Our Policies
A summary of our policies, requirements
and your responsibilities:
Paediatric health care in private practice is complex, highly regulated, and involves substantial practice costs. Fees are set to cover costs and ensure the sustainability of services.
A set of policies and procedures helps support and structure your provider’s practice and allows efficient, consistent, sustainable, and affordable provision of services with the highest possible quality of paediatric care.
Your consent to care will include your consent to your provider’s policies detailed on this website and summarised here and in our written communications to you in emails and handouts.
The policies detailed in this section/menu of the website explain and advise the terms and conditions upon which your provider offers their services. Your consent and agreement is needed for
requesting the commencement or continuation of a healthcare relationship with the associated provider and provision of their healthcare services to your child;
acceptance and holding of an appointment for your child;
liaising with the Prosper Paediatrics staff, who provide administrative and reception services on behalf of the associated provider.
before the start of each new referral or yearly if your child has an indefinite or 3-month referral.
Policies may be amended from time to time to adapt to changing circumstances, legal requirements, or to improve them. Patients or their parents are asked to review these regularly, at least yearly.
The policies are briefly summarised here:
Respect & Trust
We understand that families can be frustrated and distressed or may misunderstand situations or policies. We work conscientiously, efficiently and consistently to provide the best care possible. We are humans and 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.
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 with passphrases, two-factor authentication, and other industry-standard cyber protections.
In most cases, a child’s parents share joint parental responsibility for and have access to information regarding their child’s healthcare until they are 16 years of age. Occasionally, Court Orders may restrict this.
Your child’s healthcare record will usually include the address, phone, email and other contact details for them and their parents. Medicare numbers are needed for your child and for any parent wishing to be an Account Holder for any payment. Paediatric specialists usually request and record information about parents’ health and developmental history, as well as parents’ concerns or perspectives about the child. Patient correspondence, pathology requests and referrals usually require the inclusion of the patient’s address.
Communication
Privacy Concerns
Any concerns should be raised immediately and in writing to the Practice Manager about
your privacy or any request for changes or corrections related to your privacy.
Any serious need to withhold a patient’s address from documents such as clinical letters, accounts, and booking information.
You can raise your concerns verbally with staff and your provider, but Prosper Paediatrics will need the request 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.
Email is our primary method of communication for
providing information & resolving questions or requests
booking details, or
accounts.
We use email as our primary means of communication with you and require that you read, check, and save our emails, especially our Booking Emails. Your booking is a serious commitment and responsibility.
Our phones are often busy, but leaving a voicemail or sending an email allows us to respond quickly.
Written information allows 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.
Software systems, templates and procedures are used for written communication to help us
provide consistent and accurate information cost-effectively
routinely employ measures to mitigate cybersecurity and privacy risks.
You are responsible for providing an address for a secure email account so that our emails and any attached documents can only be accessed by you, your child’s other parent and, if your child is 16 years or older, by them. Email accounts provided by employers are therefore not suitable.
Please provide an email address that can be shown to your child’s other parent.
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 notice of cancellations via SMS, as it may be missed. Please ensure that cancellations are advised over the phone or by email.
You are responsible for remaining readily contactable by email, phone and SMS.
Appointment Bookings
Appointment bookings, policies, requirements and cancellations are confirmed in writing via Email. Please keep any Booking Email on hand to refer to and read carefully. Please note the booking in your calendar or diary.
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.
Notice of at least 16 business hours must be provided if you no longer wish to attend an appointment.
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.
Your responsibility for the provision of a current & valid referral, to allow the claiming of advised rebates.
Medicare rules are strict. We provide information about your child’s referral status in Booking Emails so that you can check if a new referral is needed. Invoices will be payable, but the services will not be billed using Medicare items that require a referral if you have not provided a valid referral in sufficient time for filing before the commencement of the service.
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, be observed, be examined, and interact with the doctor during most or all of the consultation.
Consultation is to be conducted in booked and billed appointments.
Consultation over the phone or by email is not offered except where a provider judges this is appropriate. This will generally only be for very simple or brief matters that do not require further discussion or are related to a recent consultation. Staff are not permitted to provide or advise results.
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
Generally, information will not be provided to a parent without the patient being present, unless clear written consent has been obtained in advance from the patient, who is 16 years or older.
However, for patients aged 16 years or older, your paediatric provider will usually require that parents continue to provide assistance and support. Hence, the practitioner will generally need to share information with parents or the child’s usual parent carer, as previously, for continuation of care. The administrative team will need to continue communicating and managing bookings and billing with a parent or guardian.
Therefore, mature patients will generally be required to consent in writing to their parent or carer continuing as their Account Holder, with responsibility for fees and ongoing involvement in bookings and care.
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 the limitations requested would be in the patient’s best interest, the provider may agree to a special arrangement or accommodation and note this on file.
Further requirements for attending appointments
Children must be supervised and their behaviour managed and all visitors should take care to avoid difficulties, unsafe situations, disruption, soiling or damage.
Families should 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.
Prescriptions are by eScript.
At all times, parents or guardians are responsible for
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.
Conducting all interactions with Prosper Paediatrics, its staff and its associated doctors in accordance with the Respect and Trust Policy.
And for any other matters set as your responsibility in the policies advised on this website, or in emails or handouts.