Your First Visit

What to bring?

What should I bring with me when I come for a scheduled office appointment?

Apart from medicare and your insurance information:

• Any correspondance or medial information relevant to you current condition
• Medicare card, DVA card, Pension Card, Work cover claim number
• Copies of results, x-rays, MRI's. CT scans etc and any other relevant information

What should I expect during first visit?

During your initial visit, the doctor will explain the specific test or procedure or treatment, help you visualize any test results and go over the risks.

The doctor may do a physical examination and ask you a bunch of questions. Once you have had any ordered tests done, the doctor will analyse the results and on the next consultation will decide what your diagnosis and appropriate treatment and plan of action.

Referrals

How can my family doctor help me to obtain specialist medical care?

Before seeing any medical specialist, it is always preferable to talk to your own family doctor, who can discuss your condition with you and advise on whether any specialist care is appropriate. If it is, he or she can help you to choose the specialist best suited to your needs. Your family doctor can help the specialist to care for you better by providing relevant information about your health. Communicating with the specialist will also enable your family doctor to care for you better during and after your specialist treatment.

Are my medical records kept private and confidential?

Your medical file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy. Our staff are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment regarding your medical records. Ordinarily we will not release the contents of your medical file without your consent.