of your emergency contact, if you have not already done so. 

Please let us know if you change address or contact details.

Patients are encouraged to advise their doctor of their cultural background to assist in appropriate health management.

transfer of medical records

If you need records transferred to our practice, you will need to complete a transfer of medical records form available from reception. This can be forwarded to your previous doctor who will forward a copy of your records to us. Some practices charge a fee for this service.

If you need your records held at our practice to be transferred to another practice, the same process is followed. If you are moving overseas, please make an appointment to see the doctor and your records can be copied for you to take with you.

privacy & health information

You have the right to access your health information and records.

All patient information is strictly confidential in compliance with the Privacy Act (2014).  Your medical record is a confidential document.  Your personal health information is only available to authorised members of staff and the security of your health information is maintained at all times. Bronte GP has a privacy policy which governs the protection of your health information. This governs our computer safety protocols, daily backups of data which are taken off-site for restoration to occur if needed and practice protocols to maintain data security. It also governs access to your data- your information is only released with your signed permission to third parties as directed by you.

This practice supports the establishment of the personally controlled electronic health record as an important step towards effective health communication and to assist in reducing the large financial burden of unnecessarily repeated pathology tests. Patients have complete control of access and the information included in the record. Please ask your doctor for more information to assist in making your decision.

feedback & complaints

A suggestion box is in the waiting room and direct contact with doctors or staff is appreciated.  A complaints form is available from reception staff.  Any complaints will be promptly reviewed.

You may prefer to contact:

Health Care Complaints Commission

Locked Bag 18

Strawberry Hills NSW

Ph: 02 9217 7444