Video Appointments

In all situations, your child must be present, observable and, if older than a baby, able to interact with your provider during the consultation.

Essential Attendance Requirements

Your child's Video Appointment is a formal and private consultation and should substitute closely for an in-room appointment. By requesting or accepting a Video Appointment, you agree to ensure

that it will take place in a private and quiet place,
if the appointment takes place in a vehicle, it will be stationary and parked safely off the road in a quiet, private place.
for the duration of the appointment, your child will be present, visible to, readily observable by and able to readily interact with the doctor,
the attending parent/guardian will give their full attention to the consultation for the duration of the appointment.

If these essential requirements are not satisfied, your doctor may refuse to proceed or decline to use a Medicare billing item (preventing a rebate claim). You will be billed the full fee if a consultation is provided or the fee for a non-attended appointment if the consultation is considered not possible in the professional judgment of the provider. Further video appointments may be refused if these requirements are not met.

A patient may be discharged from care if the provider is not able to review the patient as appropriate and in light of the provider’s professional judgement of what is necessary for clinical, medicolegal or Medicare requirements.

Outcomes of your Video Appointment-what to expect.

Video appointments done well (following our recommendations) are a very close substitute for being in the consult room. Talking, observation and interaction are the main work of a paediatric consultation. When this work is being done in a video appointment, and a physical examination is also needed, a brief additional consultation can allow this.

Referrals are sent to providers; eScripts and forms are sent to you.

Staff will help you to book any needed review appointment or a short appointment for a physical exam if needed.

Either when accepting the Video Appointment Booking or before entering the Video Appointment, please complete this Video Appointment Agreement:

Patient Name

First Name

Last Name

Parent/Guardian's name

First Name

Last Name

Agreement to attend in accordance with the above requirements..

We will engage in the appointment from a private and quiet room.

or we will engage in the appointment in our vehicle which will be stationary and safely parked off the road in a private and quiet place.

The patient will be present, observable and able to interact with the provider for the duration of the appointment.

If a mature patient, they agree to give their undivided attention to the consultation.

The attending parent/guardian will give their undivided attention to the consultation for the duration of the appointment.

Payment of the Appointment Fee

If a prepayment is required of the whole or part of the fee, I will make this payment prior to the appointment time by

I will pay any fee or part fee invoiced following the appointment in the Video Reception with Prosper's EFTPOS service.

If the video connection is unexpectedly closed before I settle the account for the appointment, I will phone 8332 3778 to settle the account before the end of the same day.

Enter the Video Appointment Reception-click on this button:

ENTER video appointment reception

Your clinician strongly prefers face-to-face appointments in most situations but

they may offer video consultations

for patients living in rural & regional areas or where visiting our rooms is difficult.
to reduce transmission risks for COVID-19, influenza and other infectious diseases.
where a provider, parent or child is otherwise unable to attend in-rooms due to isolation requirements, viral symptoms or other reasons
to provide flexibility for families and to better accommodate special needs.
for appointments expected to be less than 10 minutes in duration where physical examination is not required.
where clinically appropriate, and a video appointment will substantially progress your child’s care

Phone calls and emails are not suitable or offered for paediatric consultations.

Your doctor may occasionally need to make a brief call or email regarding a non-complex result or prescription question concerning a previous consultation. A phone call will be booked to avoid the frustrations and time wastage of “phone tag.” Consultation in-rooms or over video is the time-tested format appropriate for all questions and concerns regarding diagnosis, assessments, management, medications, etc., or form completion, referrals, scripts, etc.

But if the patient is 16 or older, a phone call may sometimes be agreed.

A phone consultation may be offered to a mature adolescent of 16 years of age or more, who can engage directly with their doctor. The mature patient should hold and operate the phone. Parents can be present for support if the mature patient invites this, but the parent cannot take over the call.

Getting the most out of your video appointment,

TECHNICAL preparation:

Using a laptop or computer and monitor where possible, is strongly recommended.
If a mobile is used, older adolescent patients should hold the mobile device.

Check your device and internet connection. Coviu, our Video Appointment platform, provides a one-click test to check that your device and connection are set up properly before your appointment at tools.coviu.com/precall/.
In our experience, desktops and laptops with webcams work best, but families can get by with an iPad or smartphone if necessary.

Ensure you allow access to your camera and microphone when prompted (on your computer or mobile).
Visit the Video Reception a day or so before your appointment to test your connections, familiarise yourself and say hello to our receptionist.

TECHNICAL advice for during the appointment:

CLICKING THE “HIDE LOCAL VIDEO” helps your child (and you) participate in the conversation naturally. The “local video” window is the one that shows how you look to the doctor.
Enter the Video Appointment Reception at least 10 minutes before your appointment to ensure you can set it up and speak to our reception staff.
Trouble-shooting: Ask staff for help; AUDIO troubles can be overcome by using your phone for the sound while the video runs on your laptop or another device with the microphone off, or if it really is bad (it happens occasionally), staff can organise a Google Meet link instead.

Setting the scene for a successful video appointment:

Ensure your environment is well-lit, private, has room for your child to play and stay, and is as quiet as possible.
Your child should have a place in front of the camera (sitting, standing or on your lap); be able to easily interact with, be observed by the doctor and generally be part of the of the consultation. Young babies can be held or close by in their bassinet, pram, or on a floor mat (including if they are sleeping) so the doctor can see and hear them.
Make toys or activities available at the computer and close by in the consultation space. All children and young people need activities when they’re talking to the doctor and when they get tired of directly participating or when the grown-ups are talking.
Avoid video games and social media as these are too distracting and absorbing for your child.
Measure and email your child’s height, weight and head circumference before your appointment. .
Have your child’s Blue Book, some note paper and a pen ready.