COMMUNICATION POLICY
PHONE COMMUNICATION
Our Practice may contact you via telephone calls, text messages and/or email to confirm or notify you of any changes to your scheduled appointment, recalls requiring urgent attention and health promotion reminders (optional).
While telephone calls and text messages are generated using a secure facility and they are transmitted over a public network onto a personal telephone and as such may not be secure. However, the practice will not transmit any information which would enable an individual patient to be uniquely identified.
It is a Practice policy that no consultation will be conducted via telephone. The doctors will not usually discuss results over electronic communication as we cannot guarantee confidentiality. There may be exceptional circumstances, however this is at the discretion of the doctor.
Telephone calls from patients will not generally be put through to doctors. Our reception staff will be happy to take down contact details and the message to pass on. Our Doctors will be in touch on the same day or if they are not available on the day, the next time they are scheduled to be in clinic.
Our Nurse may be able to assist you with any general questions regarding your healthcare. If you have a medical question after seeing one of our doctors, you can speak with the nurse and she will discuss your concerns with the doctor. Normally our nurse will return your call later the same day.
For any urgent medical problems, we recommend you attend your nearest Hospital, or alternatively our nurse will organise an urgent appointment with one of our doctors.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
It is a Practice policy that no consultation will be conducted via email. The doctors will not usually discuss results over electronic communication as we cannot guarantee confidentiality. There may be exceptional circumstances, however this is at the discretion of the doctor and must be communicated and agreed upon at the time of face-to-face consultation.
Electronic communication is generally used only for correspondence of a non-sensitive nature. And while reasonable efforts are made to provide security via email communisation users should be aware that there are inherent risks in the transmission of information across the Internet and as such may not be secure.
When patients request for sensitive information via email, a request and consent form is sent to the patient for completion. This form requires the patient to specify the information required, provide a copy of photo identification, advises fees may be payable for the services and notes the risks in the transmission of information over the internet including breaches.
Following the completion and return of this form, the GP will review the request, and if approved, the information will be collated and sent via reply mail (or email address noted on form if different) to ensure it is sent to the intended recipient.
While Emails and Facsimiles are reviewed on a daily basis, we kindly advise we can take up to 3 working days to respond to your query. For any urgent queries, we recommend calling our clinic for immediate attention.
FEEDBACK
We are always trying to improve our service, and are happy to address any written complaints from our patients.
Should you have any feedback regarding your care, please contact Dr Richard Chan.