Fees Policy for
General Practitioner Consultations

Armstrong Street Medical Centre is a private billing clinic. Pensioners and Children under 16 years old attract a $15 discount. All patients will need to finalise their accounts at the time of consultation. Payments can be accepted in the form of cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard or Visa. Medicare rebates can be claimed from Medicare into the patient’s bank account if they provide an EFTPOS card at the time of payment.

Mental health consultations, medical reports and dietitian and diabetic educator consultations attract different fees. Some procedures, dressings, vaccines and other items may also incur a separate fee. Please ask at reception for a full explanation in relation to our fees if required.

Patients attending for Work Cover and Transport Accident Claims are charged a private fee. A receipt will be issued so that the patient can claim reimbursement from the employer or the TAC.

Medical examinations and reports for legal, insurance, superannuation, travel, vehicle licences and employment purposes require longer appointments depending on their complexity. The costs of these reports are not covered by Medicare and a private fee will apply. The fee for the report will be determined by the doctor and depend on the complexity and length of time required to complete the report. It is requested that a copy of all of the documentation is provided to the clinic in advance so that the doctor can determine the length of time required to perform the report, the appropriate time to book the assessment and the estimated cost of the report can be provided prior to the appointment being made. The doctor may require pre-payment prior to this being booked at a time suitable for the doctor.

The following is provided as a basic guide to common fees based on the Medicare rebates for consultations with one of our general practitioners as of 1st July 2021.

Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm

A standard appointment is for 15 minutes. Fees vary with the length of the consultation.
Children under 16 years old and Pensioners attract a $15 discount.

Length	Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket Expense
Up to 20 minutes	$89	$38.75	$50.25
20 to 30 minutes	$140	$75.05	$64.95
30 to 40 minutes	$170	$75.05	$94.95
Over 40 minutes	$225	$110.50	$114.50

Flu Vaccination Appointments

The clinic bulk bills GP consultations on weekdays when the nurse is available to assist the doctor if the following applies: the consultation is only for a flu vaccine, and the patient is an existing registered patient of the practice who has attended for a GP consultation at the clinic in the past 2 years and the patient has a current Medicare card. New patients or patients without a Medicare card attending for a flu vaccine should note that private fees apply for their GP consultation.

Flu vaccines are provided free by the government for eligible patients. Otherwise, the practice can provide flu vaccinations to patients for a private fee subject to availability.

Consultations Saturdays 9am to 1pm, after 6pm weekdays and after hours

A $15 surcharge to the above fees applies after 6pm Monday to Friday and on Saturday. Different fees and rebates apply after 1pm Saturday.

Fees vary with the length of the consultation. Children under 16 years old and Pensioners attract a $15 discount.

As an example, for a standard consultation of 15 minutes, the following applies:

Time	Length	Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket Expense
Monday to Friday after 6pm	Up to 20 minutes	$104	$38.75	$65.25
Saturdays 9am to 1pm, Sundays, Public Holidays and After Hours	Up to 20 minutes	$104	$38.75	$65.25
Saturdays after 1pm, Sundays, Public Holidays and After Hours	Up to 20 minutes	$120	$50.55	$69.45

 

Telemedicine Services

Telemedicine Services

Medicare rebates for telehealth consultations only apply to patients who have attended the clinic for an in clinic consultation in the past 12 months.

Please be aware that the Medicare rebate for video consultations increase with the length of the consultation, whereas the rebate for phone consultations does not increase for consultations over 20 minutes so that higher out of pocket expenses will incurred for telephone consultations over 20 minutes.

A standard appointment is for 15 minutes. Fees vary with the length of the consultation.

A $15 discount applies to children under 16 years old and pensioners.

Length	Fee Weekdays 8am to 6pm	Fee Saturdays 9am to 1pm
Up to 20 minutes	$89	$104
20 to 30 minutes	$140	$155
30 to 40 minutes	$170	$185
Over 40 minutes	$225	$240

 

Cancellation and Missed Appointment Fees for General Practitioner Consultations

General practice patients: It is requested that general practice appointments be cancelled at least two hours prior to the appointment by calling the clinic on 9699 4333. General practice appointments cancelled within two hours, or failure to attend an appointment will incur a cancellation fee of $44. Cancellation of appointments before 10 am Monday to Friday and 11am Saturdays are required on the previous working day. This applies to both phone and online bookings.

Mental health sessions with Dr Zappia: Mental health sessions with Dr Jo-Anne Zappia require 48 hours’ notice if cancelling or postponing an appointment, otherwise a cancellation fee for the cost of the session will be charged.

 

Bulk Billed Services

Our regular patients may be eligible for a range of Medicare funded medical assessments. These can be initiated by the patient’s doctor after discussion with the patient. An appointment with the practice nurse will be then arranged for the medical assessment to be performed, after which the patient will attend the doctor. This visit will be bulk billed for eligible Medicare card holders.

Medical assessments covered by this service include:

• GP Management Plan - for patients with chronic disease, in order to arrange a comprehensive written plan of management of the chronic medical condition. Please note for GP Management Plan Reviews a private fee may apply.
• Team Care Arrangement for patients who have had a GP Management Plan put in place and who have complex care needs, and who require other health care providers and allied health workers to be involved in their care. This benefits the patient by allowing them to access Medicare funded allied health support, such as for dietitians, podiatrist, physiotherapists, diabetic educators and exercise physiologists, to assist in the management of chronic disease. Please note for Team Care Arrangement Reviews a private fee may apply.
• Patients aged 75 years old or older are eligible for an annual in depth health assessment, in order to identify early signs of physical and psychological illness, memory and cognitive impairment, and improve the health, independence and quality of life of these patients.