All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
On site at Salamander Bay Doctors
Podiatry, diabetes education, acupuncture and psychology all work from our rooms inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre, with 4Cyte pathology in the same building. Your GP and your allied health provider can talk to each other, and your follow-up happens in one place.
Podiatrist
Bachelor of Medical Science · Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Australian-trained podiatrist focused on foot, ankle, knee, hip and lower-back biomechanics — finding the cause of the pain rather than treating the symptom. Holds a Bachelor of Medical Science and a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine from Western Sydney University.
Credentialled Diabetes Educator
Bachelor of Nursing · Grad Cert Diabetes Education · ADEA Credentialled · Master of Nurse Practitioner
Born and raised on a dairy farm in the Hunter Valley. Bachelor of Nursing, Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management, ADEA Credentialled Diabetes Educator and a Master of Nurse Practitioner, with experience across regional, rural and remote NSW and the Northern Territory.
Acupuncture, bodywork & hypnotherapy
Licensed acupuncturist
A licensed acupuncturist with more than 30 years of experience across acupuncture, Chinese medicine, bodywork and hypnosis, having practised in the United States, New Zealand, China and now Australia.
Allied health attracts a fee. These services aren't bulk billed. If you have a chronic condition, a GP chronic condition management plan may make some sessions Medicare-subsidised — ask your GP whether you're eligible. Reception will tell you the cost when you book.
Allied health is one of the most underused parts of Medicare, mostly because people do not know how to reach it. Tap each one.
Four things worth knowing
For a chronic condition, your GP writes a GP chronic condition management plan in a long appointment. That plan is what gives you a set number of Medicare-subsidised allied health visits each calendar year.
“Could I have a care plan so I can see a physio?”The allotment is per calendar year and shared across all the allied health types. If you have a plan and have not used the visits, it is worth booking before the year turns over.
“How many visits do I have left this year?”Medicare pays a set amount per visit, and the provider sets their own fee. Many charge more than the rebate, so ask the provider what you will pay out of pocket when you book.
“What's the gap payment?”Psychology is accessed through a Mental Health Treatment Plan rather than a chronic disease care plan. Different form, different number of sessions, same idea.
“I'd like to talk about a mental health plan.”Open any of these for what they do and when they help. Several work from our own rooms; others we refer to locally.
Psychology
What happens Your GP writes a Mental Health Treatment Plan, which gives you Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist. Psychology is available here at the practice.
Talking therapy has good evidence behind it for anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and a great deal else. The obstacle for most people is the referral, not the willingness.
Having psychology on site means your GP and psychologist can coordinate, and it removes the awkwardness of explaining everything again somewhere unfamiliar.
Movement
What happens Referral to a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist for assessment and a programme built around strength and movement rather than rest.
For back pain, osteoarthritis and most musculoskeletal problems, the evidence points firmly towards movement and strengthening rather than avoiding activity.
An exercise physiologist is particularly useful where a chronic condition — diabetes, heart disease, COPD — makes knowing how much to do genuinely difficult.
Dietitian
What happens Referral to an accredited practising dietitian for advice built around your conditions, your medications and what you actually eat.
General dietary advice is something nobody is short of. A dietitian gives you something specific enough to act on and realistic enough to keep doing.
Particularly worth it for diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney disease, coeliac disease, irritable bowel, and for weight where that is the goal.
Feet
What happens Referral to a podiatrist for foot assessment, nail and skin care, orthotics, and the regular checks that diabetes makes necessary.
For people with diabetes, regular podiatry is not cosmetic. Reduced sensation means small injuries go unnoticed, and a podiatrist is the person who catches them.
Podiatry also helps with heel pain, ingrown nails, foot mechanics and the foot problems that come with arthritis.
More
What happens Referral to speech pathology, occupational therapy, audiology, diabetes education and others, depending on what your care plan identifies.
A care plan can cover any of the allied health types Medicare recognises, and the allotment is shared between them rather than being separate for each.
Your GP will suggest which will be most useful rather than spreading the visits thinly across everything.
Two different plans, two different allotments, and one thing they have in common — you need a GP appointment first. Tap a card.
For a condition expected to last six months or more.
A separate arrangement for psychology and mental health.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Tap any card for what that step involves.
Writing a care plan is not a fifteen-minute job. Say what it is for when you book so the right length is set aside.
Flip backWhat your conditions are, what is limiting you, and which allied health would actually make a difference rather than all of them.
Flip backWritten during the appointment — your conditions, your targets, who is involved and what each of them is doing.
Flip backWritten under the plan, naming the provider type and the number of visits. You choose the provider, or we suggest one.
Flip backRing the provider directly with the referral. Ask about the gap payment at that point rather than discovering it afterwards.
Flip backThe provider claims the Medicare rebate; you pay any difference. Some bulk bill, most charge a gap.
Flip backProviders write back to your GP, so what they found and did becomes part of your record rather than sitting separately.
Flip backA review appointment updates the plan and renews the referrals. Without it, the plan quietly lapses and so do the subsidised visits.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. Your GP will tell you which would be most useful to start with.
Care plans and referrals are written by all of our doctors. Filter by who you would rather see.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Every one of our doctors provides this. If the GP you usually see is booked, any of the others can help — your records are shared across the practice, so nobody is starting from scratch.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
Not to see one privately — you can book directly and pay the full fee. You need a GP referral under a care plan to get the Medicare subsidy, which is the main reason to come through us first.
A set number each calendar year, set by Medicare and shared across all the allied health types. The figure changes from time to time, so ask your GP at your appointment. They do not roll over.
Usually. Medicare pays a set rebate per visit and the provider sets their own fee, so many charge a gap. Ask the provider what you will pay out of pocket when you book with them.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card — both writing the plan and reviewing it. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception.
Several providers work from our rooms, including psychology. Ring reception on (02) 4008 4400 to ask what is currently available here and what we refer out for.
If you have a chronic condition expected to last six months or more — diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, asthma, COPD, kidney disease and many others — it is worth asking. Your GP will tell you at your next appointment.
Psychology is accessed through a Mental Health Treatment Plan rather than a chronic disease care plan. It has its own allotment of sessions and its own review point partway through.
Yes. You can name someone you already see, or ask us to suggest someone local. The referral names the provider type and the number of visits.
You can continue privately, paying the full fee, and the allotment resets in the new calendar year. Where more is genuinely needed, talk to your GP about what other options exist for your situation.
It does not expire on a date, but it needs reviewing to stay useful, and the referrals under it need renewing. A plan that has not been reviewed for a long time usually needs updating before new referrals are written.
Subsidised allied health sits behind one long GP appointment. If you have a long-term condition and have never had a care plan, it is worth asking about.
Podiatry, diabetes education, acupuncture and psychology work from our rooms, with 4Cyte pathology in the same building. A GP care plan can make some allied health visits Medicare-subsidised.
We are in Salamander Bay Shopping Centre with free parking, and patients come from across Port Stephens and the Tomaree Peninsula, including Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Lemon Tree Passage and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
