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.
Managing a condition over years is a different job from treating a problem once. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing
A doctor who saw your numbers two years ago notices a drift that a stranger reading the file cannot. For anything long-term, booking with the same GP is worth waiting a few extra days for.
“I'd like to book with my usual doctor.”Blood pressure taken in a doctor's room is famously unreliable. A fortnight of readings from home, or a run of blood sugars, tells your GP far more than a single measurement taken while you were rushing in from the car park.
“I've brought my readings from home.”Nobody takes every tablet every day, and nobody follows every piece of advice. Saying so is not a confession — it is what lets your GP change the plan to one you will actually follow, rather than reviewing a plan that only exists on paper.
“I haven't been taking one of them, to be honest.”If you are managing more than one thing, say so when you book. A long appointment costs you nothing extra and is the difference between covering everything and being asked to come back for the rest.
“I'd like a long appointment — there are a few things.”Open any of these for what ongoing management involves. Most people here are managing more than one, which is exactly why they are managed together.
Cardiovascular
What happens Regular review of your blood pressure, cholesterol and overall cardiovascular risk, with medication adjusted as things change and attention paid to everything around it.
High blood pressure causes no symptoms at all until it causes something serious, which is why it is measured rather than felt. Managing it is quiet, unglamorous work that changes outcomes considerably.
Your GP looks at the whole risk picture rather than a single number — blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, family history and weight together.
Diabetes
What happens Regular review of your glucose control, plus the checks that protect your eyes, kidneys, feet and heart — the parts of diabetes care that matter most and get forgotten most easily.
Diabetes is managed on a schedule: bloods at set intervals, feet checked, eyes checked, kidneys checked, blood pressure and cholesterol kept in range.
A care plan is particularly useful here, because it brings in the dietitian, the podiatrist and the diabetes educator with a Medicare subsidy attached.
Lungs
What happens Spirometry to measure what your lungs are doing, an action plan in writing, inhaler technique checked properly, and vaccinations kept up to date.
Most people with asthma or COPD have an inhaler and no written plan, and a surprising number are using the device incorrectly. Both are fixable in one appointment.
Regular testing shows change over time that symptoms alone will not, because people adjust to a slow decline without noticing it.
Musculoskeletal
What happens Assessment of what the joint is actually doing, a plan built around movement and strength rather than tablets alone, and referral to physiotherapy where it will help.
Osteoarthritis is common and there is far more to do about it than take something for the pain. Strength, weight and keeping moving all change how much it limits you.
A care plan brings physiotherapy and exercise physiology in with a Medicare subsidy, which is usually the most useful part of the whole arrangement.
Ongoing
What happens Conditions that need periodic bloods and periodic review rather than daily attention — chronic kidney disease, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, gout, liver conditions and more.
A lot of long-term management is simply making sure the right test happens at the right interval and that somebody looks at the result properly.
Your GP sets the schedule, orders the bloods ahead of the appointment where that is useful, and keeps the medication list honest as things are added over the years.
This is the part most people have heard of and few have had explained. Tap a card.
A written plan for a condition expected to last six months or more.
The practical benefit — Medicare-subsidised visits to allied health providers.
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 visit involves.
Your GP may order bloods a week ahead so the results are there on the day. That turns two appointments into one.
Flip backEvery medication in its box, your home readings, any specialist letters, and an honest account of what has not been working.
Flip backBlood pressure, weight, and whatever else your conditions call for — compared against last time rather than looked at alone.
Flip backReviewed as a whole. Things get added by specialists over the years and nobody stands back and looks at the entire list unless a GP does.
Flip backHow you have actually been, what has got harder, what you have stopped doing. This part is more useful than any of the measurements.
Flip backUpdated rather than rewritten. Targets adjusted, referrals renewed, and anything that clearly is not working replaced with something you will do.
Flip backAllied health referrals renewed under the plan, and specialist referrals written where they are needed.
Flip backBooked before you leave. A plan that lapses quietly stops giving you the subsidised visits, and nobody notices until it is needed.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. A review appointment covers more ground when the list is written down.
Long-term conditions are managed by all of our doctors, and your record is shared across the practice. 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.
Broadly, anything expected to last six months or more — diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, COPD, arthritis, kidney disease, osteoporosis, thyroid conditions and many others. If you are not sure whether yours qualifies, ask your GP at your next appointment.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card — including care plans and reviews. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception. Allied health providers you are referred to set their own fees and may charge a gap.
It depends on the condition and how stable it is. Some people are reviewed every three months, others every six or twelve. Your GP sets the interval and books the next one before you leave.
Not necessarily, but they help where there is more than one condition or where allied health would make a difference. The main practical benefit is the Medicare subsidy on physiotherapy, dietetics, podiatry and similar.
You can, and your records are shared across the practice so nobody starts from scratch. For long-term conditions there is still a real advantage in seeing the same GP where you can.
Sometimes, depending on Medicare's current rules and on whether physical measurements are due. Often a mix works well — bloods and a blood pressure check in person, the discussion by phone.
That is the norm rather than the exception, and it is exactly where this kind of care earns its keep. One appointment covering everything, one medication list reviewed as a whole, and coordination between the specialists involved.
Depending on your conditions — a dietitian, physiotherapist, podiatrist, exercise physiologist, diabetes educator, psychologist, or a specialist. Your GP coordinates it so everyone is working from the same plan.
Your medications in their original boxes, any home readings, letters from specialists, and a list of what you want to raise. The honest account of what you have not been doing is the most useful thing in the appointment.
Yes. Bring your history, your medication list and any specialist letters to the first appointment, and ask for a long one so there is time to go through it all.
Long-term conditions rarely announce that they have changed. That is what a regular review is for.
Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, COPD, arthritis and kidney disease are managed with a care plan, regular reviews and subsidised allied health where you are eligible.
You will find us at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, Salamander Bay, inside the shopping centre, a few minutes from Nelson Bay, Corlette and Soldiers Point and an easy drive from Anna Bay, Medowie and Lemon Tree Passage.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
From the health journal
