Appointments

Shire Doctors and Dentists are a private billing practice. Children 10 years and under are bulk billed by some practitioners only. Pension and concession card holders are offered a reduced fee. For a full list of our fees and charges, please visit the “fees” tab on our website.   

Shire Doctors and Dentists are an appointment-based clinic. Standard appointments are generally 15  minutes but please mention at time of booking if you are visiting for the first time, you have multiple  / complex issues or if you require adequate time for completion of forms etc.

Shire Doctors and Dentists will do our very best to accommodate any urgent appointments and  follow a triage process to assess the level of urgency. 

Shire Doctors and Dentists use a secure SMS system to notify you of the outcome of your test results. Our reception team do not have the ability to send, or give out results.

Please allow five business days to receive an SMS update on your results. Please note that the processing time for results may be longer for certain tests. If you are waiting on a range of test results, note that you will not receive an SMS notification until ALL test results have been received and reviewed by your doctor. Please discuss this with your GP during your initial consultation.

How we manage results
 
1. Your results will be reviewed by your doctor;
2. Your doctor will determine if your results:

(a) Require no further action,
(b) Are non-urgent but require follow up,
(c) Urgently require follow up.    If the result requires urgent care then we will contact you immediately. This is why it is important to keep your contact details up to date with reception.

3. Once your doctor has reviewed all of your test results, you will receive a secure SMS notifying you whether you need to return to see your doctor.
 
If your doctor has not requested a follow-up consultation and you are still experiencing symptoms, or have further questions or concerns, please book online with your doctor for further review.

If you have not received your SMS message after 5 days, please contact reception to confirm results have been received.

** Appointments to discuss results **

Shire Doctors and Dentists are a private billing practice. Appointments to discuss results can also attract a consultation fee. If you discuss additional or unrelated matters during a results discussion, your results are being advised by a doctor other than your referring doctor or if the results are not straight forward and require additional time to interpret, research or manage, then a fee will be charged at the discretion of your doctor.

Appointment reminders are sent 24 hours prior to your appointment. We may also send you  reminders for routine visits such as skin checks, cervical screening, health assessments and repeat  immunisations. 

Appointments are required for repeat scripts, referrals and medical certificates. We are unable to provide these to you without a consultation with your doctor. Requests for repeat scripts and ongoing referrals will require a consult with your doctor.

All medical information is treated as confidential according to the Privacy Act. However, it is normal  practice to forward certain medical information such as immunisation history, medical history and  medication lists as required with patient consent to other medical professionals for the purpose of  continuity of care. Should you require further information, please ask our friendly team for a copy of  our privacy policy.  

Our doctors can provide telehealth consultations and these can be booked online or with our  reception team. If your doctor indicates during your telehealth consultation that you may require a  physical examination, you will be required to attend the practice for a face-to-face consultation.  

If you think you or your child might have a contagious illness, please advise our reception staff at the  time of booking. We may direct you to sit in an isolated area for the health and wellbeing of our  other patients.  

As part of our commitment to preventative healthcare and our priority in facilitating our patients taking a proactive role in their health, you may receive from time to time a clinical reminder via SMS, phone call or a letter to your registered address. These clinical reminders relate to health activities such as immunisations, routine health assessments, further tests or procedures.

 In addition to results and recall messages, we may also contact you via SMS or email to update you with general information about our practice and our services.

Shire Doctors and Dentists can organise the transfer of your medical records to an alternative practice. Your new practice will have a request form for you to complete. Once completed, the request form should be emailed to us info@shiredoctorsanddentists.com.au and we can organise the transfer. There is an administrative fee of $60 per patient or $120 per family and payment will be requested prior to the release of your medical records.