N Plus Clinic Practice Manual Access to care

Suite 68 Chatswood Village
47 Neridah St
Chatswood NSW 2067
Ph: 02 9410 1777
Fax: 02 9410 1825
N Plus Clinic Practice Manual
Access to care
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5:30pm
We close for lunch between 1pm to 2pm daily.
Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays & weekends.
Booking appointments
All patients must book appointments in advance, either via face-to-face or telephone
communications. Standard appointment times are from 15 minutes and go up
incrementally by 15 minute intervals .
Initial consultations require a prolonged consultation of over 45 minutes, as this
allows Dr Kim to effectively assess the patients’ condition. Dr Kim aims to conduct
detailed consultations due to the holistic nature of therapies and treatments offered
at our clinic.
When making consecutive appointments please inform reception that, where
returning for test results or requiring a more in depth consultation for more complex
issues, a long consultation of 45 minutes or longer will be required.
Cancellations
Patients must provide 24 hours notice if unable to attend an appointment. A
Cancellation Fee of the full amount of the consultation will be charged and the
patient will be unable to obtain any further appointments until the Cancellation Fee is
paid.
If cancellations are made less that 24 hours in advance without a good reason more
than once, the patient will be unable to obtain any further appointments.
Fees, Rebates and Out of Pocket Expenses
Billing
The N Plus Clinic is a private practice. All facilities, services and staff are provided
and maintained by the N Plus Clinic.
Bulk billing is not available at the N Plus Clinic.
Appointment Fee Schedule
Our practice information sheet or a sign in our practice includes information about
fees in our practice.
Payment method
Major credit cards, cash and EFTPOS are accepted (excluding AMEX).
Personal cheques are not accepted at the N Plus Clinic.
After Hours Care
Our clinic is covered by the Sydney Medical Service Co- Operative Limited;
Monday to Friday
5:30pm to 8:00am
Weekends
From Noon on Saturday to 8am Monday Public holidays
24 hours
Contact:
Sydney Medical Service Co-operative Limited Ph 8724 6300
Contact Policy
Communications with Dr Kim
Patients with queries regarding non-urgent matters should email at
[email protected]
For urgent matters, patients are advised to call us directly on 9410 1777 during our
business hours or seek help from a local medical centre or Emergency Room.
Telephone and Electronic Contact Policy
Receptionists receive calls within our opening hours of 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday of each week only. After-hours messages are
checked directly before reopening.
Please note that patient privacy and confidentiality is maintained at all times. When
discussing health information over the phone, the call will be transferred to a private
area so that other patients and persons cannot hear the conversation. Administrative
staff refrain from the disclosure of personal health information to anyone other than
the patient and referring the call to a GP if the query is pursued.
Emails are checked regularly by both administrative staff and Dr Kim, whom
responds to non-administrative matters via email. Where clinically significant
information is discussed, a note will be made to the patient’s health record.
Communication with patients via email is conducted with appropriate regard to the
privacy and confidentiality of the patient’s health information.
Continuity of Care
As a holistic and nutritionally focussed general practitioner practice, we offer an indepth approach to patient medical analysis and continuity of comprehensive care.
Appointments are flexible according to patient requirements, so long as they are
booked in advance.
Followup of Test Results
We recommend that all patients make a follow-up appointment prior to when their
tests are taken or when the referral is made to have tests done externally. Where
patients are required to see Dr Kim more urgently or have not returned for their
results, our administrative staff with telephone such patients and arrange an
appointment directly.
Patients are advised to make an appointment at least 1 week prior to the test for
blood tests, and 10 days to 2 weeks prior to the test for other test such as fecal
analysis and x-rays.
Reminder System
Our practice has a reminder system with appropriate informed consent, and use
flagging of patient health records. This utilizes flagging of patient health records for
opportunistic preventive activities. We also participate in national/state or territory
reminder systems/registers (subject to informed patient consent).
Repeat Prescriptions
Repeat prescriptions may be issued to patients either during a consultation or
following a phone request, depending if it is deemed appropriate by Dr. Janet Kim.
Repeat prescriptions are not available to patients who have not seen the doctor for 3
months or more. In this instance an appointment should be made to consult with the
doctor regarding the continuation of the medication.
Repeat Supplements
Repeat supplements may be issued to patients either during a consultation or
following a phone request, depending on what is appropriate.
Additional Practice Information
Our practice provides patients with adequate information about our practice to
facilitate access to care. We have our own website which has comprehensive
information regarding the clinic’s operations. To facilitate informed patient decisions,
our practice gives patients sufficient information about the purpose, importance,
benefits and risks associated with proposed investigations, referrals or treatments to
enable patients to make informed decisions about their health. Our staff can describe
how essential practice information is provided to patients who are unable to read or
understand our written practice information sheet. Regarding treatment, our practice
ensures that our approaches to common and serious conditions are consistent with
best available evidence. A consistent approach is adopted within our practice to the
diagnosis and management of common and serious conditions of individual patients.
Interpreter Services
Our practice has policies and procedures for communicating with patients who are
not proficient in the primary language of our GP(s). We can organize interpreter
service if the patient makes a request with 72 hours notice. Fees will apply and are
payable by the patient.
Referred Services
Our practice informs patients of the potential for costs when they are referred for
investigation or a consultation with medical specialists, allied health professionals or
other health services. Our referral documents to other health care providers contain
sufficient information to facilitate optimal patient care. Each of our patient health
records contains sufficient information about each consultation to allow another
doctor to carry on the management of the patient.
Health Promotion and Prevention of Disease
Our practice carries procures and leaflets and information on our website, which
states that our practice is predominantly a preventative illness clinic. There is a
range of posters, leaflets, and brochures about health issues relevant to the
community available or on display in the waiting area or consulting areas.
Our practice engages with a range of relevant health and community services to
improve patient care.
Patient Health Records
Our patient health records contain evidence that pathology results, imaging reports,
investigation reports and clinical correspondence received by our practice have
been, reviewed by a GP, initialed, and where appropriate, acted upon in a timely
manner. Our practice has a written policy describing the review and management of
pathology results, imaging reports, investigation reports and clinical correspondence
received by our practice.
Our patient health records also contain sufficient information to identify the patient
and to document reason for visit, assessment, management, progress and
outcomes. Our practice also incorporates health summaries into active patient health
records.
Confidentiality
Our practice has a systematic approach to managing the confidentiality and privacy
of patient health information in our practice. Patients’ private information and medical
records are assessed only by Dr Kim, and when necessary and with patient
permission, by our nurses or naturopath. Patient health information in our practice is
neither stored nor left visible in areas where members of the public have unrestricted
access, or where constant staff supervision is not easily provided. All information
pertaining to the patient can only be assessed by patients’ permission to another
doctor or to the patient themselves. Further details:
Further details: Our facsimile machines, printers and other communication devices
are only accessible to authorised staff. Our information disaster recovery plan has
been tested. We record the request by the patient to transfer patient health
information on the file. This note includes details of where the information was sent
and who authorised the transfer. Our practice keeps individual patient health
information until the patient has reached the age of 25 years or for a minimum of 7
years from the time of our last contact with the patient, whichever is the greater.
Patient Rights and Needs
Our practice respects the rights and needs of patients. We do not discriminate
against patients on the basis of their gender, race, disability, Aboriginality, age,
sexual preference, beliefs or medical condition. Our GP(s) and staff who provide
clinical care can describe how they provide care for a patient who refuses a specific
treatment, advice or procedure.
Patient Feedback
Our practice has used patient feedback to establish whether patients of our practice
are treated respectfully by our GP(s) and staff. We provide opportunities for, and
responds to, patient feedback. Our practice makes contact information for the state/
territory health complaints agency readily available to patients on request. We have
used patient feedback to establish whether patients of our practice are confident that
any feedback and complaints they make to our practice would be handled
appropriately.
Presence of a Third Party
The presence of a third party observing or being involved in the clinical care during a
consultation occurs only with the permission of the patient prior to the consultation.
Safety and Quality
Our practice is committed to quality improvement
Clinical Risk Management Systems
Our practice has a clinical risk management system to enhance the quality and
safety of our patient care.
Education and Training
Our practice supports quality improvement through education and training. All GPs in
our practice are appropriately qualified and trained, have current registration, and
participate in continuing professional development. All our staff involved in clinical
care are appropriately trained for their role in our practice. Our administrative staff
participate in training. This is demonstrated through a training record for
administrative staff.
Human Resource System
Our staff are able to discuss administrative matters with the GP(s), practice directors
and/or owner(s) when necessary. Our practice has an induction program for new
GPs and new staff. We have a regular staff meeting.
Occupational Health and Safety
Our practice is able to demonstrate this through practice and office equipment which
is appropriate for its purpose. At least one staff member, in addition to the GP(s), is
present when our practice is open for routine consulting. Our practice has a
documented occupational health and safety policy, available online at
www.nplus.com.au
Facilities and Access
•
We provide a safe and effective working environment for our practice team
and patients. Our practice facilities are appropriate for a safe and effective
working environment for patients, staff and GPs.
•
Each of our consultation rooms (which may include an attached examination
room/area): is free from excessive extraneous noise, has adequate lighting,
has an examination couch, is maintained at a comfortable ambient
temperature and has facilities to protect patient privacy when patients need to
undress for a clinical examination (provision of an adequate curtain or screen,
and gown or sheet).
•
Our practice has toilets and hand cleaning facilities readily available for use
by patients and staff. Where appropriate, our practice has heating and/or air
conditioning. Our practice has a telephone system with sufficient inward and
outward call capacity. Our practice has the capability for electronic
communication by facsimile or email. We ensure there is no smoking in our
practice.
•
Visual and auditory privacy of consultations and treatments is ensured.
•
In terms of physical access we have issues due to stairways. Sr Kim has
special
provisions for patients with physical access by organizing out of clinic
consultations.
•
There is adequate parking within a reasonable distance from our practice.
•
Our practice has two height adjustable beds.
•
Our practice provides medical equipment and resources that are well
maintained
and appropriate for comprehensive patient care and resuscitation
Medicines and Medical Materials
•
Our practice ensures that Dr Kim has access to a doctor’s bag.
•
Our practice ensures that Schedule 8 medicines are stored securely and are
only accessed by authorised personnel.
•
Our practice has appropriate processes that maintain the potency of vaccines.
•
Our clinic practices in accordance with the cold chain written policy and
procedures outlined by the Australian Government Department of Health and
Aging Immunization handbook’s effective cold-chain policy; http://
www.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/handbookcoldchain
•
Perishable materials held in our practice (medicines, vaccines and other
health care products) are not kept or used beyond their expiry dates.
Infection control
Our practice manages the risk of cross infection in accordance with the current
edition of the RACGP Sterilisation/Disinfection Guidelines for General Practice. Our
infection control procedures follow the Australian Government Department of Health
and Aging Immunization handbook; http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ immunise/
publishing.nsf/Content/Handbook-vaccinationprocedures
Subject to their informed consent, the immunisation status of our staff is known and
staff members are offered immunisation appropriate to their duties.
The induction of new staff to our practice ensures they are familiar with standard
precautions against infection and other issues appropriate to their duties.