BMC Services

Overview

Consultations are made by appointment.

To make an appointment please phone 5333 1253 Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm and speak with our reception staff. Appointments will not be made via email.

Standard consultations are 10 minutes, we recommend you make a longer appointment if you wish to discuss several issues. Our reception staff will advise you of the appropriate appointment times for:

• Annual Check ups

• Women’s health issues

• Chronic disease management

• Insurance Medicals

• Immunizations

• Travel Consultations

• Skin Checks

• Cervical Screening

• Driving assessment forms

• First shared-care/pregnancy visit

• Insurance medicals

• Insertion/removal of Implanon

• Counselling

Cancellations

We would appreciate you telling us as soon as possible if you think you may be late or need to cancel your appointment. Sometimes your appointment may need to be rescheduled if you are late.

A cancellation fee may apply for non attendance or without sufficient prior notice (normally 4 hours).

Schedule

Patients are not seen in the order of their arrival at the practice, but in order of their booking time. You may wish to phone the practice before your appointment to check whether your doctor is running on time.

Fees

Ballarat and Buninyong Medical Centres are private billing practices, full payment is required at the end of your consultation. We offer "Easy Claim" or “Medicare Online” for direct claiming . To be eligible for Medicare Online you are required to register your banking details with Medicare. Credit Card and EFTPOS facilities are available. Pension and Health Care Card holders may be offered a reduced fee.

A standard consultation

• Private - $80.00

• Health Care Card - $70.00

• Pension Card - $58.00

A long consultation

• Private - $130.00

• Health Care Card - $115.00

• Pension Card - $102.00

Workcover & TAC

Workcover and TAC accounts are sent to the insurance companies once your claim has been accepted.

Travel Medicine

Ballarat Medical Centre is a member of Travel Clinics Australia.

Ballarat Medical Centre offers travel medicine advice provided by qualified, professional and caring medical staff. Our experienced doctors will provide you with up to date pre and post travel information. The information is tailored to your individual itinerary and assessment of health risks associated with overseas travel.

The travel consultation duration is usually 30 minutes. The fee is $130.00 which has a Medicare rebate of $72.60. Discounts for families and groups are available. Corporate consultations may be charged to your company by prior agreement.

The centre offers a comprehensive range of vaccines, malaria medications, gastro medications, first aid kits and mosquito nets. Ballarat Medical Centre is an accredited Yellow Fever Immunization Centre.

For more Travel information please go to the Travel Tab.

After Hours

After hours care is provided by a group of Ballarat practices. Please phone Nurse on Call 1300 60 60 24 or After Hours GP Helpline 1800 022 222 for advice,  or phone 0490 888 836 when the practice is closed to be connected with the on call GP. An out of pocket fee will be charged for consultations.

Saturday Morning Clinics

If you need medical attention Ballarat Medical Centre offers a Saturday morning clinic on a rotation roster with a group of Ballarat practices. For full details of the practice on duty please ask reception or check our recorded phone message out of practice hours.

Home Visits

In most cases we prefer patients to come to the practice; however we do acknowledge that a home visit is sometimes required for seriously ill patients. Please call the reception team to discuss options.

Telephone Calls

Interruptions during the course of a consultation can be very distracting for both the patient and the doctor. Most queries are best dealt with by consultation, but if appropriate your doctor will discuss a telephone query with you. If the doctor concerned is consulting, your call will be returned as soon as the doctor is able. If you feel your problem needs urgent attention please inform our reception team.

Test Results

Your doctor reviews all test results and will inform you at the time of the consultation whether it is appropriate for you to phone for the results or to make an appointment to review them in person.

Procedures

Please ensure when booking an appointment that you let reception know that you are having a procedure. The procedure would need to have been discussed with the doctor at a prior consultation. Your doctor will give an estimate of the out of pocket cost.

Forms

Please notify reception when making your appointment if you have forms to be completed as this will require a long consultation.

Medical Certificates

Medical certificates must be obtained at the time of consultation.

Repeat Prescriptions / referrals

Patients taking prescribed medications, it is important that you are reviewed regularly. We always recommend a personal visit because we think it is in your best interest, but if you are busy and need a repeat script or a referral urgently our reception team will take your request over the telephone. Doctor’s may refuse prescription requests if they believe a consultation is required. All repeat prescriptions or referrals are charged a $15 - $20 fee.

Claiming Your Medicare Rebates

We offer a service to simplify the collection of your Medicare rebate. Your options are:

Medicare Online - If you have registered your bank account details Medicare will deposit a rebate into your account within 48 hours. You are required to lodge your bank details with Medicare directly.

Or take your receipt to Medicare to receive an instant rebate via your debit card.

To register your details visit the Medicare website.

Pathology

For your convenience Clinical Labs has a collection facility operating at both practice:

Ballarat Practice:

8.30am to 12.30pm Monday – Friday.

Buninyong Practice:

8.30am to 12.30pm Monday - Friday.