New Patients- Referral & intake process
Please read the information provided.
Our use of email for essential communications, online information, and request forms will be an ongoing feature of your engagement with the reception and administrative team at Prosper Paediatrics. This approach allows us to provide excellent services cost-effectively, efficiently, accurately and consistently and together with the referral requirements will help the providers keep their books open and care for as many children as possible.
If you need further support, please book an appointment with your GP so that they can help you to work through this information, understand the situation and process and meet referral requirements..
Some audio summaries are also provided.
Referrals sent to doctors with closed books will not be reviewed and will be returned.
Books Open-Approximate wait times for non-neonate non-urgent referrals:
All paediatricians have cancellation lists and hope to bring appointments forward where possible.
An extra current capacity to bring forward some more urgent referrals is indicated.
However, where referrals for less urgent patients are accepted, appointment offers are currently paused due to capacity constraints; these patients have been placed on waiting lists for appointment offers.
Check this website for updates.
Wait times vary, as each doctor has their own practice style and patient numbers. Some have only a very small private practice and a limited number of clinics over the year. These wait times can change quite quickly. We aim to keep the website updated, but some updates may lag behind changes.
Referrals are accepted and appointments offered by each associated doctor, entirely at their professional discretion and subject to their continuance of their private practices.
Your provider, working with Prosper Paediatrics’ services, will make every effort to bring appointments forward where possible. More urgent appointments are prioritised, but doctors generally aim to offer most families an earlier appointment wherever possible.
Cancellation Lists are carefully managed to avoid wasted appointments. Cancellations are re-allocated as quickly as possible.
Notice of cancellations can be short, sometimes as little as 24 hours. Please ensure you understand the Cancellation Offer Procedures. Families wanting to secure an earlier appointment should aim to be as flexible as possible.
Referral Requirements
The associated doctors require referrals to be sent by Healthlink (or other Secure Messaging).
They can only consider referral letters addressed to them personally by their name.
This is due to practical capacity constraints and also privacy and consent requirements.
Dr Kennedy can consider referrals that are personally named or that are addressed to a neonatologist.
Your GP is welcome to send more than one referral, but each letter should be addressed to one doctor personally. Your GP can be funded for writing these referrals by writing and sending them during an appointment.
Consenting to have the referral directed to another paediatrician.
You may formally request that the referral is directed to one or more other associated paediatricians. With your written consent, these selected paediatricians will be able to consider the referral and any associated or relevant information provided or in the patient's file. They may consider the referral, decline it, or accept it and triage it at their own personal professional discretion. If you wish to provide this consent, please complete the Referral Direction Consent Form.
Referral clinical criteria
Sufficient clinical information must be provided to ensure validity and allow the specialist to triage the referral.
Given their capacity constraints, the associated doctors will generally be more likely to consider acceptance of a referral or triage it more highly if
it details significant or serious clinical concerns and a need for specialist medical assessment, diagnosis and management regarding
medical concerns in infants, children and adolescents*.
infant, toddler & preschooler developmental concerns.
and previous, current, or planned clinical or allied health assessments, management or therapeutic pathways, referrals, and interventions for the concern.
*Dr Kennedy considers only referrals for children aged 2 or younger.
Dr Rasiah is also happy to accept referrals for paediatric infectious disease concerns.
Doctors Conway, Rasiah, Holst and Kennedy also accept private neonate referrals.
Referrals about Autism, ADHD, mental health and behaviour? Currently, the associated providers do not offer to conduct a formal Diagnostic Assessment for Autism, but may refer for this and provide follow-up care following the report. The Associated Providers may conduct ADHD assessments but recommend a psychologist’s assessment, due to wait times and capacity constraints. Generally, GPs should consider alternative or concurrent referral to a psychologist for assessment or therapy regarding ADHD and Autism or other mental health assessment and therapy. GPs can also refer significant mental health concerns to a psychiatrist for an assessment and medication plan. These and other referral options are detailed at: https://prosperpaediatrics.au/care-options
Each paediatrician’s decision to accept a referral will be based on their professional discretion and judgement regarding their capacity, practice scope and style and current patient responsibilities.
The doctor may later cancel appointments.
Your specialist may unexpectedly need to delay or cancel your child’s appointment due to illness or other circumstances or may unexpectedly close or reduce their private practice at Prosper Paediatrics. In this circumstance, other associated doctors may be able to offer an appointment, but there may be further delay, or an appointment may no longer be possible. Each associated provider practices independently and is not directed by Prosper Paediatrics. They alone make decisions about their practice and the acceptance of new patient referrals.
New Patient referral- intake steps.
We receive your child’s referral.
Your referrer sends a valid, detailed and comprehensive referral to one of the associated doctors whose books are still open,
addressed to them by name.
by Secure Messaging (Healthlink, etc) (but if not possible, by email or our contact form).
2. Submit the Appointment Request Form if you are happy to proceed in accordance with policies.
Submit this form if your child will be a New Patient, or a Returning Patient who has not been seen for over 3 years or where contact details have changed.
Current Patients do not need to submit this form.
For all New or Returning Patients, please first review the policies, especially those regarding Privacy, Communication & Contact, Fee Payment and Respect & Trust, and ensure you are happy to proceed in accordance with them.
You can review these in the website menu “Policies” and in the policies summary and their fee schedules here.
More information about whether your child is a New or Returning Patient is provided here: https://prosperpaediatrics.au/patient-new-current-returning
3. The referral is reviewed
The nominated specialist reviews the referral in the next several weeks (at least) and will either
DECLINE the referral and notify the referrer.
ACCEPT the referral and
TRIAGE it to decide on the level of need for priority when offering earlier appointments that may become available.
If triaged as relatively more urgent, they will try to OFFER AN APPOINTMENT as soon as possible.
If triaged as less urgent, the patient is placed on a waiting list until capacity allows an appointment to be offered.
4. Appointments are offered by email providing
The appointment details, including the Fee Schedule link.
The link to our webpage explaining how to accept this offer and a place on the Cancellation List.
But, If we do not have your email, a brief SMS is sent with links to the website for further information.
5. To accept the offer, you must, within seven days, submit the requested forms.
Carefully review the policies, terms and conditions of the appointment and healthcare relationship offer. You can view the provider’s fee schedule here.
If you are happy to proceed in accordance with these, please complete and submit the
6. If the appointment offer is not accepted
If the Appointment Offer is not accepted within seven days, it will be withdrawn, and the intake process for your child will be closed. If you decline or do not accept this offer but wish to consider a further appointment offer, please advise us by email.
How do Appointments become available to New Patients?
The Doctors’ appointment books have reserved times for various needs, including urgent patients. If these times are no longer needed or families cancel their appointments, we may then offer the time to new patients. Sometimes, these appointments become available at quite short notice.
We take great care to avoid appointments being wasted and to bring appointments forward wherever possible. Generally, we expect to move many appointments forward, a little or a lot, depending on urgency, over the next several years. However, the independent associated doctors may unexpectedly reduce or close their appointment availability at any time and such decisions are beyond our control.
To be on a cancellation list, your child must have an appointment booked.
Other care and referral options
while you wait for your paediatrician appointment
or if your child’s referral cannot be accepted at this time.
Summary:
To request an appointment with one of the associated doctors,
ensure your GP has sent a referral to them by Healthlink.
please complete and submit the Request Appointment Form (unless a Current Patient).