Covid-19
Patient Appointment Information - (1st July to 30th September 2022)
Procedures eg skin lesion excision, biopsies, iron infusions, Implanon and IUD insertions & removals, vaccinations will continue to be face to face
Booking an appointment
Face to face consult
Flu vaccinations
Dear MLHC Patient
Please note that SA Health has advised that risk of covid in healthcare settings can be reduced by:
- Limiting face to face contact to when required
- Limiting face to face contact to less than 1 minute ideally (else less than 15 mins)
- Face to face contact outdoors when possible (eg examining patients in their car when suitable)
- Maintaining physical distancing of 1.5metres when face to face
- Staff wearing N95 masks and eye protection
- All patients wearing surgical masks when indoors
As such we will now be converting most appointments to video consults, in the first instance. If this fails, your Dr will call your mobile instead to continue as a phone consult. They will decide with you if you need to attend in person and they will schedule a time for this accordingly- this may be later the same day or your next appointment. At your apt time, your Dr will send you an SMS link which you will need to click on and allow your video & microphone if prompted.
Please be aware that Medicare rules:
- Require checking 3 identifiers at the beginning of each phone/ video call
- allow mainly short appointments for phone appointments
- care plans (GP Management Plans, Mental Health Plans) may not be completed by phone, but can be completed by video consult
- health assessments must be completed face to face
We are trying to reduce your risk of Covid 19 by scheduling unvaccinated patients and those needing face to face care later in the day when there are fewer people around. If there is an exposure, we may not be aware of it until 2-4 weeks after the episode of exposure.
Procedures eg skin lesion excision, biopsies, iron infusions, Implanon and IUD insertions & removals, vaccinations will continue to be face to face
Thank you for your patience and co-operation with our ongoing transition to a Covid-safe process. We are still open and here for you through this challenging time.
- To minimise face to face contact, we prefer you to book your appointment online via our website. We can do this by phone if really required, however phone lines may be busier than usual.
- If you receive reminders about your routine care, these appointments and vaccination appointments can also be booked online.
Phone/ Video Consults
- Medicare allows short consults (single appointments) to be completed over the phone.
- Longer appointments are restricted by Medicare and Mental Health Plans, GP Management Plans and standard appointments may now be completed by video consult
- Please stay home and your Dr will call you as close to your apt time as possible
- You may receive a call from a private number, not the main clinic number
- We bulk bill patients with a healthcare card or pensioners card and children under 16. Otherwise $20 gap
is charged and payable at the time of consultation.
- Please stay in your vehicle and wait for a call from your Doctor/ Nurse. They will complete as much of the consult over the phone as possible and ask you to come in for the minimum duration required. Please avoid physically entering the clinic where possible.
- Please avoid bringing other people to your appointment if they do not have an appointment themselves.
- If your appointment is for a vaccination/ procedure, please arrive to our car park and remain in your car until your Dr calls you as close to your appointment time as possible. We will assume you are in the car park at your appointment time. You do not have to call to let us know you’re ready.
- We have resumed charging our usual gap of $20 for patients who are not Govt Healthcare Card or Concession Card Holders or under age 16 since Oct 2020
- Please avoid crowding near the front door, we prefer you to wait in your car.
- Please continue with these if you are not quarantined/ in isolation awaiting Covid swab results. SA Pathology is open from 8.00am to 12 noon Monday- Friday. Please take a number and press the call button outside the clinic door when you arrive. The pathology nurse will ask you to come into the clinic when they are ready for you and only if you have no symptoms, not travelled interstate in the last 1 month, not come across anyone with Covid and if you have been vaccinated for Covid.
- These are usually suitable to complete over the phone. If an examination is required, your Dr will ask you to come to the clinic later in the day. Your referral will be electronically sent directly to your specialist/ allied health provider.
- Please organise a phone consult to update your scripts well in advance. We will send them electronically to your mobile as an SMS (e-script) or can be faxed to your chemist for you to pick up your medications directly from them. You may wish to order your medications by their app or ask for a home delivery of your medications, to minimise your time around other people. It may take up to 48hrs for you to be able to get your medications.
- If you are currently unwell, you will be booked an appointment with our designated Dr who may not be your usual Dr but one who will have access to your file. This may be at the end of the day when there are fewer patients and staff about. You will be asked to wear a protective mask and encouraged to use alcohol gel frequently to clean your hands and you may be requested to have a Covid swab first.
- To minimise face to face contact, we will aim for contactless service. Your certificate will be emailed to you within 24 hrs; it is unlikely to be sooner due to the volume of correspondence to be sent. No clearance certificates are to be issued per SA Health/ CDCB directive as there is no way to certainly clear someone, especially for respiratory illnesses. In lieu of this, patients are asked to self isolate until they are completely well
- We are able to continue with your GP Management Plans and reviews and Mental Health Plans and reviews, however these will occur as a phone/video consult.
- Please stay home for this and the Nurse will call you at your apt time.
- If you have a BP machine at home, it would be helpful if you can have your most recent BP/weight etc at hand.
- You may be asked to complete forms/ questionnaires during your phone/video appointment via our website www.mawsonlakeshealthcare.com.au by your Dr/ Nurse
- We have a regular delivery of these and we should have stock available most of the time. Please book online for these.
- Welcome to our practice. You will need to fill in a new patient form from our website and email it to us at admin@samedical.com.au. Our usual gap is $20 unless you have a Govt healthcare or concession card.
- Please note that our Nurses assist our Doctors in your care by taking basic measurements, updating your health information and assisting with health education. You are asked to see the Nurse either before or after your consult with your Doctor, so please await their review with you.