Albany Family Medical Clinic | Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre

PAYMENT POLICY

Terms of Trade

1. Northpoint Medical does not operate on a credit system.

2. Payment is expected at the time of consultation

3. A $15 administration fee will be added to your account if it is not paid at the time of the consultation. This fee will be removed if the account is paid within the next 7 days.

Full payment prior to any Telehealth appointment is expected.

We accept cash, EFTPOS, payment through Internet Banking and easy claims through Southern Cross and NIB.

Our bank account: ANZ 06-0193-0783637-00, Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre

NB. If paying online, please include your name or patient chart number as a reference.

CANCELLATION POLICY

In order to be considerate to others who are waiting for an appointment and would benefit from this time, failure to attend a booked appointment will incur full charges.

While we endeavor to provide patients with a courtesy reminder for their appointments, it is ultimately the patient’s responsibility to remember the appointment time. Our practice requires 6 hours notice for cancellation of appointments.

You are liable to pay a cancellation fee if you miss your appointment or cancel before the 6 hour period.

If you are sick, or unable to make your appointment, please contact us at 09 320 4759 or email us at reception@northpointmedical.co.nz.

YOU WILL BE INVOICED/CHARGED BASED ON THE SERVICE YOU WERE BOOKED UNDER.

MISSED APPOINTMENTS WITH THE NURSES FOR FUNDED VACCINATIONS OR FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14YRS WILL BE CHARGE A $20 CANCELLATION FEE.

Overdue Accounts & Outstanding Debt

Overdue accounts that have not been paid in 30 days will be passed onto the collection agency BayCorp. This will result in an additional administrative fee of $30 and the account holder of the account will be liable for any costs incurred by the Collection Agency on outstanding debt. Collection Agency costs will be charged at their service rate plus GST.

PRESCRIPTION POLICY

Prescribing Policy

All prescriptions are the legal responsibility of the prescriber. Only the Doctors at Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre can legally sign prescriptions.

Repeat prescribing is only permitted for Enrolled/Registered patients with Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre.

Repeat Prescription (Long Term Medication)

All patients that are on Long Term Medications are required to be reviewed by our Doctors within the last six months. This is an important safety practice governed by Northpoint Medical & Skin Centre.

This process/policy is in place so our patient’s health is managed regularly to ensure the most appropriate treatment is provided for safe and optimized well being.

If you have not seen the Doctor within the last six months in relation to your long-term medication, you will need to make an appointment before the Doctor will prescribe any further medication.

Generally, when you order a repeat prescription, it will be ready within 48 hours from the time of ordering your prescription during normal hours (weekends and public holidays not included).

Requests placed after 3.30pm on Friday will not be ready until the following Tuesday.

Repeat prescriptions can also be issued on an urgent basis (at your Doctor’s discretion), where the turnaround time is 24 hours. However, please be aware that this will attract an additional charge. Please refer to our full fee schedule HERE.

Patient Policies

Health Information Privacy Statement

I understand the following:

Access to my health information

I have the right to access (and have corrected) my health information under Rules 6 and 7 of the Health Information Privacy Code 1994.

Visiting another GP

If I visit another GP who is not my regular doctor I will be asked for permission to share information from the visit with my regular doctor or practice.

If I am under six years old or have a High User Health Card or a Community Services Card, and I visit another GP who is not my regular doctor, he/she can make a claim for a subsidy, and the practice I am enrolled in will be informed of the date of that visit.

The name of the practice I visited and the reason(s) for the visit will not be disclosed unless I give my consent.

Patient Enrolment Information

The information I have provided on the Practice Enrolment Form will be:

held by the practice
used by the Ministry of Health to give me a National Health Index (NHI) number, or update any changes
sent to the PHO and Ministry of Health to obtain subsidised funding on my behalf
used to determine eligibility to receive publicly-funded services. Information may be compared with other government agencies but only when permitted under the Privacy Act
stored by any business that supports our services and products, including businesses that host or maintain our underlying IT systems or data centre that we use to provide the website or other services and products.

Health Information

Members of my health team may:

add to my health record during any services provided to me and use that information to provide appropriate care
share relevant health information to other health professionals who are directly involved in my care.

Audit

In the case of financial audits, my health information may be reviewed by an auditor for checking a financial claim made by the practice, but only according to the terms and conditions of section 22G of the Health Act (or any subsequent applicable Act). I may be contacted by the auditor to check that services have been received. If the audit involves checking on health matters, an appropriately qualified health care practitioner will view the health records.

Health Programmes

Health data relevant to a programme in which I am enrolled (e.g. Breast Screening, Immunisation, Diabetes) may be sent to the PHO or the external health agency managing this programme.

Other Uses of Health Information

Health information which will not include my name but may include my National Health Index Identifier (NHI) may be used by health agencies such as the District Health Board, Ministry of Health or PHO for the following purposes, as long as it is not used or published in a way that can identify me:

health service planning and reporting
monitoring service quality, and
payment.

Research

My health information may be used for health research, but only if this has been approved by an Ethics Committee and will not be used or published in a way that can identify me. Except as listed above, I understand that details about my health status or the services I have received will remain confidential within the medical practice unless I give specific consent for this information to be communicated.

Email Policy

Although we are happy to receive emails, please do not use emails to seek urgent advice, We will also not communicate any sensitive information to you via emails as emailing has associated security risks.

Patient Results

You can now access your Lab Results Online. Registration to the patient portal is FREE!

All you need to do is complete the Registration Form and provide proof of identity to Reception. Please note you will have to be over 16 years of age.

Our policy states that we will only contact you if the results are of concern or further investigation is necessary.

*Please ensure we have your current email address

*Please note that the email sent with results will not always specify your doctor’s name.

Time Frame

Blood tests are received usually between 2 to 3 working days
X-Rays and Ultrasounds (non-hospital) reports are usually received within 24 hours
MRI and CT Scans may take a few days
Cervical Smears may take up to two weeks for reporting.

All lab results are reviewed by the GP and will be filed within 7 working days. Our policy states that we will only contact you if the results are of concern or further investigation is necessary.

You will not hear from us if the result is normal.

If you would like to discuss your result with the GP then please call and make an appointment for a GP consult with reception.

To access your lab results online please contact reception to sign up with the patient portal.