Student Health

Medical Capabilities

Our Student Health services include:

	Primary Medical Care Consultations, treatments, referrals, procedures, investigations and prescriptions.
	Prevention Health checks including physical check-ups and tests for lifestyle risk factors.
	Education Advice about nutrition, fitness, stress management, smoking cessation and weight loss management.
	Women's Health Advice and treatment on contraception, pap smears, sexual health, pregnancy testing and breast checks.
	Men's Health Advice and treatment about concerns such as STI screening, prostate checks and physical issues.
	Routine Immunisations Vaccinations against the flu, chickenpox, hepatitis B and many more.
	Certificates and Assessments Sick certificates for work and education, assessment for taxi medicals, pre-employment insurance and workplace injury.

Fees

• Students (Medicare and OSHC) Fees
• OSHC Card Holders
• Student Medicare Card Holders

The fee charged for a consultation is based on the length and complexity of the consultation, and this decision is left to the judgment of the doctor you see. Our doctors may charge a half gap for a follow-up visit directly relating to an initial consultation, however, a half gap will not apply if you are seeking review of an ongoing medical issue. 

Students (Medicare and OSHC) Fees

*Note: The "gap" amount is the out-of-pocket expense you incur. It is the difference between Our Fee and the amount Medicare Australia or your OSHC insurer will refund you.

Consultation types relate to both the time and complexity of the medical consultation.

OSHC Card Holders

Please bring your valid OSHC member card to the appointment and student photo ID, so that we can directly bill your insurance provider. This means you will only be asked to pay the co-payment ("gap") amount, following your consultation with the doctor. This is possible because we have direct billing relationships with the major OSHC insurers. Our direct billing OSHC partners are: OSHC Worldcare, AHM, BUPA Australia, Medibank Private and NIB. This means the most you will pay on the day will never be more than $20, for any length of consultation.

Student Medicare Card Holders

The Medicare rebate covers a major part of the consultation cost (i.e. Our Fee). We ask that you pay Our Fee at the conclusion of your consultation. You can pay Our Fee in your preferred method (e.g. cash, debit card, credit card or cheque). The good news is that you no longer need to visit a Medicare office to claim back your Medicare rebate. Medicare Online and Medicare Easyclaim allows the rebate to be paid directly into your bank account, immediately following full payment of the consultation (i.e. Our Fee). Simply  register your banking details through Medicare Australia's Online Services and bring along your Medicare card  to your consultation. If your banking details are not registered with Medicare Australia's Online Services, bring a debit card linked to a Savings or Cheque account, so that we can swipe it through our Medicare Easyclaim equipped Eftpos terminal.  The Medicare rebate amount is then paid back into your Savings or Cheque account within 10-15 minutes. So the 'out-of-pocket' expense incurred on the day is never more than $20, for any length of consultation.

For more information about registering your banking details with Medicare, visit Medicare Australia's Online Services at http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/medicare-online-services

FAQs

Question: How much does it cost to see a doctor if I am a student?

Answer: While the end cost is the same between International and Australian students, the process for paying is slightly different. This is why we’ve divided our answer into two parts, so please take your pick.
 

International students

You will benefit from the direct billing relationships we have with the five major OSHC Insurers. These four major insurers are Allianz Global Assist, AHM, Medibank Private, BUPA Australia and NIB. Through our arrangement with these insurers, most of the cost of your consultation is billed directly to the insurer. We can only bill the insurer directly if you bring along your membership card or details of your valid OSHC Insurance policy (e.g. membership number). If you do, the most you will pay for any length of consultation is $24.20 The $24.20 cost is often referred to as a "co-payment". It’s also sometimes referred to as a "gap payment" or "out of pocket expense". This amount is not covered under your OSHC insurance policy, as we directly bill your insurer for the full amount entitled to be claimed.

Australian students

Medicare requires that we charge you up-front for the full cost of the consultation. The cost of a standard student consultation is $63.95. A standard consultation is typically when a patient presents with a single health problem and the appointment lasts between 5 and 15 minutes. If you hold a Medicare Card, the Medicare rebate is $39.75. For a longer visit, typically lasting longer than 15 minutes with one complex problem or multiple problems, the cost is $101.15. If you hold a current Medicare Card, the Medicare rebate is $76.95. Accordingly, your out-of-pocket expense i.e. "the gap" for any length of consultation is never greater than $24.20.

We have a Medicare Easyclaim equipped EFTPOS terminal, which will allow you to claim your rebate back on the spot. For more information about Medicare Easyclaim refer to the "Fees" section.


Question: Why do you charge a gap?

Answer: Our clinic is located in the centre of the city where rent costs are considerably higher than in the suburbs. Because we are private practice, we do not receive any government funding support. In order to spend the time needed to help sort out your problems, we need to charge a fee which will allow us to meet the costs of running our clinic. When determining fees, we want to ensure they are fair, reasonable and appropriate for the service we provide and to the patients we are assisting. We understand students have less income than full-time workers, and this is why the gap charge is around half that of non-students.

Our doctors may charge a half gap for a follow-up visit directly relating to an initial consultation, however, a half gap will not apply if you are seeking review of an ongoing medical issue.

Question: What is your appointment availability?

Answer: Our clinic is usually able to provide a same or next day appointment. We are continuing to grow our clinic by building extra rooms and recruiting experienced doctors to join our team. In addition, we do our best to ensure that our clinic is open at times which are convenient to you. This includes operating two night sessions (Mondays and Thursdays) and a Saturday session. For more information, please visit Opening Hours and Session Times, which has further information about clinic hours as well as session times for each doctor.

Question: How long will I have to wait?

Answer: We hope we don't keep you waiting for any longer than 15 minutes. If you are kept waiting for longer than this, it's usually due to one or both of two reasons. Firstly, sometimes a patient is 'fitted in' because they are visibly unwell and the doctor feels they need to be seen as a matter of urgency. Secondly, our doctors sometimes encounter unexpectedly complex problems, which unfortunately were not anticipated by our reception, at the time of scheduling the appointment. If you are asked to wait for a little longer than expected, we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Question: How do I make an appointment?

Answer: You can make an appointment in either of the following ways.

Simply phone us on (08) 8232 7372 and if you have any further questions, please feel free to ask our receptionist, while you’ve got them on the phone. If phoning to make an appointment, please let the receptionist know if you would like to see a specific doctor, or have preference to see a male or female doctor. Additionally, if you think you’ll need longer than a standard 15 minute time allocation, please let the receptionist know over the phone.

Question: What should I do if I’m waiting on pathology results requested by the doctor?

Answer: Most pathology results take between 24-48 hours before we receive them back electronically from the pathology partner used by our clinic. The turnaround time depends upon the level of urgency, indicated by the requesting doctor and/ or nature of the result. At the conclusion of your appointment, the doctor advise you of their preferred method of contact and approximate timeframe regarding your results.

If your doctor has asked you to call the practice for your results, you will be passed onto a member of the clinical team (e.g. practice nurse). The nurse will be able to advise you if the test result is marked as "No Action", or requires a follow-up appointment with the doctor. Either the nurse or the reception staff can assist you to arrange a follow-up appointment. We would prefer you to try and arrange an appointment with the same doctor who requested the pathology.