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.
These are short appointments by design. A little preparation keeps them that way. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
A week's notice turns a problem into an errand. Running out on a Friday afternoon turns it into a weekend of phone calls, and for some medicines stopping suddenly is genuinely risky rather than merely inconvenient.
“I'm running low and I'd like to book.”Vitamins, fish oil, herbal remedies, anything a specialist added, anything you buy over the counter. Several of these interact with prescription medicines, and the packets are far more reliable than anybody's memory.
“I've brought everything I'm taking.”Plenty of people stop a medicine because of a side effect and never mention it. Your GP needs the real picture, not the official one — otherwise the next decision is built on something that isn't true.
“I stopped taking one of these, and here's why.”If you take several things, or a specialist has changed something recently, ask for a longer appointment when you book. A proper review of a long list is worth doing once rather than badly three times.
“I'd like a longer appointment to go through everything.”Open any of these for what is involved. Some medicines need monitoring alongside the script, and that is arranged in the same visit.
Ongoing medicines
What happens Your GP checks the medicine is still doing its job, that the dose still suits you, and that nothing new on the list conflicts with it. Then the script goes to your phone.
Blood pressure tablets, cholesterol medication, thyroid replacement, diabetes medicines, inhalers, reflux treatment, contraception. The everyday medicines people take for years.
Bodies change. Kidney function drifts, weight shifts, other medicines get added. A dose that was right three years ago is not automatically right now, which is the whole argument for reviewing rather than reissuing.
Monitoring
What happens Some medicines need periodic blood tests to stay safe. Your GP orders them before or at the appointment so the result and the script arrive together rather than weeks apart.
Thyroid medication, diabetes medicines, some blood pressure tablets, cholesterol medication, lithium, methotrexate, warfarin. Each has its own schedule.
If your GP asks for bloods before renewing something, it is not obstruction. It is the reason the medicine remains safe to keep taking.
Mental health
What happens These are not a quick reissue. Your GP asks how you actually are, whether the medicine is helping, what the side effects are like, and whether the dose or the plan should change.
If you are struggling right now, don't wait for a script appointment. Ring us and say so, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Antidepressants, anxiety medication, sleep medication, mood stabilisers. Renewing one is a chance to check how things are going, which is often more useful than the script itself.
Ask for a long appointment. If you have been thinking about coming off something, say so — it usually needs a plan and a taper rather than simply stopping.
Restricted medicines
What happens Some medicines — strong pain relief, stimulants, some sedatives — are governed by NSW regulations about who may prescribe them and for how long. Your GP will explain what applies to yours.
These medicines often require an authority, a specialist's involvement, or a shared-care arrangement. That is state law rather than a practice preference, and it applies wherever you go.
Real-time prescription monitoring means your GP can see what has been dispensed elsewhere. If you are transferring your care to us, bring a letter from your previous prescriber — it makes the transition far smoother.
Contraception
What happens A short appointment covering how you are getting on with it, blood pressure where the pill requires it, and whether something else might suit you better — then the script.
The pill, the ring, the implant, the injection, the IUD. Renewing one is a natural moment to ask whether it is still the best fit.
If you would rather change to something long-acting, several of our GPs can discuss the options and arrange it.
Nobody enjoys booking an appointment for a box of tablets they have taken for years. Here is what it is actually for. Tap a card.
Signing a prescription is a clinical decision, and it carries the same responsibility each time it is made.
Less than people expect, and it is short by design.
Bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card on weekdays. Weekend arrangements differ — please check with reception.
Eight steps, most of which take less time than finding a park. Tap any card.
A week's warning makes this simple. The last tablet on a Sunday makes it hard, and for some medicines genuinely unsafe.
Flip backSay it is for a script when you book. If your list is long or a specialist has changed something, ask for a longer one.
Flip backEvery box, including the ones from the supermarket shelf. Interactions hide in the things people do not think of as medicines.
Flip backStill working? Still needed? Still the right dose? Any side effects you have been putting up with? This is the part that earns the appointment.
Flip backSome medicines need periodic monitoring. Your GP will order it and explain what it is checking for.
Flip backSent electronically as a token to your phone, or printed if you would rather. Either works at any pharmacy.
Flip backYou pay the PBS co-payment there, not here. Ask your pharmacist whether your medicine qualifies for a 60-day supply — many now do.
Flip backRepeats are set to a sensible interval. Note when they run out, and start this again a week before that.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. Medication conversations go far better with a list than with a recollection.
If you take several medicines, seeing the same GP each time is worth the wait. For a single straightforward repeat, whoever is free is fine.
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.
As a rule, no. A prescription is a clinical decision each time it is made, and it needs a GP who has checked that the medicine is still right for you. Ring reception if you are in a genuinely difficult spot and they will work out what can be done.
Yes, on weekdays, with a valid Medicare card. What you pay at the pharmacy is separate — that is set by the PBS and the pharmacy, not by us. Weekend arrangements differ, so please check with reception.
You are sent a token by text or email. Show it at any pharmacy and they dispense from it. If there are repeats, a new token comes back to you each time. Paper scripts are still available if you prefer them.
We are open seven days, so ring us. Your pharmacist can also supply a limited emergency amount of some medicines without a script. Do not simply stop taking something — for several common medicines that is the genuinely risky option.
Usually yes, once your GP has the specialist's letter setting out the plan. Some medicines require an authority or a shared-care arrangement, and a few must stay with the specialist. Your GP will tell you which applies.
Some medicines need periodic monitoring to stay safe — checking kidney or liver function, thyroid levels or drug levels. It is the reason the medicine remains safe to keep taking rather than an obstacle to getting it.
It depends on the medicine and on how stable things are. Well-established treatments often get longer repeats; anything new, or anything that needs monitoring, gets a shorter interval on purpose.
For a number of common ongoing medicines, one script can now cover 60 days of supply instead of 30, which halves both the trips and the co-payments. Not every medicine qualifies — ask your GP or your pharmacist whether yours does.
Yes. With an electronic script, forward the token. Someone else can also collect dispensed medication from the pharmacy on your behalf.
Yes, and they should be. Ask for a long appointment. Your GP can also arrange a Home Medicines Review, where a pharmacist goes through everything with you at home and reports back.
A week's notice turns this into an errand. Leaving it turns it into a problem, and for some medicines a genuinely risky one.
Your GP reviews what you are taking before renewing it, then sends an electronic script to your phone so you can fill it at any pharmacy in Salamander Bay, Nelson Bay or further afield. Book before the last few tablets run out.
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.
