ABOUT US

Emu Plains Medical Centre is an accredited Bulk Billing practice established by principle doctor, Dr Navin Jain in November 1991.

Our mission is to provide patients with the highest quality of care by incorporating a comprehensive and collaborative approach towards treatment and continuity of care. We encourage all patients and the community to become proactive in their health and well being.

Bulk Billing

Emu Plains Medical Centre is a Bulk-Billing practice for all patients who are holders of a valid:

1. Medicare Card

2. Department of Veteran Affairs Card

Patients must present these cards upon arrival for their appointment.

Services that are NOT Bulk-billed

1. Private patients

2. Pre-employment medical assessments

3. Drivers medical assessment (Excluding general Road and Maritime Services i.e Senior driver assessment)

4. Work Compensation: this will be billed to the patient at the current AMA rates on the day of the visit, unless the patient provides the surgery with an insurance company and claim number for their injury and the liability has been accepted.

Please contact the surgery to discuss the fee for your appointment.

Our practice runs by APPOINTMENTS ONLY. An appointment can be made over the phone - (02) 4735 5202.

Please DO NOT ENTER the surgery if you have any of the following symptoms: fever, sore throat, cough or runny nose.

Medical emergencies will never be turned away and will always take priority. If you believe your matter is of an urgent medical nature, please contact the surgery prior to arrival or call Triple Zero (000).

Waiting Times:

The Doctor and the Practice Nurse may not always run on time; this may be due to an unexpected emergency or complex issues.
We apologize in advance if your appointment is delayed and thank you for your patience.

• Emergency: 000 (Triple Zero)

• Nepean Hospital: 02 4734 2000

• 13 SICK 13 74 25

• Nepean After Hours: 02 4734 4990

• Home GP Service: 02 8724 6300

If you are unable to attend an appointment, please contact the surgery 24 hours prior to the appointment.

Our practice has a suggestion box located in the waiting room for patients feedback.

However, if you are unhappy with the service you received please:

1. Talk to the receptionist on duty

2. Write to: The Principle General Practitioner , 27B Sheppard Road, Emu Plains NSW 2750

3. Make a formal complaints to:

NSW Health Care Complaints Commission,

Level 4,28-36, Foveaux Street

Surrey Hills, NSW 2010

Telephone: 1800 043 159

Please contact the surgery via (02) 4735 5202. The receptionist will take a message for the clinician to return your call.

A Clinicians consultation will only be interrupted if the nature of the call is deemed an urgent medical emergency by the receptionist or Practice Nurse

Emu Plains Medical Center's primary reasons for communicating with patient electronically is to:

1. Issue appointment reminders

2. Recall patients to review an abnormal test result

3. Annual reminders that a generic preventative screening test is due (i.e Annual flu vaccinations, cervical screening test, annual care plans)

Electronic Communication used within this practice include:

1. Telephone - 02 4735 5202

2. Email - emuplainsmedicalcentre@gmail.com

3. Fax - 02 8209 4827

4. SMS

5. Health Link - drnavinj

Telephone

Patients may contact the surgery to speak to the Doctor. However, the receptionist will triage the phone call to determine if the phone call is of an urgent nature. Non-urgent matters will result in the receptionist taking a message to forward on to the Doctor to call you back at a more appropriate time.

Email

Our practice asks that you DO NOT send confidential, clinical or identifiable information via email. If you wish to send confidential, clinical or identifiable information please send this via our Fax. We do not take any responsibility in the event that information is intercepted, copied or shared.

A copy of our Email Policy is available upon request at the reception desk.

SMS

Patients who have provided their consent to send SMS will be sent appointment reminders. Information will be of a general nature and never contain confidential, clinical or identifiable information. If you do not wish to be contacted via SMS please contact the surgery. This will be marked in your medical record.

Health Link

Our practice prefers receiving correspondence via our Health Link. EDI: drnavinj

Social Media

Our practice does not use any social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to communicate or advertise. Our practice is not responsible for removing unsolicited testimonials published on a website or on social media which we do not have control.

A copy of our Social Media Policy is available upon request at the reception desk.

For emergencies, please call triple zero (000) or go to your local emergency department.

Nepean Hospital - Emergency Department

Located : Nepean Hospital

Address: Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Penrith NSW 2750

Phone: (02) 4732 2000

All Care Plans and Health Assessments require an appointment.

To book an appointment, please call the surgery on (02) 4735 5202.

Patients are required to book a consultation with the Doctor if they wish to request a Medical Certificate.

Medical Certificates cannot be backdated.

If you require a Workers Compensation Certificate please ensure you have bought the necessary paperwork to your consultation.

Question 1: What type of information does Emu Plains Medical Centre Collect?

Answer: Our practice collects personal and clinical information including:

• Name, address, date of birth, ethnicity, country of birth and contact details, (this will include an emergency contact)

• Past medical history, current medications, allergies, immunisations, family history and social history

• Health care identifiers such as a Medicare Card, Health care card, Department of Veteran Affairs or Pension card

Question 2: Why do we collect this information?

Answer: We collect this personal information from patients for the primary purpose of providing quality health care. When you register as a patient of our practice you consent for our General Practitioners, Nurse and Administrative staff to access your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible health care and treatment.

Our practice may also use this information for financial claims and payments, quality improvement activities, accreditation and normal business process such as staff training. However, our practice will seek additional information from the patient if we need to use their personal information for anything else.

Questions: How does Emu Plains Medical Centre collect my personal information?

Answer: Our practice will collect your personal information directly from you or a person authorised by you (i.e relative, guardian or other health care provider). Your personal information will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected, or otherwise permitted by law.

If you have changed or updated your personal or clinical details details please contact the surgery immediately.

Question: How confidential are my medical records?

Answer: Your medical records remain confidential between you and the doctor. Other clinical staff such as the practice staff or administrative staff may need to see your records. This may to write notes, scan documents into your file or to update your personal details. Emu Plains Medical Centre will never disclose your medical records to a third party unless you have provided your written consent or if required by law.

All staff at Emu Plains Medical Centre are required to sign a confidentiality agreement form upon employment. (This includes IT support) .

For a copy of our Privacy Policy, please ask at reception.

Questions: Who owns my medical records?

Answer: Patient medical records are the notes made by the Doctor or Nurse to assist them in providing continuous care and treatment to a patient. All patient records are therefore the property of Emu Plains Medical Centre.

By attending an appointment with a clinician at Emu Plains Medical Centre, you have given them permission to take notes of the consultation. Under the Privacy Act 1998, you have the right to view and access a copy of your records. However, this will require Dr Jain's approval.

Question: How can I request to view or access a copy of my medical records?

Answer: Patients are required to ask the Doctor if they wish to access or obtain a copy of their medical record. It is at the discretion of the Doctor to provide you with an up to date health summary or a copy of your full medical record.

Question: Can i be denied access to my medical records?

Answer: Full or partial access to your medical records may be refused in the following circumstances:

• disclosure of health information may result in physical or mental harm to your or any other person

• the information may impact on the privacy of other individuals

• information relates to the existing or anticipated legal proceedings

• where denying access is required or authorised by law

Question: Can I transfer my medical records to a doctor at a different medical practice?

Answer: Yes.

At Emu Plains Medical Centre we will transfer your medical records directly to the requested Medical Centre or Doctor.

These records will only be sent once the requesting party have sent us a formal request (signed and consented by the patient).

We will never send your medical records to a requesting party without the permission of the patient unless authorised by law.

For information on how to transfer your records, please contact the reception desk (02) 4735 5202.

Question: Do we charge a fee when sending medical records to another practice?

Answer: Our practice will not charge patients to have their medical records transferred to another practice. However, we will charge third parties i.e Insurance companies. Please contact the surgery for transfer fee's.

Please note: Other medical centres may request a fee to have your medical records transferred from your previous practice to our medical center. It is the responsibility of the patient to ensure these fees have been paid.

Question: How long will Emu Plains Medical Centre keep my records for?

Answer: It is a legislative requirement that Emu Plains Medical Centre retains a copy of a patients medical records for a minimum of 7 years for adults and up to 25 years for children from the date that the patient was provided with medical treatment from our practice.

All medical records are disposed of in a manner that they remain confidential.
Updated - 01/03/2021

Our practice will send out SMS reminders for annual health checks or immunisations due.

The practice nurse will also send out reminders for her appointments.

If you do not wish to receive these reminders, please advise reception.

Referral:

1. This service is only available for existing patients who have had the referral form written by the Dr Jain previously.

2. Our practice requires at least 2 business days to complete the request.

3. All referral requests will be assessed by Dr Jain; who will approve or decline the request on clinical grounds.

4. If the request is denied, you will be required to make an appointment.

5. Referrals cannot be backdated as this is ILLEGAL.

Prescriptions:

Please read the following for more information on how to order a repeat prescription:

1. This service is only available for existing patients who have had the prescription written by Dr Jain previously.

2. Our practice requires at least 2 business days to complete the request. There may be unexpected delays due to busy periods.

3. All prescription requests will be approved or declined by the Dr Jain on clinical grounds.

4. If you prescription request is denied you will be required to make an appointment with the Doctor.

5. For an urgent request, please contact the surgery as soon as possible.

6. If you require a prescription to be posted to a pharmacy, please contact the surgery as soon as possible. It may take up to 5 days to receive. The Doctor will need to approve this prior to being sent.

Pathology Results

Routine pathology tests usually take a minimum of 3 days to process. However, more specialised testing can take several days i.e Swabs.

If your test or procedure returns an abnormal result that requires an action of any type you will be contacted personally by a staff member via your preferred contact method. We encourage all patients to book an appointment with the Doctor to discuss these results in person.

Radiology Results

Radiology reports i.e X-rays and Scans may a minimum of 3 days to return to the surgery. Please ensure the report has been sent to the surgery before arriving for your appointment.

If your report returns to the surgery with a result that requires action our practice will be in contact with you via your preferred contact method.

All films are the responsibility of the patient. Our practice will not store or hold onto films on behalf of the patient. If a film is left here at the practice for more than 3 month we will dispose of them correctly.

We have two female Nurses at the practice.

Lorna: Monday and Tuesday
Anna: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

To minimise waiting time to see our nurse, we ask the following treatments be booked with reception for an appointment time with the nurse:

• Wound Care

• Immunisations

• Injections

• Ear Syringing

• Removal of stitches

• Lung Function testing

• Blood Pressure

• Care Plans and Health Assessments

Our practice utilies Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS national).

Patients who do not speak English have the option of choosing to have a professional interpreter services used or for a family member to be present to act as the translator. Please inform to reception staff the patient will require a interpreter when booking an appointment at least 24 - 48 hours prior to the requested appointment. This is to ensure we can organise an interpreter before the consultation.

Telephone number: 131 450

Website: www.tisnational.gov.au

For patients with a hearing impairment our practice utilises the National Relay Service - 1800 555 660

https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/services-people-disability/accesshub

New patients will be asked to fill out a new patient form and will be required to bring:

1. Photo ID (i.e Drivers License)

2. Medicare Card

3. Health Care Card

4. DVA Card