Subject: Don Medical Clinic New GP and other news
Hi
4. Urgent care, Emergency care and After hours care - which service to use?
5. My Health Record - how to get access to your medical information
Don Medical Clinic are excited to announce Dr Rachel Stafford will be joining our Don Medical Clinic Team from Thursday February 1st, 2024.
Dr Rachel Stafford (GP)
Dr Rachel grew up in Sydney and moved to Tasmania to work as an audiologist before training in medicine at the University of Tasmania. She completed her clinical years at the Rural Clinical School in Burnie.
Dr Rachel completed her medical internship at the Royal Hobart Hospital and then continued on to gain skills in women’s health before joining the Australian General Practice Training program. She has recently completed her GP training in 2024 as a specialist General Practitioner.
Dr Rachel has special interests in pregnancy care, provides Implanon and Mirena IUD insertions, and can offer medical terminations of pregnancy. She is looking to gain additional skills in sexual health, menopause management and early pregnancy ultrasound, in addition to the full gamut of general practice presentations.
Outside interests include spending time with her dog, baking and enjoying music, nature and chess. She is relocating from Hobart to join the Don Medical Clinic team and to settle in Devonport with her partner and his young children.
Dr Rachel will be available for consultation on Thursdays and Fridays. We welcome her to our practice community.
We have listed below the standard GP availability Days. There may be some variances to this roster from time to time to cover leave.
Dr Jane - Monday to Thursday only
Dr Bec - Monday and Tuesday
Dr Fatemeh - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday (Tues & Thurs until 2pm)
Dr Meredith - Thursdays (until 2pm)
Dr Rachel - Thursdays & Fridays
As always we will accommodate your choice of GP where we can, however with most GPs working part time you may have to accept an appointment with one of the other GPs at the practice. We work as a team so we can offer continuity of care utilising more than 1 primary GP to provide appropriate care.
MyMedicare is a new Patient Enrolment service. It is totally voluntary. You can register yourself and your family with our practice if you are a current patient AND you have had at least 2 x face to face consultations at Don Medical Clinic in the last 2 years. We encourage all current patients to register. There is no cost to register.
All patients including Veteran Affairs patients can register. This is the first step in transforming Medicare to improve person centred team-based care, something we at Don Medical pride ourselves on. Initially the benefit will favour patients on a concession card, pensioners and children Under 16. This group of people in some instances may gain access to a larger Medicare rebate for some services (that is: a lower out of pocket expense).
Also any non-concession patients who are registered will be eligible for a higher Medicare rebate for longer telephone consults (these are currently a reduced rebate). You need to register with MyMedicare and our practice to be eligible. Registrations are open now and the newer rebates started from November 1st, 2023. More information is available on our website.
MyMedicare registration- You can register through your Express Medicare App. OR through Medicare online account (through MyGov). OR through a manual registration form in the practice.
Currently any of our regular concession card holders, pensioners and under 16’s who register for MyMedicare we will “bulk Bill” their standard consultations. (This policy will be reviewed in July 2024 and will be dependant on Medicare rebates increasing in line with business inflation costs.)
4. Urgent Care needs and After Hours: - what you need to know
(Mon to Fri: 9.00 am to 5.00pm ) - CALL DON MEDICAL - 6441 5299
In case of emergency – call 000 and arrange an ambulance. OR go to the nearest Emergency department
Repeat prescriptions can be ordered HERE
Repeat referrals can be ordered HERE
Emergency or life-threatening care requires immediate medical attention and management by an emergency department or hospital. Medicare Urgent Care Centres do not provide emergency care.
Call triple zero (000) or go to your nearest ED if you or a loved one has a life-threatening injury or illness. This includes:
-> call Tasmanian Ambulance Service – call 000.
-> Go to the Emergency Department
IF you attend the Urgent Care Clinic please ask the doctor to forward information to your Don Medical Clinic. reception@donmedical.com.au. This is essential to ongoing care so any follow up can be arranged.
Don Medical Clinic promptly follow up any Emergency or Urgent care visits that our patients have had out of hours in order to provide consistent ongoing care. (The ideal would be to also upload an event summary be uploaded to your My Health Record .)
What is urgent care and when should I attend a Urgent Care Clinic (UCC)?
Urgent care is when you need medical attention for an illness or injury that can be managed without a trip to the emergency department, but you are unable to access an ON THE DAY appointment at Don Medical Clinic and cannot wait for a regular appointment with a GP.
Medicare UCCs provide assessment, treatment and care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions. This may include:
If in doubt, call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 or visit the Healthdirect website
General health care (your regular GP Practice)
Your local general practitioner (GP) should be your first point of contact for routine, preventative, and non-emergency health care.
Care provided by your local GP includes:
Medicare UCCs won't be able to see people for things like chronic disease management or preventative health procedures such as cervical screening tests.
What do you need to take to an UCC?
If you have a Medicare card or number, take this with you when you attend a Medicare UCC.
You can also take any letters or correspondence from your GP and details of any medicines you are currently taking (including those without a prescription).
If you are attending a Medicare UCC for your child to receive medical attention, take your child's personal health record (Blue Book). Or utilise your My Health record
5. My health record - how to access with an App
Do you know how to access the current information on your digital My health Record?
Your My Health Record (MHR) keeps a record of your following medical information
All this is available with a secure link through an App on your smart phone or through a link through your MyGov account. You can also upload your Advanced Care directive so your GP, hospitals etc all know your wishes.
It DOES NOT have your full medical record with all your consultation notes. ONLY A SUMMARY. If your MHR has information you think is incorrect, contact your GP to discuss.
Looking forward to seeing you through 2024!
Your Don Medical Clinic Team