Policy
Management of Personal Health Information
The practice has strict guidelines on confidentiality, patient consent, consent for a 3rd party to obtain information, transferring of health information and access and security of personal health information.
It adheres to the National Privacy Principles Act and the Health Records and Information Act.
Communication Policy
There are multiple ways in which the practice communicates with patients and third parties. Communication can occur through the following channels:
Face to face
This can be via consultation with your doctor or nurse or interactions with other staff members. i.e.: Practice Manager or reception staff.
Telephone
Patients are able to contact the practice via telephone from Monday to Friday between 08:00 am till 04:00 pm. Please note we are closed on weekends and public holidays.
As the first point of contact, receptionists must review the triage support guide to ensure they are correctly assessing patient’s needs and concerns. Receptionists will often need to ask questions to determine that the patient receives the most appropriate care, at the most appropriate time.
Phone calls from patients requesting to speak to the doctor will not generally be put through at the time of the call. This is to minimise disruption to the doctor as they are usually in consultation with another patient and respectfully not wanting to interrupt their consultation. Doctors may take phone calls if time permits.
Reception staff will ask the patient to briefly explain the reason for the call and will determine if the doctor should be interrupted or if a message can be given to the doctor to return the call at a later time. This may be throughout the day or after the doctor has finished consulting for the day. Where clinically significant information is discussed, a note will be made in the patient’s file.
Email is not a secure form of communication and we do not use this to communicate personal information to patients without their consent. Whilst we make every effort to keep your information secure it is important for patients to be aware of the risks associated with electronic communication, in that the information could potentially be compromised and accessed by someone other than the intended recipient. Patients must be aware that any communication they direct to the surgery via email is also NOT secure and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Patients communicating through email do so at their own risk.
If you do choose to contact the surgery via email this will be considered as patient consent to reply via email.
We endeavour to reply to all emails within 1 business day. Our emails are checked on a regular basis, however they are not constantly monitored. If you have an issue that requires urgent attention, we request that you contact the practice via telephone.
Please note that the email addresses are not monitored 24/7.
If you want to book an appointment, please either call the practice or book online.
Strictly no clinical information or results, or clinical advice will be given over email.
SMS
SMS messages are sent for a variety of health management purposes.
These may include:
– Appointment reminders – a reminder message will be sent the day prior to your appointment.
– Health reminders (e.g., cervical screening/care plans/Immunisations etc)
We need to ensure that your mobile number is up to date at each visit to ensure that this information is sent to the correct number. Patients must be aware that if another person can access their mobile phone, then the confidentiality of these communications cannot be protected by the practice.
Walk-In Services
Jupiter Health Ashby does offer a walk-in service with some exceptions. The wait time for walk-ins varies and depends on how on time the Doctors are running. Please note we will refuse walk-ins if the Doctors are running late and do not have the capacity to fit in walk-In patients. We also charge a $25 out of pocket fees for walk ins. Same day appointments are available within our opening hours. To book an appointment you can call the surgery, or you can come in and enquire when the next appointment is available. You can book appointments online via our websites or via Health Engine.
Home Visits and Out of Hours Services
Our Medical Centre provides a locum service for those patients who require a home visit after hours. During the clinic opening hours, the practice GPs will offer home visits at their discretion. Doctors will offer home visits when it is appropriate, depending on circumstances and considering safety of all staff. To obtain a home visit during clinic hours it needs to be safe and reasonable for the GP, and within a 5km radius of the clinic, When the patient is triaged and a home or other visit is deemed neither safe nor reasonable, a telephone consultation will be offered. Or patients are also advised that they are able to contact Dial a Doctor for any reason our doctor is unable to come and see you and you can’t come into the practice, please contact Dial a Doctor on PH: 1300 030-030
Telehealth Services
We also currently offer telehealth phone consults with our GP’s. If you are unable to get in to see your doctor or have symptoms of COVID 19 we can do your consult over the phone.
Please call our reception team and ask for more information or to book an appointment online. Please note you must have attended the practice within the last 12 months to qualify for a telehealth visit.
Post
Letters are often sent offering services available to eligible patients and for health reminders and recalls for patients who do not have a mobile number or who have opted out of our electronic messaging system.
Incoming mail is collected and opened each day. Letters received that are patient related are directly imported to the doctor’s inbox which is then saved to the patient’s file. These are then reviewed and actioned by the doctor. All remaining letters are provided to the addressee.
Our Facebook page updates practice information and health promotions.
This page, however, is intended for announcements only by Jupiter Health Ashby and not for the provision of individual medical advice. This page is not regularly monitored for comments. If you have any queries or questions, we ask that you please contact the practice via telephone.
Patient results
During the appointment, we advise all patients to book an appointment to discuss results. However, our procedures for the recall of results are as follows:
Urgent Results:
The nurse will contact you immediately by phone to advise you to make an appointment to see the doctor. If there is no answer after 3 attempts, a letter will be sent to you, advising an urgent appointment.
Non-Urgent Results:
The nurse will contact you via phone to advise you to make an appointment. If there is no answer after 3 attempts, a letter will be sent to you, advising an appointment.
If your results are normal, we do not contact you to advise you of this. You can phone the surgery to check if your results have been received, and may make an appointment to discuss the results, even if they are normal. We do not give results over.
CONTINUOUS EDUCATION
The practice is committed to supporting the doctors, nurses and administration staff to participate in on-going education.
DID NOT ATTEND (DNA) AND CANCELLATION POLICY
Due to the high demand for bulk billing appointments and the high number of non-attendances and cancellations for GP appointments, we will charge a fee of $40 per single consultation or for double consult a fee of $80 for any appointment that is not attended or not cancelled within 4 hours of the appointment time.
If this account is not paid, a letter of suspension of services and the outstanding account will be issued. This letter will see your access to all services suspended until accounts are paid. There may also be the possibility of permanent suspension from the practice at the doctor’s discretion for repeat offenders.
We have many wasted appointments every day and by introducing this policy we hope patients will consider cancelling their appointments so that others may access them if required.
If you have any concerns, please speak with our reception staff.
APPOINTMENTS
Please phone us on for an appointment.
If you need more time with the doctor, please tell the receptionist when you make your booking. Urgent medical problems will always be dealt with promptly.
TELEPHONE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
Electronic Communication is available via email at reception@jupiterhealthashby.com.au. All personal emails are stored on a program specific encrypted computer data base system.
For after-hours medical attention, please contact the following or alternatively seek the nearest Hospital Emergency Department:
Dial a Doctor locum service on 1300 030 030 for home visits.
Joondalup Health Campus
Cnr Grand Blvd & Shenton Ave, JOONDALUP WA 6027 ; Phone number: (08) 9400 9400
Patient Feedback
If you have any questions, feedback or complaints please do not hesitate to contact the staff at Jupiter Health Ashby. You can also provide feedback, suggestions & complaints via email to p.manager@jupiterhealthashby.com.au
However, should patients wish to raise any matters of concern outside of the Surgery, they may wish to contact The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO) Perth Tel: (08) 6551 7600 or free call 1800 813 583.
Jupiter Health Ashby has strict guidelines on confidentiality, patient consent, and consent for a 3rd party to obtain information, transferring of health information, access of patients’ personal health information.
Privacy Policy
Our privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties. You can view our privacy policy by clicking on the link below:
