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CHANGE TO SERVICES:
Change to Telephone Consultations from 1st October 2020 Private & Bulk-Billed Telehealth (telephone) consultations will be available at Andrew Place Clinic. General Practitioners providing COVID-19 telehealth services are not required to bulk bill their patients from the 1/10/2020. In the coming weeks we may expect to start seeing more patients in clinic. ALL calls for appointments must and will still be screened for symptoms. If a patient is displaying ANY symptoms, they must and will only be offered a Telehealth appointment. If your doctor approves the need for an in-clinic appointment, patients will be advised to call the clinic to check in from carpark, remain and wait in their car and doctor will call them before they enter the clinic. Some of our doctors will continue to work remotely, so an in-clinic appointment may not always be available. For any new patients to the clinic, it is preferred that we see you in-clinic if possible for part of your consultation, please phone and speak with receptionist staff to book an appropriate appointment time. Who is eligible for Telehealth? • patients living in a COVID-19 impacted area * As Melbourne is still in lockdown stage it's considered a COVID-19 impacted area. All patients can still be offered Telehealth. Who will be Bulk Billed for Telehealth from 1/10/2020? • Patients who hold a current Pension Card (Aged or DSP) - Between 9.00am to 4.45pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays; outside these hours Concession or Private rates will apply. • Vet Affairs • Children under 12 years of age - Between 9.00am to 7.45pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays; outside these hours Concession rates will apply. Who will be charged Concession Rate for Telehealth from 1/10/2020? • Children aged 12yrs -15yrs - Between 9.00am to 4.45pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays; outside these hours Private rates will apply. • Patients on a current Concession card from Centrelink - Between 9.00am to 4.45pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays; outside these hours Private rates will apply. Who will be charged Private Fee for Telehealth from 1/10/2020? • Any patient not listed above - Fees will revert to usual clinic structure and a full consultation fee will apply. It is each individual doctor's discretion if they choose to bill differently for a consultation Please refer to Fees tab for further outline of Telehealth consultations for Private, Concession and Bulk Billed patients MOLEMAP CHECKS will recommence from 29/10/2020 (available on Thursdays for limited appointments) Andrew Place Clinic will be recommencing limited MoleMap Check appointments as of 29/10/2020. This service will only be available on Thursdays at this stage. Please call the reception staff and/or refer to "Appointments - Practice Policies" Tab for further information. MoleMap Check fee is $153.00 during weekdays. (Service may be covered by Private Health Insurance, patients to check with their own Health Insurance Provider for coverage details. It is a non-medicare rebate service). Please note this service is for a MoleMap Check and images will only be taken on the day of any moles of concern. Flu Vaccination Information - Flu Vaccine is available - Book in for your Flu Shot Today The flu vaccine is available at Andrew Place Clinic. With the outbreak of Coronavirus, it is more important than ever to get vaccinated against influenza. It is recommended that you get your flu shot as soon as possible to protect yourself and your family. We have taken numerous steps to ensure that when you visit Andrew Place Clinic, you can do so as safely as possible. Please call the receptionist team who can arrange an appointment with a Nurse who will administer the vaccination. We ask that prior to personal attendance at the clinic, you phone to announce your arrival while you wait within your car and one of the receptionists will advise you if the Nurse is ready. We will also do some simple checks/ questions to ensure you are not at risk of having the Coronavirus. We thank you for your understanding. IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CORONAVIRUS As you are all aware we are now facing the coronavirus pandemic. This can be a worrying time but we, the Andrew Place Clinic staff, want to assure you that we remain dedicated to assisting our patients and their families throughout these challenging circumstances. In order to minimise the potential spread of the coronavirus we will be implementing some changes to the way Andrew Place Clinic runs and we would greatly appreciate your cooperation. Also be aware that this is a rapidly changing situation and as such advice and procedures are likely to change. Please continue to check out website for the most updated information. Due to the coronavirus pandemic we are unable to see any patients with cold or flu symptoms (including cough, fever, sore throat or runny nose) in-clinic. We instead ask that you book a telehealth consult – which is a consultation conducted over the phone (a facetime or zoom chat can also be arranged). If you are booking an appointment to consult with your doctor for an unrelated issue – but also have cold and flu symptoms – even if very mild – we ask that you arrange a telehealth appointment or postpone your appointment until you are symptom free. You may also consider delaying non-urgent appointments and procedures. If you are concerned you have coronavirus please call the Austin Hospital Coronavirus Hotline on 9496 6606. You can also access the online risk assessment tool at www.austin.org.au. In order to minimise potential exposure to the coronavirus, while you are within the clinic we will be implementing the following:- · Please call the reception when you arrive for your appointment and remain in your car. Reception will log you as arrived and when the Doctor/ Nurse is ready to see you, they will call and instructed you when and if you are to enter the clinic. Upon entering the clinic ALL people must sanitise hands as they pass by reception and patients >12yrs old must have a mask on and worn appropiately and correctly when entering and while within the clinic. · Waiting room seats have been separated to create distances which will minimise your exposure to other patients, if you need to wait in the waiting room. By limiting the number of people in the waiting room/ clinic; we therefore reduce your risk. Similarly you may notice a change in the seating arrangements in all consulting rooms. · Please ensure you use hand sanitiser as you enter the clinic and then again on leaving. Again, these are worrying times and sometimes that worry can become significant distress. Please contact Andrew Place Clinic if you are concerned about your own mental health, or that of a loved one. For 24 hour a day telephone crisis support please contact Lifeline on 13 11 44. For Further COVID-19 Advice, patients can call: DHHS Hotline: 1800 675 398 (open 24 hours, 7 days) Austin Hospital: 9496 5000 Northern Hospital: 8405 8844 (only if they have a fever) Thank you for your understanding. In Preparation - Blood Pressure Machine & Electronic Temperature Probe “ In preparation for the upcoming prolonged physical distancing we would suggest each family consider purchasing an Blood Pressure machine ( we use Omron and recommend this for anyone over 40 years of age) and an electronic temperature probe ( we use Braun via the ear probe and recommend this for everyone) and familiarize yourself we how it works. This will help the doctors monitor your conditions and health whilst being at home.” HotDoc Online Bookings currently only available to book Telehealth appointments We have made the decision to stop online bookings for in-clinic appointments until further notice given the coronavirus pandemic. You may continue to book telehealth appointments online at this stage. We apologise for the inconvenience. If you are unable to book a consultation via HotDoc, please call reception for all appointment needs. We hope to have this up and running as much as possible during the COVID Pandemic. Mirena appointments are currently on hold. As we attempt to reduce the risk of coronavirus spread there will be no further bookings for Mirena (IUD insertions) at this stage. We apologise for the inconvenience. We will update this news page once the service is back up and running or you are welcome to phone the clinic for an update. At this stage we are looking to recommence limited appointments for these services in late October. STAFF NEWS: Dr. Genevieve Shing has returned to consulting sessions at Andrew Place Clinic. We would like to welcome back Dr. Genevieve Shing has resumed working sessions at Andrew Place Clinic after her maternity leave and is now available for appointments on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Her full biography can be viewed on the Doctors page. Dr. Laurence Elder has joined Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Laurence Elder has joined the GP team and begun working at Andrew Place Clinic and is now available for appointments. With his commencement, we are excited to have another male doctor available for consultations. A full biography can be viewed on the Doctors page. He will be working on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Dr Hirruthyaa (Hirru) Manivasagan has left Andrew Place Clinic After many years working with us at Andrew Place Clinic, Dr. Hirru Manivasagan has made the decision to leave the Clinic. She has been an amazing member of our GP team and will be dearly missed by staff and patients alike. We wish her all the very best as she continues her GP career and thank her for services provided for our patients and dedication given during her time at Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Joe Giarrusso has Retired! Congratulations on your retirement! After 43 years of dedication and caring service to the patients of Andrew Place Clinic, our beloved Dr. Giuseppe (Joe) Giarrusso has retired. We hope he has a wonderful retirement. He will be missed but never forgotten. Dr. Giarrusso has done so much for all of us and while we will be sad to see him go, we wish him all the best in this next stage of life! We are wishing him endless days of happiness with his friends and family and hope he makes sure he works just as hard relaxing as he has during his long career. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. Dr. Giarrusso last day consulting was on Tuesday 30/6/2020. Dr. Christina Illing has returned to consulting sessions at Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Christina Illing has resumed working sessions remotely at Andrew Place Clinic and is now available for appointments on Wednesdays and Fridays for telehealth appointments only at this stage. Dr. Tristan Barnes has Returned to Andrew Place Clinic. Dr. Tristan Barnes has resumed working at Andrew Place Clinic and is now available for appointments. With his return, we are excited to have another male doctor available for consultations. Dr. Barnes will be happy to see all patients. A full biography can be viewed on the Doctors page. He is working on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and some Saturdays. Doctors on leave in September/ October The following doctors will be on leave in September/ October: Dr Eric Tay: 14/9/2020 to 29/9/2020 Dr Philip Smith: 29/9/2020 Dr Melanie Hemsley: 28/9/2020 to 3/10/2020 Dr Leanne Cole: 28/9/2020 to 4/10/2020 Dr Susan Lewis: 13/10/2020 to 16/10/2020 Dr Roslyn Rayner: 10/10/2020 to 18/10/2020 CHANGE TO POLICY FOR RECEIVING RESULTS, REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS, REFERRALS AND TELEPHONING YOUR DOCTOR Please refer to the "Appointments Tab" on our website for further information regarding changes to our Clinic's policies relating to Receiving Results, Repeat Prescriptions, Referrals and Telephoning your Doctor. No Requests will be taken or actioned and results will not be given out on the weekend or on a public holiday and can only be given out via the telephone after 11am on weekdays. Any non-urgent requests will be forwarded to your doctor and will be actioned within the 10 business days. If the matter is more urgent, we recommend that you make an appointment to see your doctor. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. SMS REMINDERS Due to changes in accreditation requirements we require each patient’s verbal consent to send SMS reminders. Please contact reception to consent and note that you will not be able to receive SMS reminders, including those for upcoming appointments with your GP, until this has been done. Thanks for your cooperation. |