EMERGENCIES & OUT OF HOURS
     A doctor from this practice is on call twenty four hours, seven days a week for emergencies and urgent problems or advice.  We do not use locum services.  Please phone 51471011.
     Note: Maffra Medical Group doctors attend our phones 24 hours per day.  If your first call is unsuccessful, try again.  (Your call may not be answered immediately if the doctor is busy with a call on the other phone line).

WEEKENDS & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
     At weekends or public holidays, we always have a doctor on call.  By dialling 5147 1011, you will be connected to the doctor on duty.
     Where possible try to call between 8.30a.m. and 10.00a.m. so that arrangements can be made to see you at a time when there is a pharmacy open to fill any prescriptions that may be required.

HOME VISITS
     Should a serious illness prevent you from attending the surgery, we will attend you at your home.  Please let us know as early as possible.
   Remember a house call takes us more time than a surgery consultation and not all facilities are available during house visits.

HOSPITALS
 There is no accident or emergency department at the Maffra District Hospital.  Our doctors have admitting rights to local hospitals.

SURGERY HOURS
Office Hours
8.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.  Monday to Friday
8.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon  Saturday
Consulting Hours
9.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.  Monday to Friday
2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.  Monday to Friday
9.00 a.m. to 12 noon  Saturday

APPOINTMENTS
     Routine consultations are by appointment..  If your doctor is not available another doctor will be able to see you. Urgent problems and emergencies will always be seen even if an appointment is not available.

     When making appointments, please advise our receptionist if you think extra time will be required.  For example, the following require a extended appointment:   
      #  minor surgical procedures
      #  insurance or Social Security examinations
      #  complex or several medical problems

     If you cannot keep your appointment, please cancel or change your appointment as soon as possible, so that we can re-allocate your time, otherwise a non attendance fee will be charged.    When you arrive at the surgery please check-in with the receptionist before taking a seat in the waiting room.  The receptionist will require your Medicare card.  We will endeavour not to keep you waiting but medical practice is unpredictable and we apologise for unexpected delays.

TELEPHONE CONTACT
     Patients can obtain advice related to their clinical care by telephone.  Doctors will always take urgent calls; however to minimise interruptions, non-urgent calls may have to be returned at a later time.

FEES
     Fees do not exceed A.M.A. recommended fees and many fees (including consultations and procedures) are well below A.M.A. recommended fees.
     We ask that accounts be settled at the time of consultation.  An accounting fee of $10 is charged on unpaid accounts.  For your convenience, EFTPOS is available and we accept Visa, Bankcard and MasterCard.
     Patients are responsible for all legal costs incurred in the recovery of bad debts.
     If you have an account query or require advice on medical fees, please contact our Practice Manager.

BULK BILLING
     Veterans' Affairs Pensioners are bulk billed for all services.
     Patients aged 70 years and older and patients whose sole source of income is the Age Pension, Sole Parent Pension, Disability Pension, Newstart Allowance or Sickness Allowance are bulk billed for in hours clinic consultations.  A fee is charged for out of hours consultations, home visits and procedures.
     Unfortunately government regulations do now allow bulk billing if a gap is charged.  Therefore you will need to claim the rebate from Medicare.  The gap (the difference between our fee and the Medicare rebate) for these services varies from $15 to $45.
     Other holders of health care cards are not routinely bulk billed.

REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS
     A consultation is normally required for a repeat prescription in order to monitor the medication you are taking.  Only in certain circumstances and when previously arranged by one of the doctors can a prescription be given without a consultation.  There is a charge for repeat prescriptions.  If possible please give us 48 hours notice.
     Certain categories of prescriptions may require longer notice.

REFERRALS
     A consultation with the doctor is required for an initial referral to medical specialists or for tests. This is to enable your doctor to provide appropriate and up to date medical information to the specialist. It is also preferable that you make an appointment to see your doctor  to renew referrals.
     It is illegal to issue back dated referrals.

SICKNESS AND OTHER CERTIFICATES
     These cannot be issued or signed without a consultation.

TEST RESULTS
     It is preferable to have a follow-up consultation with your doctor to obtain and discuss results of tests and any further action which may be required.

DISABILITIES
     There are no steps from the street to the entrance and the doors are wide enough to allow wheel chair access. A wheel chair is available and the practice nurse will assist in transporting patients from their cars to the doctor’s room if requested.

PATIENT RECORDS
     All patient consultation and medical records are kept strictly confidential.  Legally, the medical record is the property of the doctor, but copies may be issued to other doctors on the patient’s written request.  Specialist’s reports are the property of the specialist and copies of these reports can only be given with their consent.

IMMUNISATIONS - CHILDHOOD AND ADULT
     The Commonwealth Government funds vaccines, as documented in the Australian Standard Vaccine Schedule.  To access this schedule, please look up:  www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Contents/nips
     Appointments for childhood and scheduled adult vaccinations are bulk billed at Maffra Medical Group.  Annual influenza and Pneumococcal clinics are conducted in March/April,  These immunisations are recommended for anyone with a chronic illness such as heart or lung disease, asthma, diabetes and anyone over the age of 65 years.

TRAVEL MEDICINE
     When planning an overseas trip it is important to gain accurate information with regard to immunisations needed for the countries being visited, together with preventative advice.
     Please make an appointment with a doctor to discuss your individual requirements as early as possible in your travel preparations. This is to ensure that sufficient time is allowed to receive all the necessary immunisation.

ACUPUNCTURE
     Acupuncture is performed by Dr Rob Melville and is used to treat a wide range of conditions including chronic pain, neuralgia, migraines and other headaches and sinusitis. For further information a more detailed pamphlet is available at reception.

HEALTH SCREENING
     Screening for high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, skin cancer and heart disease is available and recommended for all adult patients.

WOMEN’S HEALTH
     Family Planning and contraceptive advice, menopause advice and hormone replacement therapy is available.
     Pap smears are performed and it is recommended that all women aged 18 - 70 years have a cervical pap smear every two years.  Leonie, the practice nurse, is a credentialed Women's Health Nurse and is endorsed to perform pap smears.  The charge for this half hour consultation including pap smear is $40.  The Medicare rebate is $20.20

MEN'S HEALTH
     It is recommended that all men over the age of 45 years attend annually for a check-up, particularly if there is a family history of prostate disease, cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

SURGICAL AND OTHER PROCEDURES
     A range of surgical procedures is performed on site. Some of these include surgical removal of moles, lumps and bumps, wedge resection of ingrown toe nails and treatment of skin cancers. Liquid nitrogen or electrical diathermy is available to treat skin lesions such as warts and papillomas.   
     A gluco-meter is available for instant blood sugar level testing.
     Blood testing for Warfarin levels (INR) is available at the practice.
     An infrared laser and an infrared therapeutic lamp are available for treatment of soft tissue damage (including sports injuries) and arthritis.
     Cardiographs (ECG) are also performed.
     Our equipment is either disposable or sterilised by autoclaving to the required standards.

CASUALTY & EMERGENCY MEDICINE
     Urgent examinations and emergency treatments are provided e.g. suturing of lacerations, management of common fractures, chest pain, eye injuries and asthma.

REMINDER LETTERS
     Reminder letters are sent to patients for e.g.  pap smears and immunisations).  Please advise your doctor if you do not want you name on the register.

STRATFORD SURGERY
     A clinic at 63 Tyers Street Stratford (next to the supermarket) is conducted on a part-time basis every weekday morning.
    To make an appointment, telephone the Maffra surgery 51471011.  Please advise the receptionist that you require an appointment at the Stratford surgery.

PATIENT FEEDBACK
     From time to time this practice invites patients to complete a questionnaire on their views of the practice and how it could be improved. These surveys are completely confidential and help us improve our services.    If you are unhappy (or happy) about any aspect of the care you receive from this practice we are keen to know about it. Please feel free to talk to the Practice Manager about any problems you have with the service provided. If you are still unhappy, you may like to contact the Health Services Commissioner on 1800 136 066 or 03 9655 5200.

TEACHING
     All doctors are attached to the University of Melbourne and Monash University as clinical teachers. Therefore, from time to time a medical student may accompany your doctor.  You may choose whether or not the student is present for your consultation.

PRIVACY STATEMENT

A: National Privacy Principals
  The Federal Privacy Act Act incorporates 10 National Privacy Principals that set out the rules for the handling of personal information in the private sector. In the interests of providing quality health care this practice has developed a privacy policy that complies with the privacy legislation and the NPPs.

1 Collection It is necessary for us to collect personal information from patients and sometimes others associated with their health care in order to attend to their health needs and for associated administrative purposes.
2 Sensitive information Health information is ‘sensitive information’ for the purposes of privacy legislation. This means that generally patients’ consent will be sought to collect health information that is necessary to make an accurate medical diagnosis, prescribe treatment and to be proactive in patient health care.
3 Use and disclosure A patient’s personal health information is used or disclosed for purposes directly related to their health care and in ways that are consistent with a patient’s expectation. In the interests of the highest quality and continuity of health care this may include sharing information with other health care providers who comprise a patient’s medical team from time to time. In addition there are circumstances when information has to be disclosed without patient consent, such as: - emergency situations. - by law, doctors are sometimes required to disclose information for public interest reasons eg mandatory reporting of some communicable diseases. - it may be necessary to disclose information about a patient to fulfil a medical indemnity insurance obligation. - provision of information to Medicare of private health funds, if relevant, for billing and medical rebate purposes. In general a patient’s health information will not be used for any other purposes without their consent. There are some necessary purposes of collection for which information will be used beyond providing health, such as professional accreditation, quality assessments, clinical auditing, billing and so forth.
4 Data quality All patient information held by this practice relevant to the functions of providing health care will be maintained in a form that is accurate, complete and up to date.
5 Data security The storage, use and, where necessary, transfer of personal health information will be undertaken in a secure manner that protects patient privacy. It is necessary for medical practices to keep patient information after a patient's last attendance for as long as is required by law or is prudent having regard to administrative requirements.
6 Openness This practice has made this and other material available to patients to inform them of our policies on management of personal information. On request this practice will let patients know, generally, what sort of personal information we hold, for what purposes, and how we collect, hold, use and disclose that information.
7 Access and correction Patients may request access to their personal health information held by this practice. - where necessary, patients will be given the opportunity to amend any personal information held that is incorrect. - here are some circumstances in which access restricted, and in these cases reasons for denying access will be explained. - a charge may be payable where the practice incurs costs in providing access. - this practice acknowledges the right of children to privacy of their health information. Based on the professional judgment of the doctor and consistent with the law, it might at times be necessary to restrict access to personal health information by parents or guardians Upon request a patient's health information held by this practice will be made available to another health service provider.
8 Identifiers These are the numbers, letters or symbols that are used to identify patients with or without the use of a name (eg Medicare numbers). We will limit the use of identifiers assigned to patients by Commonwealth Government agencies to those uses necessary to fulfil our obligations to those agencies.
9 Anonymity A patient has a right to be dealt with anonymously, provided this is lawful and practicable. However, in the medical context this is not likely to be practicable or possible for Medicare and insurance rebate purposes. It could also be dangerous to the patient's health.
10 Transborder data flows Individual's privacy is protected Australia-wide by privacy laws. We will take steps to protect patient privacy if information is to be sent interstate or outside Australia.

B: Health Privacy Principals   
The provision of quality health care is our principal concern. It requires a doctor-patient relationship of trust and confidentiality. Your doctor regards patient health information as confidential and will only collect this information with patient consent.    A patient’s personal information is handled in accordance with this practice’s privacy policy and is consistent with the privacy legislation. Patients are entitled to know what personal information is held about them; how and under what circumstances they may have access to it; why it is held; its use; to whom and under what circumstances it may be disclosed; when consent is required for these purposes; and how it is stored.    Every effort will be made to discuss these matters with patients at the time personal health information is collected from patients attending this practice. Because there will be occasions when it is not practicable to make patients aware of these matters at the time of collection this section of our web site is designed to outline how this practice endeavours to protect the privacy of patients' personal health information.
 Collection, use and disclosure of your information    Information about a patient's medical and family health history is needed to provide accurate medical diagnosis and appropriate treatment. We will be fair in the way we collect information about our patients. This information is generally collected from the patient, and otherwise with the patient's consent. However, from time to time we may receive patient information from others. When this occurs we will, wherever possible, make sure the patient knows we have received this information.    Medical care requires full knowledge of patient health information by all members of a medical team. To ensure quality and continuity of patient care a patient's health information has to be shared with other health care providers from time to time. Some information about patients is also provided to Medicare, and private health funds if relevant, for billing and medical rebate purposes.    The doctors in this practice are members of various medical and professional bodies including medical defence organisations. There may be occasions when disclosure of patient information is required for medical defence purposes.    There are also circumstances where a medical practitioner is legally bound to disclose personal information. An example of this is the mandatory reporting of communicable diseases.    It is necessary for us to keep patients' information after their last attendance at this practice for as long as is required by law or is prudent having regard to administrative requirements.
Access    A patient has a right to access their information. They may ask to view the information or a copy of a part of the whole record. While required to give reasons for their request, a patient may be asked to clarity the scope of the request.    There are some circumstances in which access may be denied but in such an event, the patient will be advised of the reason.    A charge may be payable where the practice incurs costs in providing access. This will depend on the nature of the access.    The material over which the doctor has copyright might be subject to conditions that prevent further copying or publication without the doctor's permission.    If a patient finds that the information held on them is not accurate or complete, the patient may have that information amended accordingly. Upon request a patient's health information held by this practice will be made available to another health service provider.
Parents/guardians and children    The right of children to privacy of their health information, based on the professional judgment of the doctor and consistent with the law, might at times restrict access to this information by parents of guardians.

C: The web site and cookies   
A cookie is a piece of information that an Internet website sends to your browser when you access information at that site. Cookies indicate to a website that you have been there before and they can be used to record what parts of a website your computer is visiting. Cookies do not identify individual users, although they do allow identification of the type of browser used and the Internet Service Provider (ISP).    Cookies can either be "persistent" or "session" based. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer, and may be used to track your browsing behaviour upon return to the issuing website. On the other hand, session cookies are short-lived, are used only during a browsing session, and expire when you quit your browser.    This website only makes use of session cookies. It is only during a search query of the web site that session cookies are used. No cookies are used on this website except for those associated with the search engine. Once you close your browser the session cookie set by this website is destroyed. We assure you that no personal information is maintained which might identify you should you visit our website at a later date.    The website statistics collected for this site refer only to your server’s address, the time and date of your visit, the pages you accessed and the type of browser you are using. As you are not required to input any data to this site, it is not possible to identify the individual user via the ISP.

D: Complaints   
It is important to us that your expectations about the way in which we handle your information are the same as ours.    Please do not hesitate to discuss any concerns, questions or complaints about any issues related to the privacy of your personal information with your doctor.    If you are still dissatisfied you can complain to the Federal Privacy Commissioner whose contact details are: Level 8 Piccadilly Tower, 133 Castlereagh Street Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 1042 Privacy Hotline: 1300 363 992 Website: www.privacy.gov.au