Appointment Policy
Terms & Conditions
Payment in full is required at the time of consultation.
If an account remains unpaid, no further medical services will be provided.
Payment of a non-attendance fee is an obligation to be a patient at this practice.
If payment isn't received within 28 days of the consult, further actions will be taken.
Appointment times
If you have more than one issue to discuss with your practitioner, please request a longer appointment. If the practitioner cannot cover every aspect in a single consultation, you may be asked to come back for a subsequent visit. This is done to ensure the best quality care possible. While our practitioner's do their best to run to time, we occasionally have emergencies and unforeseen circumstances that may result in delays beyond our control. We trust that affected patients will be understanding and in the rare event that significant delays occur, we will do our best to notify you to ensure you are not kept waiting.
Late arrivals
In order to provide a fair and timely service to all patients, we require that patients who have made a booking arrive promptly for their appointment. If you are attending the clinic for the first time we ask that you arrive at least 10 minutes prior to your allocated time, to allow completion of your new patient paperwork if this hasn’t been completed online prior. If you are more than 15mins late, your appointment will be rescheduled and a fee may apply. Arriving late deprives you of precious minutes, as each session will be finished on time as a courtesy to our next patient. We fully understand that sometimes being late is outside of your control, and we will always do our best to accommodate you. We ask that you contact us if you are concerned you may be late.
MISSED APPOINTMENTS/CLASSES AND CANCELLATIONS
When you book your appointment or class, you are holding a space that is no longer available to other patients. We politely ask that you please respect that the practitioner often has limited appointment times, and that you contact us at least 24hrs before your appointment should you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment. Cancellation fees will apply as follows:
At least 24hrs notice: no cancellation fee
Less than 24hrs notice: 50% of your consultation or class fee will be charged
No-show: 100% of consultation or class fee.
If payment isn't received within 28 days of the account, further actions will be taken and no further bookings will be possible until payment is received.
We will send appointment reminders 1 business day prior to your appointment. Please remember to confirm your attendance. If you do not receive your reminder, your appointment remains your responsibility to attend, reschedule or cancel. If you need to cancel your appointment within 24 hours, we are of course understanding of this and will cancel or reschedule your appointment. If you need to cancel your appointment, please:
Call us – 8652 7222
Respond 'cancel' to the email reminder
Email us - info@miwm.com.au
Contact us via www.miwm.com.au
Emails and contact us page submissions are monitored on a regular basis by reception staff.
Telehealth
Although face to face appointments are preferred, the practitioner can offer a telehealth service (video consult) to patients. This is an option if you are unable to attend in the clinic (ie COVID-19). Please advise reception staff if you wish for your appointment to be changed to a video consult. Due to Medicare requirements, patients over 12 months of age have to of been seen by a health professional within the clinic for a face to face consult within the last 12 months to be eligible for a Medicare rebate (some exceptions apply). If you have not been seen in clinic, the full consult fee will apply. Fees for telehealth and face to face appointments are the same.
COVID-19 Policy
Maternal and Infant Wellbeing Melbourne will continue implementing measures to ensure we keep COVID-19 out of the Practice so we can continue to deliver medical care to all patients, as well as keeping the Practice, staff and patients safe.
Terms of appointments at MIWM:
Surgical masks MUST be worn upon entering and during consults if you or your child have a fever or any respiratory symptoms. We have these available upon entry - free of charge. Unfortunately, mask exemptions will not apply due to vulnerable patients and babies.
Confirmation of no respiratory/COVID-19 symptoms.
We understand this may present some challenges, and we appreciate your co-operation to ensure we can continue to deliver medical services in a safe environment. At MIWM, the safety of patients and staff is the highest priority. If you are unvaccinated we are happy to see you in the clinic. If you are unable to attend due to COVID, we will still provide medical care however a video consult will be required.
MIWM privacy policy
Current as of: 11/11/2023
Introduction
The purpose of this policy is to ensure that patients who receive care from the practice are comfortable in entrusting their health information to the Practice. This policy provides information to patients as to how their personal information (which includes their health information) is collected and used within the practice, and the circumstances in which we may disclose it to third parties. Maternal and Infant Wellbeing Melbourne takes its obligations under the Victorian Health Records Act 2002 and the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 seriously and incorporates the Australian Privacy Principals (APP). The APP provide privacy protection framework that supports the rights and obligations of collecting, holding, using, assessing and correcting personal information. Maternal and Infant Wellbeing Melbourne collects and holds personal information about you. The main reason that we collect this information from you is so that we may properly assess, diagnose, treat your illness properly and be proactive in your health care needs. The information we ask you is very personal. But not having it may restrict our capacity to provide you with the standard of medical care that you expect. The primary purpose of a clinical health record is to hold the information about a patient that is required for effective care: good patient information supports appropriate clinical decisions
Why and when your consent is necessary?
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our Practitioners and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.
Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
MIWM will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
Healthcare identifiers
Health fund details.
Dealing with us anonymously
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
MIWM may collect your personal information in several different ways.
When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. Our practice integrates with other services which will utilise this data. This includes electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), My Health Record, Shared Health Summary, and Event Summary. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media. In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
your guardian or responsible person
other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
Your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).
When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?
We sometimes share your personal information:
With third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
With other healthcare providers
When it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
When it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
To assist in locating a missing person
To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
For the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
During the course of providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent. We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent. MIWM will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing. Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data. We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. The information is secure, patients cannot be identified and the information is stored within Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms including paper records, electronic records, visual records (X-rays, CT scans, videos and photos), audio recordings. Our practice stores all personal information securely in protected information systems with 2 factor authentication or in hard copy format in secure cabinets.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in to info@miwm.com.au and our practice will respond within 30 days. Fees may apply to cover administrative costs. Please speak to our admin staff for further information. MIWM will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to info@miwm.com.au
How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Please sendorrespondence to:
The Practice Manager, Suite 2, Level 6, 369 Royal Parade, Parkville 3052, or info@miwm.com.au
Complains will be addressed within 30 days.
You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992
Policy review statement
This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. We will notify you of any changes via email when you book your next appointment.
Communication
You may call the clinic at any time, our staff are experienced in assisting with the appropriate response to any telephone request. Our Doctors will only be interrupted if the matter is urgent. Otherwise, it is anticipated that you will receive a reply to your query within 1 business day.
Email communication is discouraged due to it not being a secure form of communication, so any medical information is best discussed with your doctor.
Test Results
In the interests of best practice and privacy, and unless otherwise advised, you should book an appointment one week after any investigations/tests have been performed. It is your responsibility to book this follow-up appointment to get your results.
Reminder System
Our practice is committed to preventative healthcare. Our practice uses an SMS and email system for result recalls, appointment reminders as well as other types of health reminders such as immunisations and where applicable cervical cancer screening tests. We will automatically include you in our reminder system. Please advise the reception staff if you do not want to receive email reminders.
Patient Rights
As a patient, you have the right to and are encouraged to participate in decisions about your healthcare.