WELCOME
Trusted Family Doctors Focused on Quality Patient Care.
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to provide the highest standard of patient care, incorporating holistic approach toward diagnosis and management of illness. This practice is committed to promoting well being and disease prevention to all patients. We do not discriminate in the provision of excellent care and aim to treat all patients with due respect. Our services extend to patients of all demographics!
We achieve our goal by incorporating a wide range of services into our treatment methodology. A full list of our available services is located under the ‘Services’ tab.
CULTURAL AWARENESS
Telegraph Road Clinic recognizes that Australia is a country of highly diverse cultural groups. In order to provide the highest standard of care possible that is tailored to your individual needs, we request that you let us know if you identify with a particular cultural background.
This helps our doctors in the provision of appropriate treatment. It also prevents any potential embarrassment or offence.
We appreciate your assistance in this matter and look forward to providing you with care appropriate to your needs!
INTERPRETER SERVICES
TIS – Translating Interpreter Service – if prior notification is given at least 24 hours in advance of the appointment.
NABS – This is a free service for the deaf and blind and is for sign language users and health care providers.
NRS – This is a government initiative that allows people who are deaf, hard of hearing and/or have a speech impairment to make, receive phone calls, NRS chat or SMS relay.
Please discuss with your Doctor in your first appointment if you would like an interpreter going forward!
Accredited Practice
GENERAL INFORMATION
PATHOLOGY
Sullivan & Nicolaides pathology are located within our clinic. Internal and external access available.
QML pathology are located within the shopping centre.
PARKING
Free parking is available in the Bracken Ridge Shopping Plaza car park.
DISABLED ACCESS
There are disability parking bays with in close proximity to the clinic.
EMERGENCY SERVICES ACCESS
There is an ambulance bay located at the entrance of the clinic in the event of an emergency.
TRANSFER OF MEDICAL RECORDS
Transfer of records to another practice can be arranged after written authority is received. If a complete summary is requested, there is an administrative fee of $25 to $50 dollars depending on the size of the file and postage fee.
You can also transfer records from another practice to our practice. Forms to facilitate this process are available at reception for you to fill out – simply request one from a receptionist! The form will then be sent off to your old practice, and the transfer will be handled administratively.
TAXI SERVICES
Receptionists are able to call taxis for patients returning home from the clinic. Taxis can be advised to stop outside the entrance of the clinic.
PRIVATE BILLING POLICY
Telegraph Road Clinic is a private billing practice with childhood immunisations bulk billed, with the exception of Dr Caroline Burge. Who accepts private billing only. Fee tables are listed on notice boards within the practice and on the front counter. There is also a fee table on the website – in the ‘Fees’ tab.
Fees are payable at the time of consultation by cash, EFTPOS or major credit cards. Some services attract charges that cannot be claimed from Medicare; however, you will be advised of this in advance.
APPOINTMENTS AND FEES
There may be additional charges incurred beyond the standard consultation fee if any additional tests and/or procedures are required.
Your doctor requires payment on the day for services they provided. Failure to make payment on the day and before close of business will incur an additional administration fee as set by your doctor for the time and resources taken to recover full payment.
A non-attendance fee as set by your doctor will be applicable for any missed appointments.
A late cancellation fee as set by your doctor will be applicable for any appointments cancelled with less than 2 (two) hours of notice.
NEW PATIENT APPOINTMENT POLICY & PROCEDURE
- Arrive 30 minutes early to complete new patient registration and consent form
- Doctor requires a minimum of 30-minute time allocation per person so as to take a thorough medical history and formulate a management plan.
- Fees – $166 Medicare rebate of $82.90
- We do not accept group family bookings – each family member is required to follow the same process
PHONE CALL POLICY
Doctors in the practice may be contacted during normal surgery hours; however most queries are best dealt with during a consultation at the surgery. It is encouraged that you make an appointment to discuss your query because your doctor is able to deal with it more thoroughly in that setting.
If necessary and appropriate your doctor may discuss your query by telephone. If the doctor is with a patient a message will be taken and you will be advised by the reception staff when it is likely that the doctor will return your call. Your call will always be put through to the doctor in an emergency.
HOME VISITS
Home visits are available for regular patients in the local area (3km Radius) whose condition prevents them from attending the surgery. Please ensure you satisfy these requirements and then discuss Home Visits with your regular GP, as an ongoing patient relationship is required prior to booking.
PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
This practice adheres to the provisions under the Privacy Act 1988 with Amendments (Private Sector) Act and in line with the APP replacing the current National Privacy Principles (NPPs) from March 2014, therefore it is the policy of this practice to maintain security and confidentiality of personal health information at all times and to insure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. The guidelines are available at https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/applying-privacy-law/app-guidelines
If you would like to know more about how we handle your personal information and comply with the Privacy Legislation, please ask for a copy of our Privacy Policy Manual.
COMPLAINTS
We encourage feedback and complaints and endeavor to resolve these to the best of our ability.
If you are not happy with any aspect of service provided to you there is an option to make a formal complaint through the Office of Ombudsman (OHO) if you feel the matter has not been dealt with by the practice to your satisfaction.
The Health Ombudsman of Queensland is a statutory position that oversees the Office of the Health Ombudsman and acts independently, impartially and in the public interest.
The Health Ombudsman is responsible for:
- LISTEN – Will listen carefully to your complaint.
- RESPOND – Respond to complaints quickly and thoroughly and communicate clearly.
- RESOLVE – Aim to resolve all complaints in the most timely and appropriate way.
Website: www.oho.qld.gov.au
Email: info@oho.qld.gov.au
Phone: 133 OHO (133 646)
TELEGRAPH ROAD CLINIC PATIENT FEEDBACK SURVEY 2023
Thank you to the patients who responded to our recent feedback survey. You found us to be welcoming, respectful and attentive and expressed confidence in our GPs ability to provide excellent healthcare.
You have also asked us to improve our service through increased telephone access to your GP and to decrease waiting times. You also asked us to be more informative about our fees. You have also told us that at times our TV can be too loud.
Our GPs are always available to speak to you in an emergency. They prefer not to be interrupted when consulting with a patient as this interrupts the consultation, makes them run late, and can breach your right to privacy. Telephone advice does not provide for best patient outcomes so please discuss the reason for your call and our reception staff or nurses will pass a message to your doctor or advise you of the best way to proceed in line with our Practice policy.
Waiting times are always an issue and we appreciate that our patients lead busy lives. You can help us improve by booking appropriately for more than one issue and again by asking our receptionists for advice on the appropriate amount of time to book. They respect your privacy and only require an outline of your needs. We will endeavour to provide more information when you check in on the amount of time you may have to wait, or to contact you if possible if the doctor is running excessively behind.
As a private billing clinic, we strive to give our patients value for money and we appreciate your loyalty. Our fees are displayed at reception, on our notice board at the nurse’s station, on our website, and our receptionists are required to provide this information to new patients, if you are booking a longer consultation or if you are attending when our fees are at a higher rate e.g. evenings and Saturdays. Our GPs will provide you with an accurate as possible estimate of your out-of-pocket expenses prior to performing procedures and our staff and GPs can advise you of the costs of vaccinations prior to your receiving them. If we fail to do this for any reason, please ask us and we will provide the information to you.
We acknowledge at peak times; TV volume automatically increases due to the pre-programmed advertisements. One TV is kept muted, one has volume and the other has patient information only without volume. Some background noise helps our reception team to protect patient privacy and confidentiality. We will continue to monitor for inappropriate content and volume.
Thank you again for your support in helping us provide high quality family medical care.