Frequently Asked Questions

How should I communicate with the care team between appointments?

You can email the clinic your questions using the contact details on our website. Please allow 48 hours response time to emails. If you require urgent assistance please inform your Patient Advocate.

Always call 000 in the event of a medical emergency.

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How do I receive a referral to other services or practitioners?

Your current doctor may refer you to another practitioner or specialist in order to best support and manage your condition. Referrals can be discussed during your consultation with the GPs at the clinic.

What if I am seriously unwell?

In the event of a medical emergency, please call 000 or attend your nearest hospital.

How do I receive a bill or make a payment?

The billing policy is simple and clear. The GPs endeavour to be transparent and affordable whilst providing a high quality service. Please refer to the fees page on our website for more details. The doctors here accept payment by credit and debit card through an EFTPOS terminal for Visa and Mastercard cards. They do not take cash payments and no cash is held on premises.

Are your services covered by private health fund?

Some of the services available at Next Practice may be covered by your private health fund. In order to have the most accurate information on whether you will receive a rebate or not please contact your private health fund provider to find out your level of cover.

How can I reschedule or cancel an appointment?

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, please notify the clinic or cancel your appointment via the patient app at least one business day prior to the appointment. A non-attendance fee of $50 will be charged if you don't attend or notify us in the required time frame.

How will I receive my appointment confirmation and reminders?

When you make a booking you will receive a confirmation email at the time of booking. You will also receive a reminder for your appointment five days prior to your appointment, and again 24 hours prior to your appointment.

How can I request a repeat or refill prescription?

For most repeat prescriptions you will need to make an appointment to see your regular doctor to discuss your needs. By making an appointment for prescriptions, your doctor is better able to care for you. The GPs at this location are also able to offer Telehealth consultations. These are useful and popular for follow up appointments.

You can also request a script refill for regular medication through your Next Practice Patient App (available on Apple and Android store).

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How will I receive test results?

At Next Practice Deakin all your test results will be reviewed by your doctor. Our procedures are as follows:

Urgent results: your doctor or a nurse/patient advocate will contact you immediately by phone to advise you to make an appointment. If there is no answer after 3 attempts, a letter will be sent to you, advising an urgent appointment is necessary. A clinic staff may continue to contact you at the doctor's discretion and urgency of your results.

Non-urgent results: A staff member will contact you via a variety of modes e.g. phone, SMS, email or the patient app. If there is no answer after 3 attempts, a letter will be sent to you, advising an appointment.

Normal results: We do not contact you to advise of normal results. We encourage you to make a follow up appointment to discuss the results, even if they are normal. Nurses or patient advocates do not provide results over the phone.

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How can I share a compliment or complaint?

The healthcare professionals that practice at this clinic pride themselves on providing excellence in care and are constantly exploring ways to improve and innovate. The clinic welcomes your feedback, compliments, suggestions and complaints. Please feel free to raise any concerns with the clinic - we genuinely believe in working in partnership with you and will work with you to resolve any concerns. You can provide your feedback in person or by email.

The ACT Human Rights Commission handles complaints about the provision of Health Services in the ACT. For further details visit https://hrc.act.gov.au/health/

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What if I need after-hours care?

After hours service options for residents in Canberra include:

CALMS: 1300 4 22 567

National Home Doctors Service: 13SICK (that's 13 7425)

Walk-in Clinics: Walk-in Centres offer free health care for minor injuries and illnesses and are open until 10pm daily, including public holidays. (https://www.health.act.gov.au/hospitals-and-health-centres/walk-centres)

Healthdirect: 1800 022 222 or https://www.healthdirect.gov.au. If you are unsure you can use Healthdirect's online symptoms checker.

If you or someone you are caring for is experiencing a medical emergency, please call 000 immediately.

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What are your opening hours?

Opening hours for the clinic can be found on the home page of our website.

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Do you accept new patients?

The doctors here accept new patients and are delighted you have chosen to receive your care at Next Practice Deakin. They kindly ask you to arrive 30 minutes ahead of your first appointment. This is so the doctors can ensure they have time to help you become acquainted with the clinic. You will be greeted by one of the patient advocates who will ask you to complete our new patient form using an iPad. Don't worry, the technology is easy and the patient advocates will assist you with any help you might need.

How can I make an appointment?

Next Practice Deakin accepts all patients who are self referred, or referred from another practitioner. You do not need a referral letter for GP appointments (but may do so for our specialists referrals). All appointments may be booked online via deakin.nextpracticehealth.com, for all practitioners and consultations.

What is the best way to contact the clinic?

If you have questions for our team email us on deakin@nextpracticehealth.com or call (02) 6185 5555.

If you or someone you are caring for is experiencing a medical emergency, please call 000 immediately.

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How should aged care providers contact Next Practice Deakin?

We request residential aged care providers, community care providers and disability home to contact us using our secure online form. This will provide you with a copy of your communication too. If the matter is URGENT then we ask you to complete the form and then call us. Otherwise we endeavour to review all submissions within 2 working days. Please note our clinic opening times.

What is the relationship between Next Practice Deakin and Prestantia Health?

Next Practice Deakin and Prestantia Health have a special relationship. Prestantia Health (prestantiahealth.com) is a service that provides outreach care to housebound older people, those residing in aged care and disability homes.

Next Practice Deakin offers administrative and clinical support services to Prestantia Health. If you are a patient of a doctor offering services through Prestantia Health then your telephone calls and enquires will be processed through Next Practice Deakin.

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Privacy

At Next Practice, patient confidentiality and privacy are paramount. You can find a link to the Privacy Policy at the bottom of this web page on the right hand side.

What is MyMedicare?

MyMedicare is a new voluntary patient registration model. It aims to strengthen and formalise the relationship between patients, the medical services clinic, general practitioner (GP) and primary care teams. Evidence shows that seeing the same GP and healthcare team regularly leads to better health outcomes for patients.

You can formally register with the medical services clinic or register with your preferred GP from 1 October 2023.

Learn more about how to register on our MyMedicare at Next Practice page. Or you can contact the Patient Advocates at the clinic directly for more information.

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