Appointments

Please phone the practice or book online to schedule an appointment. 

Our standard appointments are 15 minutes long, although you can request to book longer appointments for more complex issues or procedures (30, 45 or 60 minutes). 

If you are seeking an urgent appointment, our reception staff may need to triage your request. If this is the case, please answer their questions so they can best understand your situation.

Emergencies or urgent issues are always given priority, so on occasion you may not be seen at your allocated appointment time. Our staff will always endeavor to notify you of any major delays. We ask that you please be patient and understanding in the event of an emergency situation.  

On arrival, we ask that patients advise reception of their arrival for their appointment. This is also a perfect opportunity to check that we have your most current contact details and personal information including any name changes, address, home and mobile phone numbers and current Medicare card details.

Most fees are charged above the Medicare Benefits Schedule and subject to  periodic review. Payment at the time of consultation is required and can be made by cash, cheque, credit card or EFTPOS. If using credit card or EFTPOS there is a surcharge fee applied. Your Medicare subsidy will transfer to your bank account shortly after the time of paying if you register your bank details with Medicare.  

Direct billing to Medicare is available for children under 12 years of age (please refer to the billing policy below). 

A standard fee is $98.00. This generally attracts a Medicare subsidy of $41.40. Rebates for longer, more complex appointments are higher. What is charged and the applicable rebate depends on the length of time taken and the complexity of the appointment. For example, a long, complex appointment might be charged at $167.00 with a Medicare subsidy of $80.10.  

In some circumstances, additional services, procedures or consumables may  be used in your consultation. These may incur additional charges and these will be explained to you at the time. For example, should you require a lung function test (Spirometry), this will be added to your  consultation fee and will also attract an additional Medicare subsidy to be paid back to you.
 

We expect all scripts, referrals and forms to be issued during a consultation with your doctor. There are certain extenuating  circumstances where your doctor may do this upon a phone request, however, conditions apply and this will attract a charge that is not subsidised by Medicare. For example, a script renewal can be issued for  some medications if you have been seen recently. Scripts without appointment will cost $30.  

Workcover or other special claims may be billed to the authority concerned on the  understanding that should the payment be rejected you will be liable for settling the account.  
Please feel free to ask our friendly receptionists for more information on billing at any time, keeping in mind that it is the doctor who finalises the bill depending on what occurs in your consultation. 

Due to an extreme demand for GP services, we ask that any patient unable to attend their scheduled appointment contact reception at least two hours prior to their booking to advise of their inability to attend as scheduled.
Failure to advise reception of a non-attendance will result in a full consult fee (relevant to the length of the scheduled appointment). This fee will not attract a Medicare rebate. 

At The Doctor House, we make every effort to ensure that each and every patient is provided with the same high standard of care. In order to help facilitate this goal, an interpreter for patients with hearing impairments can be booked through the National Auslan Interpreter Booking Service www.nabs.org.au. For patients who speak languages other than English, The Doctor House is able to provide a printed practice information brochure in most languages. We can also organise a free translation service through the Translating and Interpreting Service. Please advise reception if you require this service when scheduling your appointment.   

The Doctor House is a fee for service practice and we require payment at the time of consultation.

Local aged pensioners in the immediate Yungaburra township have the ability to enter into an arrangement with their GP to enable part of their healthcare to be subsidised.

Children under the age of 12 years will continue to have their fees sent to Medicare.

We are unable to bulk bill our patients as the Medicare rebate no longer covers the cost of running a sustainable, quality healthcare centre. When considering the cost of visiting your GP, it is important to remember that the cost not only covers the doctor's time, but also covers the cost of reception, nursing, cleaning, essential medical equipment and maintenance of that equipment. There are also many hidden costs to healthcare including ongoing training, registration fees, professional memberships and insurances, building costs, IT and everyday operating expenses.

We, at The Doctor House, aim to provide a high quality  service to our clientele and have a zero tolerance policy in regard to abusive or threatening behavior. We ask that our patients treat all of our staff with understanding and respect.