New Patients- Referral & intake process
Please read the information provided.
Some audio summaries are also provided.
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 are 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 contactable and as flexible as possible.
Referrals-further information
Your GP is welcome to send more than one referral, but we recommend that each letter should be addressed to one doctor personally. Your GP can be funded for writing these referrals during an appointment.
However, if your referral is to a paediatrician, you can provide written consent 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 indicate this when completing the Request and Appointment Form or 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?
Autism: 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.
ADHD: The Associated Providers may conduct ADHD assessments but recommend a psychologist’s assessment due to wait times and capacity constraints. Some GPs are accredited to conduct ADHD diagnostic assessments and establish a medication plan if needed.
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 (or appointment wait list places).
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.
2. You submit the Appointment Request Form.
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.
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:
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; we will notify you by email.
ACCEPT the referral and
TRIAGE it to advise their assessment of level of need for priority when offering appointments.
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.
If you wish to check on progress or if the referral has been received, please do so by email. We are unable to discuss the intake progress over the phone.
4. If accepted, an offer is emailed to you of either
A place on the Wait List
An Appointment
If your child’s referral is accepted, we will add your child to the Wait List for an appointment with the doctor. For referrals triaged as relatively less urgent, there may be a longer wait for an appointment offer.
Appointments may be offered at short notice, even when a referral is less urgent, and so it will be important to ensure that all information and consents are on file and ready.
If the referral has been triaged as more urgent, and we don't yet have your email address, the offer may be sent by a brief SMS with links to the website for further information.
5. To accept the offer, you must submit the following forms.
Patient Demographic Form (if only a wait list place is offered, you can delay providing your Medicare number)
6. If the offer is not accepted, the intake will be paused.
If you wish to continue the intake at a later time, a new referral may be needed if new concerns have arisen or the referral on file is more than a year old.
How do Appointments become available to New or Returning 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. However, the independent associated doctors may unexpectedly reduce or close their appointment availability at any time and such decisions are beyond our control.
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 for your child as a New or Returning Patient,
ensure your GP has sent a referral to them by Healthlink.
please complete and submit the Request Appointment Form.