Your Provider’s Policies
A summary of the policies, requirements
and your responsibilities:
Paediatric health care in private practice is complex, highly regulated, and involves substantial practice costs. Procedures, policies and fees have been set to contain costs and ensure the sustainability of excellent services.
Your consent to care includes your agreement to your provider’s policies, detailed here and in our emails and handouts.
Policies may be amended from time to time to adapt to changing circumstances, legal requirements, or to improve them. Parents and patients aged 16 or more are asked to review these regularly, and at least yearly.
Your agreement to these policies is required when starting a new referral or at least once a year if your child has an indefinite or 3-month referral.
At all times, parents or guardians are responsible for
Conducting all interactions with Prosper Paediatrics, its staff and its associated doctors in accordance with the Respect and Trust Policy.
Settling accounts promptly regarding any requested services;
Responding to and reading any information, reminders or requests sent by email, SMS or in phone calls.
Advising us of changes to contact or demographic details or any privacy concerns;
Advising a change of GP;
Provision of any court orders relating to parenting or contact;
Sharing booking, account, or healthcare information about your child with their other parent or guardian in accordance with your joint parental responsibilities.
Advising us, if, for serious reasons, an address or contact information must be kept private from another parent, or other current or previous guardian, carer or other third party.
And for any other matters set as your responsibility in the policies advised on this website, or in emails or handouts.
The policies are briefly summarised here:
Respect & Trust
We understand that families can be frustrated and distressed or may misunderstand situations or policies. The Associated Doctors and Prosper Paediatrics work in a complex and highly regulated field to provide the best possible care. They are conscientious, experienced and knowledgeable. We ask that you allow us to assist you with your concerns, questions, and requests. Our procedures and policies are carefully designed to streamline and optimise services. We have a right to a safe workplace free from aggression, accusations, deliberate rudeness, argumentativeness, or harassment. All policies are carefully advised in advance and should be followed.
Privacy
This policy sets out how your child’s healthcare information is collected, administered, used, held and shared to protect your child’s and your privacy under Australian Privacy Law and medical ethics.
Information is stored digitally in your child’s file in practice software and in other digital files on our server and in our Google Workspace. Security and access are protected by passphrases, two-factor authentication, and other industry-standard cybersecurity measures.
In most cases, a child’s parents share joint parental responsibility and have access to information regarding their child’s healthcare until the child turns 16. Occasionally, Court Orders may restrict this.
Your child’s healthcare record will usually include the address, phone number, email address, and other contact details for them and their parents. Patient correspondence, pathology requests and referrals usually require the inclusion of the patient’s address. Medicare numbers are needed for your child and for any parent who wishes to be an Account Holder for payments and Medicare claims.
Paediatric specialists usually request and record information about parents’ health and developmental history, as well as parents’ concerns or perspectives about the child.
Privacy Concerns
Any privacy concerns should be raised immediately and in writing to the Practice Manager. Concerns that must be notified include
The need for changes or corrections related to your privacy in your child’s file, correspondence and related documents.
Any serious need to withhold a patient’s address from documents such as clinical letters, accounts, and booking information?
requests for contact or liaison with another parent or a third party or changes to your consents regarding this.
You can raise your concerns verbally with staff and your provider, but the request must be detailed in writing. The Practice Manager (or a senior staff member, under their direction) may then seek further clarification and will provide a response. Your provider relies on Prosper Paediatrics to manage your privacy and patient file so it is always necessary to promptly advise us, even if you have discussed it with your provider.
Mitigating privacy breach risks
We use various communication systems, templates and procedures to help us reduce the risk of privacy breaches. Information is stored in the practice software systems and other associated systems in accordance with industry standards.
Please ensure you read and understand the full Privacy Policy. It is available by clicking on this link:
Communication, contact & document transfer
Email is our primary method of communication for
accurate and consistent provision of information,
questions or requests,
bookings,
accounts,
document intake and provision.
Please ensure you read, check, and save our emails, especially our Booking Emails.
Written information on this website and in our communications to you enables us to provide services consistently, accurately, efficiently and cost-effectively.
Parents with ESL often find that written information is easier to manage or can be understood with the assistance of a translator.
Our routine use of software systems, templates and procedures assist us to
ensure consistent and accurate information
mitigate cybersecurity and privacy risks.
You are responsible for providing an address for a secure email account that can be
shown to your child’s other parent,
accessed by you, your child’s other parent and, if your child is 16 years or older, by them only. Email accounts provided by employers are therefore not suitable.
SMS
We use SMS to alert you to important emails, provide reminders, or notify you of our need to speak with you about matters related to your child’s care or account.
We do not accept cancellation notices via SMS, as they may be missed. Please ensure that cancellations are advised over the phone or by email.
Phone calls
Our phones are often busy. Voicemails are transcribed and transferred to our email inbox. We promptly attend to incoming voicemails and emails, but not to empty voicemails. Detailed emails and voice mails allow us to respond quickly, by email unless a phone call is needed.
You are responsible for remaining readily contactable by email, phone and SMS.
Consultation requests or questions for your doctor.
Reception staff understand the requirements and policies of each associated provider. Staff will resolve questions or requests where possible.
If the matter requires the provider’s attention, staff will usually offer an appointment or place your child’s appointment on a cancellation list. They will enter your question or request in the provider’s Task List. Some routine requests should be managed using the online forms.
Consultation by phone or email is not offered unless a provider judges it appropriate. This will generally only be for very simple or brief matters that do not require discussion.
Test and Scan results
These are alerted to your provider, who will provide feedback in a clinically appropriate time frame. This may be in an appointment booked for the purpose or for a later review. Your provider may email or phone you. Providers generally request that a copy is sent to your GP. Where an urgent change of management may be needed, the pathologist, radiologist or other subspecialist alerts your provider in addition to the standard software results or report notification. Most results and reports do not require urgent feedback from your provider. Either way, there is no need to contact reception.
Requests for Prescription renewals, and various forms, letters or other documents.
These requests are generally billed services and should be made using our online Request Forms in accordance with the advised procedures. Documents are emailed, and prescriptions are sent as eScripts to your phone.
Requests for copies of your child’s record of care
Associated providers are encouraged and facilitated to copy their letters to parents via email. Most do this routinely. Unless families opt out, letters and reports are uploaded to your child’s myHealth. Providing an additional copy of the records or any documents is an additional service, and fees are charged for such requests. Written consents are required, and additional verification may be needed if the patient is aged 16 or older, or where the records are to be provided to a third party. Please submit your request using the online Request Form.
Appointment Bookings
All Appointment bookings and cancellations are confirmed in writing via Email. Please keep any Booking Email on hand, read it, and carefully check for any matters that need your attention. The Booking email provides the appointment details, your child’s referral status, and various attendance requirements and reminders. Please note the booking in your calendar or diary.
Notice of at least 16 business hours must be provided if you no longer wish to attend an appointment.
Appointments may be delayed or cancelled if your provider unexpectedly cannot provide services. This may be due to factors such as your provider becoming ill or unexpectedly closing their private practice. If your provider can no longer provide services, another associated provider may be able to accept your child’s referral as a new patient, subject to their professional judgment regarding their current patient load, practice scope, and capacity constraints.
Fees, fee payment policies, and fees for late payment.
Your provider does not bulk bill. Fees are advised in advance via a link to your provider’s Fee Schedule. This link is kept updated and is provided for families inquiring about new patient appointments, as well as in every Booking Email. Fees are invoiced at the discretion of the provider. Temporary concessions are only available in very limited circumstances for long-established patients. Fees are charged for all services, including appointments for consultations; appointments that are cancelled or not attended with notice of less than 16 business hours; for provision of prescriptions, letters and forms outside of appointments; additional account services made necessary by delayed account settlement, or other requested services or documents.
Medicare requirements for rebates- your responsibilities
The provision of a current & valid referral
Medicare rules are strict. Referral terms are usually 12 months. If your GP provides an indefinite referral, please alert us to the indefinite term before the service commences to avoid it being entered as a 12-month term. Indefinite referrals should be deactivated if the referrer is no longer your primary carer. When a new referral is needed, it will be your responsibility to provide it for filing before the appointment commences. Each Booking email includes your child’s referral status, so you can arrange a new and valid referral in good time. If not, the invoice will be payable, and usually a smaller Medicare rebate may be possible.
Your child must attend their appointment
to be eligible for advised Medicare rebates.
for clinical reasons.
Medicare cannot be claimed unless your doctor ”attends upon the patient”. This means your child must be present, able to participate and interact with their doctor, and be observed and examined during most or all of the consultation.
Joint Parental Responsibilities & involvement.
Even when separated or divorced, parents have joint responsibility for healthcare involvement, decision-making, and accounts and can access their child’s record until they are 16. In rare cases, this may be limited by Court Order.
Any current Court Orders about parenting, access or proximity should be provided as soon as possible. Contact details for both parents are required in most circumstances.
If, for serious reasons, you require that your contact details or address be kept private, this must be advised, without delay, in writing to Prosper Paediatrics and your associated provider.
Unless court orders require otherwise, parents should ensure that they share any information regarding bookings, billing, or care with their child’s other parent whenever this is relevant to their joint parental responsibilities. If this information is not shared appropriately, it may create difficulties regarding the care of your child and necessary parental responsibilities. If this emerges as a significant concern, parents will be required to provide email addresses that may be displayed to the other parent in the primary recipient field of emails sent by Prosper Paediatrics or your associated provider, or their locum.
Patients aged 16 to 18 years of age
Once patients turn 16, their consent is needed for the sharing of their personal information. However, the associated paediatric specialists generally require that parents continue to support and participate in the healthcare of their older adolescent child.
Generally, information will not be provided to a parent without the patient being present, unless the patient has provided clear written consent in advance.
For patients aged 16 years or older, your paediatric provider will generally need to share information with and invite input from parents (or the usual adult carer) in decision-making. The administrative team will need to continue communicating and managing bookings and billing with the parent.
Therefore, mature patients will generally be required to consent in writing for their parent or carer to continue in these roles.
Written consent should be provided using our Consent to Share with Parent Form.
If the patient has concerns or wishes to limit or stop their parents’ or carer’s sharing of information and involvement, they should discuss these concerns or wishes with their provider. If satisfied that there are exceptional reasons and that the requested limitations would be in the patient’s best interest, the provider may agree to a special arrangement or accommodation and note it in the patient's file.
Requirements when visiting the rooms
Children must be supervised, their behaviour managed, and all visitors should take care to avoid distress or discomfort to other families or staff, difficulties, unsafe situations, disruption, soiling or damage.
Families should not bring any items that may create a risk of choking or harmful ingestion by other visitors, such as small children or those with serious allergies. Please do not bring food, including any snacks or drinks other than water, into the practice when attending appointments.
Babies’ needs for formula or breastmilk are the exception.
Please do not attend if you are experiencing any symptoms of an infectious illness.
If an illness or another unexpected problem arises that prevents visiting the rooms, a video appointment is usually the best option. Your provider will advise if the appointment needs to be rescheduled. Sometimes they may agree to assess your child outside or at the car or take other special precautions.