Question 1

Care Outside Practice Hours and Home Visits

Accepted Answer

Home Visits and After Hours Home Visits can be arranged with reception and consultation with your doctor. ​ Gore Street Medical has an arrangement with “Call The Doctor” which is a Tasmanian owned and operated business servicing the greater Hobart area. Your visit notes will be sent back to your regular GP. Call the doctor is open 6pm until 8am Monday to Saturday and 24 Hours Sundays, Public Holidays, over the Christmas-New Year break and over the Easter break. ​ Call the Doctor is a home visit service for acute concerns, they will come to you. If you have a concession card and a Medicare card there is no out of pocket expense, for those with a Medicare card and no concession there is a gap of $49.80. Contact Call the Doctor by phoning 1800 225 584. ​ If you require non-emergency advice you can call the National Health Direct Advice and Information Line on 1800 022 222 or visit their website healthdirect.gov.au. ​ The closest public hospital emergency room is the Royal Hobart Hospital on 48 Liverpool St, Hobart. There is also private hospital emergency rooms, which require private health insurance covering emergencies and have an out of pocket expense payable upon arrival, Hobart Private Hospital on the corner of Argyle and Collins St, Hobart, and Calvary Hospital on 49 Augusta Road Lenah Valley.

Question 2

Results Policy

Accepted Answer

Results will not be given out by phone or email under any circumstances. This is because our doctors take a holistic view as such a non-significant result may be significant in correlation with other information. It is your doctors role to interpret the result, not the receptionists. Reception is only permitted to advise you if a result has been received or not, once received you may make a booking with your doctor to discuss.

Question 3

Communication Policy

Accepted Answer

Unless you ask us not to, we will send you a reminder SMS the day before your appointment. When calling by phone we will need three identifiers such as your name, address and date of birth before we can identify you. We generally won’t engage in email communication except for making appointments and sending the email newsletter. You may ask to be put through to a doctor or be called back however, our doctors reserve the right to ask you to make an appointment to discuss any matters you have.

Question 4

Patient Recalls and Follow Ups

Accepted Answer

If your results are clinically alarming your doctor will contact you directly as soon as possible however, if they’re not clinically alarming they will generally mark your file for follow up, reception will then call you to make and appointment. Please note our results policy on the other page of this document. ​ Periodically, our doctors or a nurse may recall you for health assessments for which your doctor believes you should undergo, for GP management plans for chronic conditions your doctor believes relevant to you, or for Diabetes, Asthma & Cervical Screening.

Question 5

Practice Billing Policy, Fees and Cancellations

Accepted Answer

Gore Street Medical is not a bulk billing practice. You are required to pay the full amount of your consultation fee on the day of your consultation. Other terms and conditions apply to service, please see the new patient form which lists these in detail. Doctors Fees At Gore Street Medical our doctors take a holistic view of your health hence they require a full 1 hour consultation initially to properly gather your history and current situation. Our doctors are clinically and financially independent hence they have their own fee schedules as per their doctors page on this website. View each page here: ​ Dr Peter Baratosy Dr Greg Schwarz Dr Linda Wilson Dr Reinhard Hemm  Dr Brittany Birrell   We will lodge the appointment with Medicare on your behalf after receiving the payment, if Medicare has your bank account on file they will pay directly into your account, usually within 24 hours. Cancellations A minimum of 24 hours notice is required for appointment cancellations or a fee will be incurred up to the value of the consultation booked. Bookings can be made for phone consultations, but they may not receive a Medicare rebate. We can also arrange to attend you at home, depending on the situation. Varying fees and availability apply, please contact reception to arrange.

Question 6

Terms and Conditions

Accepted Answer

You acknowledge Gore Street Medical have a cancellation policy. A minimum of 24 hours notice is required to avoid a cancellation fee at the discretion of the practitioner which may be up to the full amount of the service booked. Full payment needs to be paid on the day of the appointment, if not there will be an additional $15 charge. If the account is not paid within 7 days it will be then forwarded onto a debt collection service and will incur an extra 40% debt collection fee. You understand and accept our privacy policy which is available on our website or on request. While the practice will liaise with insurance providers such as workers compensation insurers or MAIB or the like on your behalf for the purposes of payment, you accept that you are ultimately liable for any and all fees, charges or the like for goods or services provided by the practice, the dispensary or any practitioner practicing in this practice hence you will be asked to pay should the relevant insurance provider reject payment. If you are unable to provide a valid claim number for your insurance matter at the time of charge you will be required to pay yourself then claim back from your insurance provider. You further acknowledge that debt collection fees will apply to the amounts you are asked to pay as per clauses 2 & 3. ​

Question 7

Privacy Policy

Accepted Answer

This information aims to explain clearly how personal information about you and your health is recorded and managed in this practice. Your practitioner will be happy to discuss this with you. Communicating Anonymously You can communicate with the practice anonymously by phone or in person if you would like general information however you must identify yourself in order to communicate about anything that concerns your private information. Your Personal Health Information Your practitioner needs information about your past and present health in order to provide you with high quality care. This practice will make sure that you are able to discuss your health with your doctor in private.

Information is called “personal health information” if it concerns your health, medical history or past/future medical care and if someone reading it would be able to identify you.

This practice follows the “Code of Practice for the Management of Health Information in Medical Practices” developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. This means that your personal health information is kept private and secure. The approach used in this Code is consistent with the provisions of Federal and State Privacy Legislation. The practice has a written policy on personal health information – this policy is available to all patients for inspection.
 Your Medical Records Your practitioner will do his/her best to make sure that your medical records: Are accurate, comprehensive, well organised and legible; Are up to date; Have enough information to allow another doctor to care for you; Do not contain offensive or irrelevant comments about you; Contain a summary of your care; and Can be used to remind you to return for follow up, checkups and reviews. Your practitioner will only collect information that is relevant to your medical care. If you are uncertain as to why information is being requested, please ask your practitioner. ​ Practitioners' Notes Practitioners' notes forever remain the intellectual property of the doctor who recorded them. They may contain some of your health information however, ultimately the decision to release practitioners notes to other parties, health practitioners and government bodies, unless subpoenaed by a court with the relevant jurisdiction, is a matter for individual practitioner to decide. For example, you may request a copy of your pathology results, which you will be provided, however, you may not be provided the doctors written notes on the results in question at the discretion of the doctor.
 Providing Your Information to Other Practitioners The practitioners in this practice respect your right to decide how your personal health information is used or disclosed (e.g. to other doctors and specialists). In all but exceptional circumstances, personal information that identifies you will be sent to other people outside this practice only with your consent. Gaining your consent is the guiding principle 
It is important that other people involved in your care, such as other doctors and specialists, are informed of relevant parts of your medical history so that they can best care for you. If your practitioner needs to engage with a practitioner outside of this practice, after discussion with you, your practitioner will write a letter to the other practitioner, which will either be sent electronically, faxed, posted or given to you to take to them. If you have any concerns about this, please discuss them with your practitioner.

In most group practices it is customary for all practitioners in the practice to have access to all the medical records. If you have any concerns about other practitioners at this practice being able to see your records, discuss your concerns with your practitioner. ​ Providing Your Information to Others Your practitioner will not disclose your personal health information to a third party unless: You have consented to the disclosure: or This disclosure is necessary because you are at risk of harm without treatment and you are unable to give consent – for example you might be unconscious after an accident; or Your doctor is legally obliged to disclose the information (e.g. notification of certain infectious diseases or suspected child abuse, or a subpoena or court order) ; or The information is necessary to obtain Medicare payments, Department of Veterans Affairs payments or other health insurance rebates; or The information is necessary to obtain your eligibility for Medicare payments, Department of Veterans Affairs payments or other health insurance payments; or This disclosure is necessary for the doctors in the practice to carry out a review of their practice for the purpose of improving the quality of care provided and the activity has been approved under Commonwealth or State legislation or by a Medical College. This provides safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information provided; or There is an overriding public interest in the release of the information. In any of the above cases only information that is necessary to achieve the objective will be provided. 
Your private information and your health will not be disclosed to parties outside of Australia. Using Health Information for Quality Improvement and Research We use patient health information to assist in improving the quality of care we give to all our patients by reviewing the treatments used in the practice.

We may also use information that does not identify you in research projects to improve health care in the community. You will normally be informed if your information is to be used for this purpose and will have the opportunity to refuse to have your unidentified information used in this way.

In some circumstances, where the research serves an important public interest, identifiable medical records can be used for medical research without your consent under guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Research Council. An official ethics committee must approve this research.

Wherever practicable, the information used for research will not be in a form that would enable you to be identified. The publication of research results, which use your information, will never be in a form that enables you to be identified. Security of Information in the Practice Most medical practices now keep their medical records on a computer system. We will ensure that any of your personal information that is put on computer will be kept private by only allowing access by authorised staff. We will also ensure system back-ups are kept safe and away from any unauthorised contact. ​ Electronic Communication of Your Health Information You acknowledge we use electronic communication systems such as fax, email, secure document exchange via systems like Health Link and Promedicus, MyHealthRecords, Health Professional Online Services and the like. You permit us to use the above and similar methods to communicate your health information to relevent parties including other health practitioners, health bodies and the government as outlined within this privacy policy. Your Access to Your Health Information You have access to the information contained in your medical record, except for practitioners notes which are at the discretion of the practitioner. You may ask your doctor about any aspect of your health care including information in your record. We believe that sharing information is important for good communication between you and your doctor and for good health care.

Information in your record can be provided to you by way of an accurate and up to date summary of your care, for instance if you are moving away and are transferring to a new doctor. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor if you want a summary of your care for any reason. If you request a summary or direct access to your full medical record your doctor will need to take out any information provided by others on a confidential basis. Your doctor will also need to consider the risk of any physical or mental harm to you or any other person that may result from disclosure of your health information. Your doctor may also keep their practitioners notes at their discretion.

Your doctor will be pleased to provide a full explanation of the health summary or medical record provided.

Depending on the amount of work involved, you may be asked to contribute to the cost of gathering/collating and providing the information. ​ Neither a summary or a full record can be obtained simply by asking reception.  You may ask but you will likely be required to have a consultation with the practitioner. Resolving Concerns Around the Privacy of Your Health Information If you have any concerns regarding the privacy of your health information or regarding the accuracy of the information held by the practice, you should discuss these with your doctor. Inaccurate information will be corrected or your concerns noted in the records if it is not possible or desirable to alter the original record.

Further information on Privacy Legislation is available from:

Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner 1300 363 992

Question 8

Employment at Gore Street Medical

Accepted Answer

From time to time, we have a vacancy in our reception and front office team. These positions are advertised online. For any employment enquiries, please contact Dr. Reinhard Hemm at info@gorestreetmedical.com.au Gore Street Medical is an equal opportunity employer. We expect everyone to treat each other with respect and dignity. We promote the principles of merit and fairness in its employment practices.  The team at Gore Street look forward to welcoming you to the practice.

Question 9

Joining our Practitioner Team

Accepted Answer

All enquiries about consulting room space and joining the Gore Street Medical practitioner team should be directed to Dr. Reinhard Hemm at info@gorestreetmedical.com.au

Question 10

Feedback and Complaints

Accepted Answer

Gore Street Medical takes feedback and complaints seriously as we’re always looking to improve our service. You will be treated with dignity and respect and your feedback or complaint will be tactfully listened to and acted on accordingly. ​ For general feedback and complaints you should speak to the person you have feedback about or complaint with if you feel comfortable doing so. Or if you believe it is appropriate you can speak to reception or management. If you don’t feel comfortable approaching us directly you can leave feedback by completing the form below. You don't have to provide your name and email however if you do we can follow up.   If you feel your complaint warrants it you may complain to the State Ombudsman who is the Health Complaints Commissioner for Tasmania. The phone number is 1800 001 170 and the email address is health.complaints@ombudsman.tas.gov.au.

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