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.
A few small preparations turn a review from a chat into something that actually changes the plan. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Ask for the pathology form at your last visit or ring reception for one. Having the HbA1c, kidney function and cholesterol back before you sit down means the appointment is spent on what to do rather than on waiting to find out.
“Can I get the blood form before my review?”Your own readings show the pattern — the mornings, the overnight lows, the days that go sideways. An HbA1c gives the average, which hides everything interesting. Both together are far more useful than either alone.
“I've brought my meter and my readings.”Feet get checked as part of diabetes care because reduced sensation develops without being noticed, and a small injury you cannot feel is how serious problems start. Easy shoes and clean socks make it a thirty-second job.
“I'm happy for you to check my feet.”Diet advice that ignores shift work, or an injection schedule that does not fit your day, gets quietly abandoned. Saying so lets your GP build something you will actually follow.
“That part of the plan hasn't been working for me.”Open any of these for what it involves. The point of the schedule is to catch complications early, while they are still reversible or manageable.
Control
What happens An HbA1c blood test showing your average glucose over about three months, read alongside your own day-to-day readings, with medication adjusted to match.
HbA1c is the standard measure because it is not affected by what you ate this morning. Your GP sets a target with you — it is not the same number for everybody, and it changes with age and circumstances.
Your own readings fill in what the average hides. A perfectly respectable HbA1c can sit on top of highs and lows that cancel each other out, and that pattern matters.
Complications
What happens The checks that protect the parts of the body diabetes damages quietly — an annual foot examination, an eye check arranged with an optometrist or ophthalmologist, and kidney function on the bloods.
These complications develop without symptoms for a long time. By the time something is noticeable, the window in which it was easiest to act has usually passed.
None of the checks are difficult or unpleasant. They are simply easy to skip, which is why having them on a schedule matters more than remembering to ask.
Heart
What happens Blood pressure and cholesterol managed alongside the glucose, because cardiovascular risk is where most of the long-term harm from diabetes actually lands.
Managing blood pressure and cholesterol in someone with diabetes is at least as important as managing the sugar itself. It is unglamorous and it works.
Your GP looks at total cardiovascular risk rather than treating each number in isolation, which sometimes means treating a figure that would be left alone in someone without diabetes.
Lifestyle
What happens A dietitian referral under a care plan, practical advice that fits your life, and support with weight and activity where they would make a difference.
"Eat better and exercise more" is advice nobody has ever been short of. What helps is something specific enough to act on and realistic enough to keep doing.
A dietitian is genuinely worth the visit, and a care plan is what brings a Medicare subsidy to it. For type 2 diabetes in particular, changes here can shift the numbers substantially.
Staying well
What happens Vaccinations kept up to date because infections hit harder with diabetes, and a written plan for what to do with your medication when you are unwell.
Being sick pushes glucose around unpredictably, and some diabetes medications need to be paused during illness with vomiting or dehydration. Knowing that in advance is far better than working it out at 2am.
Influenza, COVID-19 and pneumococcal vaccination are all recommended for people with diabetes, and most are funded.
Diabetes care runs on a schedule. Knowing the shape of it means you can tell when something has been missed. Tap a card.
The appointment that keeps everything on track between the bigger annual checks.
The complication screening that only needs doing once a year, and easily slips.
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.
Ordered a week or so ahead, so the HbA1c, kidney function and cholesterol are back before you sit down.
Flip backYour meter or app, your medications in their boxes, and easy shoes and socks. Insulin users, bring your pens and your record.
Flip backBlood pressure, weight, and the HbA1c compared against your previous ones rather than judged on its own.
Flip backReviewed for pattern rather than individual figures — the mornings, the overnight lows, the days that go wrong and why.
Flip backShoes and socks off. Sensation, circulation, skin and nails. It takes under a minute and it is the check most often skipped.
Flip backReviewed across the whole list, not just the diabetes ones. Doses adjusted, side effects asked about, cost raised if it is a barrier.
Flip backUpdated to fit what has actually been happening. Referrals to dietitian, podiatry or educator renewed under your care plan.
Flip backBooked before you leave, along with any tests that need doing beforehand.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list to bring with you.
All of our doctors manage diabetes, 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.
Yes, on weekdays, for patients with a valid Medicare card — reviews, care plans and the pathology that goes with them. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception. Allied health providers set their own fees and may charge a gap.
Usually every three to six months, more often while medication is being changed and less often once things are stable. Medicare has rules about how frequently it can be claimed, and your GP will set the interval that suits you.
It is not the same target for everybody. Age, how long you have had diabetes, other conditions and the risk of hypos all change what is sensible. Your GP will agree a target with you rather than applying a single number to everyone.
Most people with type 2 diabetes are managed well in general practice. Referral makes sense where control is difficult despite treatment, where type 1 diabetes is involved, in pregnancy, or where complications are progressing.
Some people achieve remission — normal blood glucose without diabetes medication — usually through substantial, sustained weight loss, and it is more likely the earlier it is attempted. It is not possible for everyone, and it needs medical supervision rather than a self-directed approach. Worth discussing with your GP if it interests you.
Diabetes can reduce sensation in the feet without you noticing, which means an injury can go unfelt and become serious. An annual examination catches the loss of sensation while there is still time to protect against it.
Through a care plan. Your GP writes the plan in a long appointment, and it brings a set number of Medicare-subsidised allied health visits each calendar year. The provider may still charge a gap.
Ask your GP for a written sick-day plan before you need one. Illness pushes glucose around, and some diabetes medications should be paused during vomiting or dehydration. The plan sets out what to do and when to seek help.
It depends on your treatment. People on insulin generally need to test regularly; people on tablets alone often need to test far less. Your GP will tell you what is useful for you rather than applying one rule to everyone.
Part of it, sometimes. The discussion works by phone; the foot check, blood pressure and weight do not. A mix often works well — ask reception what applies to your situation.
Nothing in diabetes care is complicated on its own. What makes the difference is that each check actually happens, at the right interval, year after year.
Regular reviews, HbA1c and kidney checks, eye and foot checks, and diabetes education in our rooms, coordinated through a care plan. Have your bloods done before your review so the results are ready.
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
