Our Services
Intravenous Iron Infusion
HFMC now offers Iron Infusions onsite.
Why is iron important?
Our bodies need iron. Iron is used to make haemoglobin – the part of our red blood cells that carries oxygen around our body. It is also important for muscle strength, energy and good mental function. If your iron levels are low this may make you feel tired and not able to do normal daily activities. As the amount of iron in the body falls even lower, the haemoglobin level drops below normal. This is known as iron deficiency anaemia.
Why might I need IV iron?
The most common way to treat iron deficiency is to take iron by mouth as a tablet or liquid. This works well for most people and is usually tried first. Some people may need iron to be given straight into the body through a vein. This is called an Intravenous iron infusion. The iron is given through a needle and infused into your vein over 15 – 20 minutes. The infusion is made up of iron, not blood.
Iron Infusion is not covered by Medicare and there will be an out of pocket expense for this service.
Dermascope
How can a Dermascope help a doctor identify a lesion?
The light on the dermatoscope helps illuminate the skin in a special way, allowing a doctor to examine lesions without the light bouncing off dry or oily skin, which would make it more difficult to see.
Regular full body skin checks with a Dermascope provide you with the best chance of detecting skin cancer early and early detection is the key to beating skin cancer.
Skin Cancer detection saves lives. About two in three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer before the age of 70. Skin cancers account for approximately 80% of all cancers diagnosed in Australia.
We recommend a full body skin check every 12 months.
It is far better to detect skin cancer early, as this can avoid extensive and costly surgery at a later stage, which may not be curative.
Every year in Australia
- Skin cancers account for approximately 80% of all cancers diagnosed.
- The majority of skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun.
- Our incidence of skin cancer is one of the highest in the world, 3 times the rate of Canada, United States and UK.
Book your Skin Check now, just call our efficient reception staff and they can make you an appointment for a full body skin check or arrange for our doctor to have a look at one or more spots you may be concerned about.
Test Results: We understand that your test results are important to you and make every endeavour to ensure that these results are available as soon as possible. Due to the confidentiality of your results, you are required to book an appointment to receive your results. Our reception staff are not able to discuss your results with you. Reception staff are unable to email or give you a copy of your results until you have discussed them with the doctor.
Telephone calls: The GPs at this clinic will only take urgent calls. All patients are encouraged to book an appointment to discuss any clinical issues. If you need a telephone consult, please call reception on 9500 1899 to see if you are eligible.
Cancellation: We respect that your time is valuable, and we appreciate that you understand ours is too. We know that sometimes plans change unexpectedly. Our doctors and allied health professionals want to be available for your needs and the needs of all our patients. We have a $50 cancellation fee if appointments are not cancelled before your consultation time.
Emergencies: If you have an emergency, please telephone 000 or go to your nearest Emergency Department.
After Hours: For non-urgent after hours consultations please call National Home Doctor Service 13SICK (7425) https://homedoctor.com.au/
or My Emergency Doctor on 1800 000 633 www.myemergencydr.com.au
Privacy and Confidentiality: We comply with Australian Government Legislation, ensuring that the privacy of our patients is maintained. A copy of our privacy policy is available at reception. Further information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992.
Complaints: To hep improve our service, every so often you may be asked to complete a survey about our practice. The survey is completely confidential and will give you the opportunity to give us a complaint or compliment.
If you have any problems with our service to you, please discuss it with the doctor or practice manager as we will endeavour to resolve any feedback or issues directly.
If you feel your problem cannot be delt with within the practice, you may contact the Health Complaints Commissioner
Call: 1300 582 113
Email: hsc@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Write or Visit
Health Complaints Commissioner
Level 26
570Bourke Street
Melbourne, Victoria
Reminders and Practice Information: We put great emphasis on preventative care and may send you reminders or information about the practice from time to time. Please advise the staff if you do not wish to participate in this program.
Health Information Collection & Use: We are pleased that you have chosen to attend our practice. We will need some personal information from you in order to properly attend to your care. Here at Hillscene Family Medical Centre(HFMC) we respect your right to privacy, and this policy is intended to inform you of how we handle information we collect about you. You are more than welcome to ask our staff about our Privacy Policy if you want more information.
What information about you do we collect?
At your first appointment, we will start a medical file for you. We will need the following information:
- Name, address, date of birth, Medicare number and/or concession card number, home/work/mobile phone numbers, and details of persons to contact if there is an emergency
During the consultation, the doctor will ask you a series of questions related to your health and well-being. Information from these questions is kept on file to help with your ongoing care.
What do we do with the information we collect?
Information about you is kept in your patient file, and it is only accessed when necessary to provide you with health care. There may be a need to disclose your personal information to others involved in your health care, such as specialists, allied health providers, and diagnostic providers. Your personal information may be shared with those providers if they are involved in your care. It may be impossible for you to give consent in an urgent situation, but we will still provide information if necessary.
If you choose not to have your health information used in all or some of the ways outlined above, this may impact our ability to manage your health care and provide the best outcome for you.
To improve individual and community health care, your information can be accessed for research and quality assurance purposes. During accreditation, your information can be accessed. It may be necessary for your data to be provided to government agencies in some situations. Should you not wish for your information to be used for any purpose other than that for which you came to us, please let us know.
We take care to avoid inadvertent disclosure of personal information, e.g. patients are identified appropriately. We take steps to protect the personal information we collect from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. Electronic health records are backed up. You must provide consent prior to transferring your records. Your new doctor will arrange this with you. Our clinic keeps your records for a minimum of seven years after your last visit or for a child for twenty five years if they have attended any of our clinics.
We offer patients the opportunity to request a copy of our privacy statement and policy prior to signing consent for the release of health information.
The patient’s consent is obtained at the time of the first appointment for the transfer of health information. A scanned copy of this form is added to the patient’s record once it has been signed.
Note: Consent for transfer of information differs from procedural consent.
Zero Tolerance Policy:
Hillscene Family Medical Centre takes very seriously our responsibility to respond to any abuse, threat of or actual violence directed to doctors, staff and others by patients.
We have a zero tolerance approach to any verbal, aggressive and violent abuse and behaviour towards our doctors, staff or patients. Our doctors and staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients must be in place.
Our staff aim to be polite, helpful, and courteous to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. Staff members understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.
However, aggressive, abusive or violent behaviour will not be tolerated. Abusers will be required to leave our premises and to transfer their care to another practice. Police will be contacted as required
The list below of unacceptable behaviour directed towards any doctor, staff or other patients which will not be tolerated is indicative rather than exhaustive:
- Using offensive language or swearing
- Physical violence
- Verbal abuse and racist language
- Sexual harassment
- Damage to any practice property.