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GPcare General Practice

 
GPcare Updated Billing Policy from 1 October 2022

On review of our business model, we have made the difficult decision to – STOP bulk billing Pensioners, Health Care Card Holders, and children aged between 5 and under the age of 16 years for their consultations.

We have had to take this action because of the inaction of successive Governments (who are responsible for Medicare) to address the rising cost of providing quality health care. Quality care is no longer sustainable based on bulk billing for our services.

More Information

The Medicare rebate is a subsidy that the Government contributes towards your medical treatment, and it only covers about 60% of the actual cost of the service. The Medicare rebate was put in place to provide patients with financial assistance towards the cost of their medical services and never intended to cover the full cost.

The cost of providing health care has risen significantly every year, this effects our rent, power bills, staff wages, insurance costs, technology costs, plant and equipment, the cost of PPE for the last 2 years etc. and yet the government has not increased your Medicare rebate between the years of 2014 to 2018 and since then has only gone up between 0.9% and 1.66% each year.

The income generated from a consultation goes towards the running of the entire practice, it does not all go to the doctor who provides the service.

Given that health care funding and GP availability is a Federal Government responsibility, we encourage you to contact your Federal or State Member to discuss how they propose to support patient access to quality and affordable general practice. Suggested contact details can be found below.

Kind Regards, GPcare General Practice

 

Clicking on the email addresses below will automatically generate an email template to respective Federal or State Members.

Mark Butler MP – Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care
Email: minister.butler@health.gov.au

Chris Picton – Minister for Health and Wellbeing
Email: ministerforhealth@sa.gov.au  Address: GPO Box 2555, Adelaide, SA 5001
Telephone: (08) 8463 6270

Rebekha Sharkie – Federal Member for Mayo
Email: Rebekha.Sharkie.mp@aph.gov.au  Address: PO Box 1601, Mount Barker, SA 5251
Telephone: (08) 8398 5566

Dan Cregan – State Member for Kavel
Email: Kavel@parliment.sa.gov.au  Address: 48 Hutchinson Street, Mount Barker, SA 5251 Telephone: (08) 8391 5599

Josh Teague – State Member for Heysen
Email: heysen@parliment.sa.gov.au  Address: 10/14 Druid Avenue, Stirling, SA 5152 Telephone: (08) 8339 5077

Adrian Pederick – State Member for Hammond
Email: hammond@parliment@sa.gov.au  Address: 20 Mannum Road, Murray Bridge, SA 5253 Telephone: (08) 8531 1282

Ashton Hurn – State Member for Schubert
Email: schubert@parliment@sa.gov.au  Address: 129A Murray Street, Tanunda, SA 5352 Telephone: (08) 8563 3636

 

Telehealth Phone Consultations Pre-Payments

Pre-payments for Telehealth Phone Consultations will be activated from 19 September 2022.

This will apply for all phone appointments online in our HotDoc booking platform or arranged with our reception staff.

  • You will be asked for your credit card details.
  • After completion of the phone consultation, the fee will be deducted from your credit card on the day.
  • Following payment, your credit card details are automatically deleted.
  • You may choose the option to securely store them in your HotDoc application.
  • No payment will be charged if your consult has been bulk billed.

If you do not have a credit card, please ring our reception staff on 1300 472 273 who will secure an appointment for you.

We thank you for your cooperation and patience as we implement this system. It will be a great help to our reception staff.

 

About GPcare

GPcare General Practice is located at the Summit Health Centre, Wellington Rd Mt Barker and is one of a number of clinical services provided by Summit Health.

GPcare is a not-for- profit, locally focused general practice committed to improving the health of our Adelaide Hills community.

We provide coordinated health care in a welcoming environment and consult alongside a large number of other health professionals in the Summit Health Centre.

It can be difficult arranging appointments with all your health care providers, our relationship with the medical specialists, nursing and allied health professionals consulting at the Centre enables us to provide you with a coordinated, comprehensive health care experience in one location.

A large number of our medical, nursing and practice staff proudly declare themselves as ‘Hills locals’.

We are located next to, and have a strong working relationship with, the Mt Barker Hospital.

Opening Hours

Monday: 8.00am to 5.30pm
Tuesday: 8.00am to 5.30pm
Wednesday: 8.00am to 5.30pm
Thursday: 8.00am to 5.30pm
Friday: 8.00am to 5.30pm
Saturday: 9.00am to 12.30pm
Sunday: Closed

After Hours Care

If you require medical assistance outside of our normal consulting hours, please call our practice on 1300 472 273 or the National Home Doctor Service on 13 74 25 to be advised of after hours care options.

Alternatively, you can present to the Mt Barker District Soldiers Memorial Hospital Emergency Department located at 87 Wellington Road, Mount Barker (Phone: 8393 1777).

This service provides 24-hour emergency medical care and is a walk-in service.  Patients are triaged in order of priority and appointments for this service cannot be made.

In a medical emergency, please call 000.

Catastrophic Fire Danger Days

GPcare is located in a Bushfire Safer Place and will remain open on days when the Fire Danger Rating is catastrophic. For more information visit Bans and Ratings – CFS.

Contact Us

P 1300 472 273
PO Box 1794, Mount Barker SA 5251
 

 

 

 

COVID-19 Update

GPcare is committed to keeping our patients, staff and doctors safe at all times. 

If you are experiencing respiratory symptoms: 

All patients with respiratory symptoms (cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, or a loss of sense of smell or taste), need to phone for an appointment (do not book online) and you will receive instructions for your appointment. 

We are able to offer patients Telehealth or a face-to-face review, you will be required to have a negative RAT on the day or a negative COVID-19 swab within 72 hours of your appointment. 

Patients with respiratory symptoms will be required to wear a mask while in the clinic, children 12 years and under are exempt. 

Please visit COVID-19 health information | SA Health  for more information, including isolation, getting tested and advice if you have tested positive. 

Please also note: 

Telehealth –Fees may apply if patients are not eligible for telehealth under Medicare. 

For a phone consult with a GP please phone GPcare on 1300 472 273. 

Call 000 if you need urgent medical help.