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.
Breathing problems are easy to under-describe once you are sitting in the room. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Technique gets checked with your own devices, not a demonstration model, because the problem is usually specific to the device you actually use. Bring the spacer too, if you have one.
“I've brought all my inhalers.”"I used to walk up the hill to the shops and now I stop halfway" tells a doctor far more than "I get a bit short of breath". Function is measurable; feelings drift.
“Here's what I can't do any more.”How many times a week you reach for the blue puffer is one of the clearest indicators of whether asthma is controlled. Three or more times a week usually means the preventer needs attention.
“I use my reliever about this often.”Waking at night coughing or short of breath is a significant sign that things are not controlled. It often gets left out because by morning it seems less alarming than it was at 3am.
“I've been waking up at night with it.”Open any of these for what it covers. Asthma and COPD are different conditions but they are managed with much the same set of tools.
Diagnosis
What happens Spirometry — a breathing test — to measure what your lungs are actually doing, alongside your history. It distinguishes asthma from COPD, and both from other causes of breathlessness.
A lot of people are told they have asthma on the strength of a wheeze and a good response to a reliever puffer. That is often right and sometimes not, and being treated for the wrong condition is its own problem.
Spirometry also gives a baseline, which is what makes every later test informative.
Devices
What happens Your GP or nurse watches you use your own inhaler and corrects what needs correcting. Poor technique is common, rarely mentioned, and means much of the dose never reaches the lungs.
Different devices need genuinely different techniques, and people who switch devices often carry the old technique across without realising.
A spacer makes a substantial difference with puffers, for adults as well as children. Many people have never been offered one.
Flare-ups
What happens A written action plan setting out what to do as things get worse — what to increase, when to start additional treatment, and when to seek help urgently.
The decisions during a flare-up are much easier to make calmly beforehand than at the point when you are struggling to breathe.
A plan on paper also means the people around you know what to do, which matters when you are in no state to explain it.
Prevention
What happens Vaccinations, trigger management, smoking cessation support, and pulmonary rehabilitation where it is appropriate — the things that reduce how often you get sick in the first place.
Chest infections are what push both conditions backwards, and each significant flare-up can leave lung function slightly lower than before.
For COPD in particular, stopping smoking is the single intervention that changes the long-term trajectory, and it is worth doing at any age and any stage.
Review
What happens Regular appointments to see how things are tracking, with repeat spirometry, an updated plan, and a care plan where allied health would help.
People adjust to a slow decline without noticing — they simply stop doing the things that make them breathless. Repeat testing shows that in a way symptoms will not.
A care plan brings in physiotherapy and exercise physiology with a Medicare subsidy, which is where a lot of the practical benefit sits for COPD.
An action plan is a written set of instructions for when your breathing gets worse. Tap a card.
Your usual treatment, and then what changes as things get worse.
It moves the decisions to a moment when you can think clearly.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Tap any card for what that part of the appointment involves.
Ask for a long appointment and say it is for asthma or COPD, so there is time for spirometry and a plan rather than just a script.
Flip backEvery inhaler, the spacer, and any action plan you already have, even an old one.
Flip backWhat you can and cannot do now compared with a year ago, how often you use the reliever, and whether you wake at night.
Flip backA breathing test to measure airflow, often repeated after a reliever to see how much it improves.
Flip backYou use your own inhaler while someone watches. This is where a surprising amount of the benefit of the appointment comes from.
Flip backPreventer and reliever reviewed, doses adjusted, and the device changed where another would suit you better.
Flip backWritten or updated on the spot, with a copy for you and one for the fridge.
Flip backBooked before you leave, sooner if treatment has just changed and you need to see whether it worked.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. The night-time symptoms are the ones people most often forget.
Asthma and COPD are managed by all of our doctors. Filter by who you would rather see, or book with whoever is free soonest.
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.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card — including spirometry, action plans and care plans. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception. Inhalers are charged by the pharmacy under the PBS.
Asthma involves airway narrowing that largely reverses with treatment, often starts younger and comes in episodes. COPD involves obstruction that does not fully reverse, is usually related to smoking or long-term exposure, and progresses gradually. Some people have features of both, which is managed accordingly.
As little as possible. Needing it three or more times a week generally means your preventer treatment needs reviewing rather than that you need more reliever. Bring that number to your appointment — it is one of the most useful things you can tell your GP.
Often yes. Preventers work by keeping inflammation down over time, so feeling fine while taking one usually means it is doing its job rather than that it is unnecessary. Stopping it is a decision to make with your GP, not on a good week.
Because if the dose does not reach your lungs, it does nothing. Poor technique is common and easily corrected, and it is one of the first things checked when treatment does not seem to be working.
Most people using a puffer benefit from one — adults as well as children. It substantially increases how much of the dose actually gets to the lungs and reduces side effects in the mouth.
It cannot be reversed, but the rate of decline can be slowed considerably and how you feel day to day can improve a great deal. Stopping smoking is the single most effective step, at any age. Pulmonary rehabilitation is also worth asking about.
It is recommended for people with asthma or COPD, and it is free under the National Immunisation Program for those who qualify. Chest infections are what set both conditions back, so preventing them is a large part of managing them.
Follow your action plan. If you do not have one, ring us — and if you are struggling to breathe, speak in full sentences, or your reliever is not helping, call 000. Do not wait for an appointment for that.
Yes. Children's asthma is managed with the same tools — an action plan for home and school, correct technique with a spacer, and regular review. Ask for a long appointment so there is time to do it properly.
If you have an inhaler but no written plan and nobody has watched you use it, one long appointment will change how well controlled you are.
An up-to-date action plan, inhaler technique checked properly, spirometry in our rooms and regular reviews. Bring every inhaler you have, including the ones you rarely use.
The clinic is inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, with free parking, and is a short drive from Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
