Home visits
Home visits are available to patients if it is clinically indicated and their condition prevents them from attending the surgery. These arrangements can be made by prior arrangement with the Doctors/Nurses or the Practice Manager and will not always be on the same day as the request is made.
All patients in residential aged care facilities are visited monthly and more often as their condition indicates or the facility staff request an urgent review.
Telephone access
Doctors may be contacted during normal office hours, however we are unable to put every call through immediately if they are consulting.
Our staff will pass on the message via our internal messaging system and the Doctor will return your call as soon as possible, dependent on time constraints.
If your problem is urgent and you are ill you may consider speaking to the practice nurse.
Practice nursing staff
The Practice Nurses at Brecken Health Albany are all registered and enrolled nurses with comprehensive clinical experience working across many areas of surgical and medical nursing. The nurses are able to speak with you on the telephone or in the surgery if you have health concerns.
They work under the direction of and in conjunction with the Doctors and provide support for procedures;
- Immunisation’s (for children, occupational health and travel medicine),
- Wound care
- ECG
- Asthma education
- Lung function test
- Ear syringing
- Education for better chronic disease management
- Advice & assistance with Enduring Power of Guardianship and Advanced Health Directives
Test results
We ask that you contact the surgery 3 working days following the tests being done, or as advised by your Doctor for the results of all of your tests.
If the Doctor has the results prior to that and they require you to return for follow-up then you will receive an automated text message asking you to make a “non-urgent” appointment with your Doctor to discuss your results. You may opt out of this automated system by letting our reception staff know that you would prefer a telephone call.
It is practice policy to generally bulk bill patients when they return for test results.
Repeat prescriptions
It is in your best interest to see a Doctor whenever you need to have a script renewed. It is our policy that if all you require is a repeat prescription and that you tell the reception staff of this when booking the appointment you will be bulk billed.
A normal consult will be billed however, if there are any other issues discussed at the same time.
Your personal health information
Your personal information and medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. Brecken Health Albany is bound by the Federal Privacy Act 1988 which can be found at www.legislation.gov.au, and has a written Privacy Policy Statement (available at reception on request) or you can download here.
Complaints
We take complaints very seriously and will do our best to resolve any issues that you may have. Please speak to the Practice Manager or put in writing to manager@breckenalbany.com.au. For more formal issues that can not be resolved you can contact Health and Disability Services Complaints Office at www.hadsco.wa.gov.au
Providing feedback
We welcome feedback from our patients as this helps us make improvements to our Practice and our patient care. This can be done in the Practice via written or verbal communication or by emailing reception@breckenalbany.com.au
How do I order a script from my doctor without seeing them?
If you unable to come into the practice and would like to order a script you can organise a Telehealth appointment. Brecken Health Albany are now able to provide E-Scripts, where a GP can send a script token to your phone and you can use it at a pharmacy. Paper scripts are still available if you wish however, if you are unable to collect the script yourself, we require consent from yourself (the patient) authorising the nominated person to collect the script. There are particular types of scripts that will only be provided when seeing the doctor and cannot be ordered without seeing them. It is recommended that you call reception prior to coming in to collect your script to ensure it is ready.
What do I do if I have a complaint or give feedback?
If an unforeseen circumstance arises and you are not happy with the service at Brecken Health – Albany we would greatly appreciate your feedback so we can improve our service for your benefit. You may call and speak to the Practice Manager, send a letter or email addressed to the Practice Manager or request a client complaint form, which can be completed and returned to the Practice Manager. They will investigate the matter and provide you with feedback. If you wish the matter to be taken further patients may contact the Health and Disability Service Complaints Office on www.hadsco.wa.gov.au. We also have a suggestion box in our main waiting room with suggestion response sheets and pencils available.
How do I get my pathology results?
For any urgent or non-urgent recalls, you need to organise a face-to-face appointment or if you are unavailable to attend the clinic in person due to illness, a telehealth appointment with your GP. If you are after your results but have not received a recall, you will still need to organise an appointment.
How do I transfer my medical records to and from Brecken Health – Albany?
If you wish to have your records transferred from your previous doctors surgery please see reception to complete a form that will be sent to your previous surgery. Please be aware that some surgeries have a transfer fee and won’t release records until paid. If you wish to have your records transferred to a new surgery from Brecken Health – Albany, you will need to complete a transfer form at your new surgery. Please note we do charge for release of medical records, please speak with reception.
How do I speak to my GP?
If you wish to speak with your doctor, phone reception who then will ask what the phone call is regarding and see if the doctor is available to take your call. If the doctor is unavailable, you may be able to discuss the matter with one of our nurses. If not, the receptionists can take your details and pass them onto the doctor for them to return your call when available.
Please note: Doctors can be extremely busy throughout the day so they may not call back until the next day. If your call is urgent we recommend booking an appointment to see your doctor instead.
How does the practice appointment reminder system and recalls work?
We offer a free SMS text messaging service, that allows patients who have registered their mobile number with reception to receive a SMS reminder message the day before the next booked appointment.
Recall SMS reminders are sent every day for non-urgent reminders. If you do not have a mobile number registered you will receive a recall/reminder letter for pap smears, diabetes reviews etc. which are posted out by our nurses when the patient is shown to be due to see their doctor for this.
How do I get urgent results?
For all urgent results either a nurse or doctor will call the patient to give them their results over the phone or let them know they need to attend for a follow up appointment. If the patient does not answer or the phone number is incorrect/disconnected then a letter will be sent in the post to the patient’s listed address letting the patient know they need to contact the practice immediately . Messages can only be left when your name is stated on the answering service.
What is the practice privacy policy and confidentiality policy?
The practice privacy policy is available to all patients. When registering as a new patient you must sign that you have read and understood the practice privacy policy. Patients are welcome to take a copy of the privacy policy by asking at reception. Brecken Health’s privacy policy is a standard policy for Australian Medical surgeries. All staff members of Brecken Health are required to sign a confidentiality form on commencing work and may not commence without this. All Australian standards are followed for patient confidentiality.
Please note: Our practice does not prescribe drugs of addiction.
We provide a translating and interpreting service
Brecken Health Albany is a registered clinic with TIS National (Translating and Interpreting Service) to help non- English speaking patients be able to communicate with our GP’s and nurses.
TIS National has access to over 2400 contracted interpreters across Australia, speaking more than 160 different languages and dialects.
Please let our reception staff know in advance if you wish to use the TIS service when booking your appointment so we can have everything organised on your arrival.
The majority of Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) services are free to non-English speakers.
To find out more visit the TIS National website or phone 131 450.