General Practice Services

In an Emergency call 000  for an ambulance

Reception is available from 8.30am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 12 noon on Saturday.  If you are unable to contact this practice please phone 000 for an ambulance in an emergency. 

Emergency Departments 

University Hospital Geelong - Barwon Health, Ryrie Street Geelong.   24/7  - Public Hospital

Epworth Hospital  - 1 Epworth Place, Waurn Ponds.   24/7 Fees Apply

St. John of God - Myers Street Geelong.   24/7 Fee Apply

 For urgent medical attention  outside of the clinics regular hours the follwing services are available to provide assistance 

GP helpline on 1800 022 222 

Nurse on Call 1300 606 024

My Emergency Doctor (fees apply) 1800 123 633

If you need a repeat prescription or medical certificate for work we run a Quick Clinic most days.  Ask reception for more details if you think this might be what you need or to book an appointment.

• Check-ups
• Immunisation
• Pap smears
• Obstetrics shared care
• Family planning
• Vaccination
• Minor surgery
• Pathology onsite
• Nutrition advice
• Insurance medicals
• Travel medicine   - Yellow Fever vaccination accredited
• Sports medicine
• Fracture care
• Wound repair
• Skin checks
• Removal of most skin lesions
• Health assessments
• Home visits (for regular patients of the practice)
• Counseling
• Health management plans

.

Please phone the practice on 5261 4146 if you have to cancel your appointment.
We would appreciate 24 hours  notice to enable us to book another patient in.

We understand that sometimes life gets in the way and appointments can be forgotten – most times this is a “once off” situation. However it is the policy of this practice to contact general practice patients by phone if they fail to attend an appointment to make sure everything is OK. If a second appointment is missed we will again contact them and then send a letter reminding them of our policy. If a third appointment is missed then the doctor may charge a cancellation fee of $50.00.  If you have any questions regarding this policy please feel free to talk to our support staff or your doctor.

We are a private billing practice.   Payment on the day of consultation is expected and appreciated.

Fees are payable by most major credit card, Eftpos and cash and if your bank details are registered with Medicare we can submit the claim for you.

Please discuss with your doctor if your medical care is causing you financial difficulties.

Pensioners  and health care card holders may be charged a reduced rate.  However, some extended or more complex consultations may not be reduced.

Treatment room supplies including vaccines, dressings or some equipment used for certain procedures may attract non- Medicare rebateable fees on top of consultation fees. Please discuss with the practice nurse, reception or your doctor.

A cancellation fee of $50.00 may apply to appointments not attended of not cancelled with 24 hours notice.

In addition to consultations, treatments, investigations and procedures may incur costs that are not fully covered by Medicare or private health insurance and may result in out of pocket expenses to the patient. Patients referred to other health professionals for consultation or investigation may incur out of pocket expenses.  Patients are strongly advised to contact the practitioner or organisation and confirm the likely nature of these expenses. We are happy to help with contact details.

If you have any concerns about your care or any complaints please discuss these with your doctor. We value your opinion on the service we provide and are always happy to receive comment either verbally or via our Suggestion Box in the waiting room.  Periodically we will be giving patients a questionnaire to find out how you think we are doing. Any feedback on our practice helps us to deliver a better service and we are grateful for it.  The practice manager, Jen Flakemore, is the person to contact if you have a complaint or wish to share feedback about the practice in general. Account queries can be directed to our support staff or the Practice Manager, either in person or by  telephoning 5261 4146

We take complaints seriously and aim to resolve them quickly and fairly.

If you remain dissatisfied with our response, you may contact the Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC). The HCC responds to complaints about health services and the handling of health information in Victoria. Their service is free, confidential and impartial. To lodge a complaint with the HCC:

Fill out a complaint form online at www.hcc.vic.gov.au   or  

Phone 1300 582 113 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday to discuss your complaint.

Health Complaints Commissioner
Call: 1300 582 113
Fax: (61 3) 9032 3111

Write to or visit:
Health Complaints Commissioner
Level 26
570 Bourke Street
Melbourne. 3000
Victoria, Australia
DX Number 210182

https://hcc.vic.gov.au/

Making a complaint to the HCC Information poster 

Code of conduct for General Health Services 

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is able to receive complaints concerning privacy issues.
Complaints here will have a response within 28 days.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Privacy hotline 1300 363 992.
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001

https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/how-do-i-make-a-privacy-complaint

Assisted contact

If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact through the National Relay Service:

• Teletypewriter () users phone 133 677 then ask for 1300 363 992.
• Speak and Listen users phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 1300 363 992.
• Internet relay users connect to the National Relay Service then ask for 1300 363 992.

Members of the public may make a notification to AHPRA ( Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) about the conduct, health or performance of a practitioner or the health of a student.  Practitioners, employers and education providers are all mandated by law to report notifiable conduct relating to a registered practitioner or student to AHPRA.

Anyone can make a complaint about a registered health practitioner’s health, performance or conduct

• AHPRA receives complaints on behalf of the National Boards  and manages the notifications process
• You can raise a concern about a registered health practitioner
  • -  by calling 1300 419 495
  • -  by filling in the notifications form and submitting it by post; or
  • -  in person at an AHPRA office.

http://www.ahpra.gov.au/

Your medical record is a confidential document. All information regarding individual patients cannot be disclosed in any form except for strictly authorised use within the patient care context at our practice or as legally directed. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.  All patient health information is considered private and confidential and is not disclosed to anyone without the patient’s consent.  Staff are well educated on privacy laws and sign a confidentiality agreement when they start employment here.

Patients can obtain a copy of personal health information, further information on this can be obtained from reception.

Our privacy policy is available from reception or see our Privacy Policy below.
We abide by the Australian Privacy Principles available from the Office of the Australian  Information Commissioner

This practice has developed a policy to protect patient privacy in compliance with Australia’s privacy legislation.

Karuna-maya Medicine privacy policy

Current as of: 1/01/2022

Introduction

This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.

Why and when your consent is necessary

When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect about you includes:

• names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
• medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
• Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
• healthcare identifiers
• health fund details.

Dealing with us anonymously

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

Our practice will collect your personal information:

1. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. Information may be collected through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP) or through the MyHealth system via a shared health summary or event summary.
3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
4. In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:

• your guardian or responsible person
• other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
• your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veteran's Affairs (as necessary).

Who do we share your personal information with?

We sometimes share your personal information:

• with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
• with other healthcare providers
• when it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
• when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
• to assist in locating a missing person
• to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
• for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
• when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
• during the course of providing medical services, through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), MyHealth Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
   

Only people that need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.

Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt-out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms as paper records, electronic records or in a visual format  such as photos relevant to health treatment for example skin lesions.

Our practice stores all personal information securely. All electronic information is stored in protected information systems and any hard copy information is stored in a secure environment and only accessible to authorized persons.  All staff and contractors sign confidentiality agreements and understand their obligations in relations to information privacy, confidentiality and security.

How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We prefer you to put this request in writing but if this is not possible you may make this request verbally and fill out the Request for Personal Health Information form.  We shall acknowledge this request within 7 days and respond within 30 days.  There is no fee for this request but fees may be charged for the printing of medical records from our electronic system. Our practice will takes reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to the practice manager Georgina Orchard at gorchard@karunamedicine.com

How can you lodge a privacy related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Please forward any privacy related complaints to:

The Practice Manager

Karuna-maya Medicine

22 Princes Terrace

Jan Juc  Vic  3228

Phone: 03 5261 4146

Email: gorchard@karunamedicine.com

We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and respond within 30 days.

You may also contact the OAIC. Generally the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond, before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002.

Privacy and our website

Website Security

We endeavour to ensure our website is as secure as possible; however, users need to be aware that the World Wide Web is not a secure medium. Karuna-maya Medicine takes no liability for any interference or damage to a user's computer system, software or data occurring in connection with this website. We strongly recommend user's take appropriate measures to ensure their computer is protected against third party interference whilst on the web.

External links to other websites

This site may contain links to external websites which Karuna-maya Medicine has added to improve the service we offer and expand upon the information readily available to you. Once a user decides to click on a link and navigate away from the Karuna-maya Medicine website the privacy policy noted here is no longer in effect. Users are recommended to familiarise themselves with the privacy policies on these websites once they browse and interact with them.

Recommendations or views purported on these websites are not necessarily reflective of those of Karuna-maya Medicine.

Website Privacy Policy Statement

We do not collect or use any personal information on visitors to our website, through the use of “cookies” or other software or hardware techniques. We use Google Analytics to track website hits and other information  when you access our website such as pages viewed, date and time visited etc. This information is used for statistical and website development purposes only.  If you use our online contact form your contact details will be used for us to contact you in return. If you agree to join our newsletter your email address will be kept  for this purpose. 

Secure transmissions are not supported and if personal information is transmitted to the Practice via our email or our online contact form the practice cannot guarantee security of these transactions.

Policy review statement

This privacy policy will be reviewed annually and any legislative changes will be updated as they occur.  Any amendments to this policy will be notified to patients via notices in the waiting room and on our website.

Your doctor will need to see you for repeat prescriptions, or repeat referrals. We now offer a ‘Quick Clinic’ with one of our doctors most week days for such requests. Appointments are booked for six minutes only and are bulk billed. In and out and on your way!

If circumstances prevent you from attending a ‘quick clinic’ appointment you will need to make an appointment to see a doctor. On rare occasions it may be  possible to request a prescription (at the doctor’s discretion). A fee of $20 will apply for this service. This fee will apply to all patients including pensioners and health care card holders.

If you need to speak to your doctor by phone and the matter is urgent please inform the receptionist. If your doctor is not available, we will arrange another doctor to speak to you immediately.

If the matter is not urgent please leave a message and the telephone number for the doctor to return your call when they are able to give you their full attention. If the subject matter is complicated please make an appointment to discuss matters with your doctor.

Your doctor will generally request that you make an appointment for discussion of test results.  Depending on the nature of the test the doctor may  sometimes suggest you can phone for the results.  Reception staff will be able to check if the doctor needs to speak with you regarding the results of if the doctor has left a message for you.   If possible the best time to phone is Monday to Friday before 5.00pm and Saturday from 11.00am to 12.00 noon.   If you do need to speak with the doctor, and he or she is unable to take your call at the time, our reception staff will be able to arrange a suitable time for you to phone back or will take your details and get the doctor to phone at the earliest opportunity.  If, for any reason, we try to contact you regarding test results and are unable to do so by telephone we will send you a Test Result Letter which is a letter from the clinic requesting you contact us..

Please bring your Medicare card and any Pension or Concession card or Veterans Affair cards.

Any paperwork if you are having a pre-employment or insurance medical.

Your medications or a list of them.

The  childhood immunisation booklet if relevant

The doctors at Karuna-maya Medicine appreciate that your time is important and do their best to run to time. However, the nature of general practice, especially when there are emergencies to be seen, makes this difficult as some patients may take longer than they realised. Unfortunately, this may make some delay unavoidable. If you are unable to wait or wish to reschedule please let the receptionist know and your doctor will be informed.

If you are very unwell, particularly if you have chest pain or trouble breathing please inform reception immediately.

If your appointment is for a routine matter and you wish to reschedule please arrange this with the receptionist.

We do our best to contact patients and inform them of delay if we can, so please make sure all your contact details are up to date

The doctors are able to make home visits to our patients who are severely ill or infirm and unable to come to the clinic. Please telephone the clinic on 5261 4146 if this is the case and the receptionist will arrange for a home visit or put you through to your doctor, if available, or the on call doctor..