Our Fees

FEES AT NORTHCOTE MEDICAL

We are a private billing clinic

To ensure we provide the high standard of care our patients expect and deserve, Northcote Medical operates as a private billing clinic.

This means that most appointments will incur a fee, which is separate from any Medicare rebate you may be eligible to receive.

Fees are the same for in-person or telehealth consultations.

In-Clinic Appointments

We accept Visa and Mastercard credit cards (a small surcharge applies), as well as all debit cards. Eftpos cards are accepted with no surcharge. Medicare rebates are processed instantly onto your physical debit card via our Tyro terminal – digital wallets or phone-based cards cannot be used for this.

Telehealth Appointments

Our Telehealth Appointments follow the same fee structure as our in-clinic visits, ensuring consistent care and pricing.

During the booking process, we will provide an estimated fee and request your credit card details. Your card will be charged after the consultation, based on the length and type of appointment. Medicare rebates are typically paid into your nominated bank stored with Medicare account within a few days.

Appointment Duration

Standard appointments with a doctor are 15 minutes. New patients, complex issues or multiple concerns, require a 30-minute appointment to allow adequate time. Long consultations will incur an increased gap fee.

New Patients

To ensure we provide you with the best possible care, all new patients are required to book a 30-minute consultation. A $106 deposit is required to secure your appointment, which helps us allocate the time and resources necessary for your comprehensive care.

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please let us know in advance.

Unfortunately, if you do not attend or cancel within a reasonable time frame, the deposit will be retained as a no-show fee. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you to our clinic!

No Show + Cancellation Fees

Appointments at our clinic are in high demand. Missed appointments prevent other patients from receiving the care they need. To help us manage this a no-show fee will be incurred if you do not show for your appointment or cancel with less than 2 hours notice. We appreciate your understanding and support in ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to receive the care they deserve.

Existing Patients

A fee of $63 will be applied for appointments cancelled with less than 2 hours’ notice or for any patient who fails to attend their appointment.

New Patients

The $106 deposit will be retained as a no-show fee if you are unable to attend your appointment.

Appointments at our clinic are in demand. There are patients who really need that appointment and not showing affects these people therefore, they miss out. Your deposit fee of $106 will be retained as a no show fee.

Bulk Billing

Bulk billing is available on weekdays, between 9am – 2pm, for senior pensioners who held a Senior Pension Card and were patients of this clinic prior to April 2022. Please note that the bulk billing time frame for Dr Hemley is between 9am – 11am.

Appointments for children receiving any of their scheduled immunisations under the National and Victorian Immunisation Programs.

Please Note:

All clinicians at Northcote Medical are independent contractors and set their own fees. The prices listed are indicative only.

Standard Consultations

(Additional $15 on Saturdays)

Procedure Fees

AI Statement

Doctors at Northcote Medical use the AI scribe technology MEDILIT to securely and accurately document consultations in real time. This involves secure and deidentified audio transcription which is then converted into a medical record. This allows our doctors to spend more time engaging with you and dealing with the issues you bring while not needing to focus on administrative tasks.

Please inform the practice if you would like to opt-out of the use of AI scribes.

Results

In most cases, you’ll need to book an appointment to discuss any abnormal or clinically relevant results. This way we can ensure the safe and comprehensive level of care you deserve. Please talk to your doctor about how results will be followed up. In general, once a test result has been received should it require an appointment to discuss you will receive an SMS or a phone call informing you. In some special cases your doctor may send you an SMS or call you to inform you of normal results. If you feel the issue needs further assessment, please make a new appointment.

Most standard pathology and radiology results return within 3 days, if you don’t hear from us within this timeframe and you do not have a planned review, please call us and we will follow up on the status of your results for you.

If you have a MyHealthRecord your results should be available 7 days after they are reported if you have given permission for this to happen.

Saving money on your medical care

Medicare is the national health insurance scheme which provides Australian citizens and Medicare card holders a rebate for health care services. It is, in essence publicly funded health insurance. Unfortunately, investment into Medicare over the last few decades has not kept up with the cost of living and as such many healthcare providers have needed to charge an out-of-pocket cost above the Medicare rebate in order to maintain viability and deliver safe and comprehensive health care. We here at Northcote Medical are not immune to this pressure, and like any business need to pay staff, insurance, consumables and many other overheads to continue to operate for our local community. We do not take charging a fee for our service lightly, but we also recognise the exceptional skill, experience and dedication of our team.

Medicare has a number of different systems which are designed to lower the costs of ongoing medical care and we encourage patients to become familiar with them:

  1. Health care cards/Concession cards

  2. The extended Medicare safety net (EMSN)

  3. MyMedicare

  4. Chronic disease management plans

The Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN)

The EMSN is a program designed to reduce how much you pay for out of hospital medical services like GP and specialist visits. It assists patients and families with high medical costs by greatly increasing the amount of money they get back from Medicare once they hit a certain spending threshold. Once you have spent above a set amount of total gap payments, the ESMN covers 80% of any future gap payments until the end of that calendar year.

Some examples:

  1. If you see a Cardiologist who charges you a total fee of $200 for a consult, and you receive $100 back from Medicare you are $100 out of pocket (i.e. $200-$100). If, however, you were over the EMSN this $100 out of pocket would drop to only $20 as the EMSN would cover 80% of this gap payment.

  2. Say you are a concession card holder and saw a psychiatrist in January for an assessment for ADHD resulting in spending $1000 out of pocket and therefore above the $770.30 EMSN threshold. If you were to then see one of our GPs for a mental health care plan, the out-of-pocket cost would be reduced by 80% from $50 to $10. This would also apply to all other services with a Medicare rebate you use for the remainder of the year. This includes the ten psychology reviews attached to the MHCP thus making a psychology appointment 80% cheaper.

There are two threshold amounts which vary based on whether you or your family meet concession criteria. These are the total amounts of out-of-pocket payments you need to make in a calendar year to reach the EMSN and unlock the 80% gap rebate:

Standard - $2414.00

Concessional - $770.30

Important Points

  • It is important to understand that the safety net threshold can and should include multiple family members in a household, including de-facto relationships. This means that for a family with multiple members you are much more likely to reach the threshold amount particularly if you meet the concessional criteria.

  • Everyone with a Medicare card is already registered for the EMSN as an individual BUT YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR DETAILS WITH MEDICARE TO REGISTER AS AN EMSN FAMILY. This will allow you to pool your out-of-pocket costs and reach threshold sooner.

  • Please note that the ESMN is only for services that have a Medicare rebate attached to them. For example, cosmetic procedures do not qualify if they have no associated Medicare rebate. Similarly, psychology reviews only qualify when referred under a MHCP for a total of 10 rebated sessions.

  • Bulk billed services do not add to your threshold amount, only the out-of-pocket fees that you pay for rebateable services do.

  • The EMSN is calendar year based, and your threshold resets each year on Jan 1.

We strongly encourage all patients acquaint themselves with the ESMN and check their threshold. This can be done easily through MyGov and the Medicare app:

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-to-manage-your-medicare-safety-net?context=22001

Chronic disease management plans

As part of providing comprehensive health care the government has provided a greater amount of funding for management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and endometriosis. Chronic disease management plans or “care plans” are a structured way for GPs and patients to assess, treat and monitor the progression of chronic conditions. They require the doctor and patient to review the patients’ health and generate goals of treatment which you both work towards. They also make you care cheaper, and the government provides a significant rebate to review these plans every three months. Talk to your doctor about whether you are eligible for a care plan as they may allow for several bulk billed consultations per year. They also can enable your doctor to refer you to allied health services such as physiotherapy for up to 5 rebated sessions per calendar year.

Concession and Pensioner cards

Update your concession card details, including expiry date, to be eligible for our discounted rates. Please advise your details in writing via email or online form or show our reception team your card next time you attend the clinic.

Registering for MyMedicare

With MyMedicare, you will be able to nominate our clinic as your regular General Practice once you have attended face to face more than once. This enables increased Medicare rebates for longer telehealth consults and ongoing access to bulk-billed Chronic disease management items. There are also expected to be other benefits announced in the future. Registering for MyMedicare is optional but strongly encouraged and our friendly reception team can assist you with applying.

Alternatively you can register via services Australia here:

https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/register-for-mymedicare?context=37386#moa