Contacting your Doctor
If you believe the matter is urgent or serious, please tell our receptionist immediately.
Please discuss your need to speak to your doctor with our experienced receptionists. We may also suggest you speak to one of our registered practice nurses who may be able to assist in the first instance.
As our doctors are mostly unavailable while consulting you may leave a message and our doctors will return your call within 48 hours.
About the controlled use of medical email at our practice
Just like most businesses email is used by our practice – it takes two forms:
- Secure messaging via Argus and Healthlink
- Non-secure email via our email addresses.
During the next few years, email use will grow as patients and the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) realise it’s potential to serve as a valid form of medical communication.
Patient Privacy – Consent – IdentificationHow it applies to the medical use of non-secure emails
It’s important to understand that email is a medical document and needs to be treated with the same respect and care that any other form of patient doctor/specialist/hospital communication would demand.
Our practice does use email for
- Communication between other health providers – pharmacists, specialists, Workers Compensation insurers, residential aged care providers, Local Health District providers e.g. hospitals, community health
- Communication with third party providers – law firms, government organisations
- Limited use for practice to patient communication (please see note below)
Our practice does not use email for
- Recalls and reminders to patients
- Promotion of services and goods
Use of email for patient communication
The rules surrounding your privacy, consent and identification apply to the use of email in a medical context. Our patients are therefore encouraged to communicate with our practice via telephone, person to person or via the post. In some circumstances, our practice team may use email with your consent.
