Patient Policy

Client Information and Agreement
Your Rights as a Client:
You have all the rights established by the Australian Charter of Healthcare, such as:

• The right to receive safe and high-quality care

• To be shown respect, dignity and consideration

• To be informed about services, treatment, options and costs in a clear and open way

• To be included in decisions and choices about your care

• To privacy and confidentiality of your personal information

• To comment on your care and have your concerns addressed

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Confidentiality:
What you tell the doctor will be kept confidential and will not be revealed to other persons or agencies without your written permission, except when mandated by state and federal statutes, court order, or if there is any concern for your safety.

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Heidi Health:

Please note that Dr Spivak uses AI-based medical scribing tools such as Heidi Health to assist with delivering the best quality patients care. Since Heidi consult recordings are transcribed in real-time, the audio recordings are never stored and therefore can't be accessed later.

 Please find more about Heidi's compliance with Australian and New Zealand regulations by following this link: 🚨 Is Heidi compliant with healthcare privacy regulations? | Heidi Health Help Center (intercom.help)

While in Queensland (and the NT and Victoria) specific consent for using Al-based medical scribing is not legally required, we believe it is important for patients to be aware of its use as a matter of transparency and good practice. We will check with you each visit if you still consent for us to use AI transcription. Please let us know if you have any questions in relation to that, we are always happy to help.

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Professional Records:
Brisbane Medical Specialists keeps appropriate records of the medical services provided by Dr Spivak. Your records are maintained securely in the office or digitally on a password-protected system. These are only able to be accessed by staff who have signed confidentiality agreements.
Emergencies: Dr Spivak does not provide “emergency services” or after-hours crisis support. If you have an urgent concern, our reception team will try to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
In the case of an emergency, please contact the emergency line, 000, or contact a 24-hour telephone mental health access line 1300 642 255 MH Call to speak to a trained mental health clinician.

Appointments:
A new patient appointment usually takes at least 45min. This time includes completion of all pertinent paperwork such as scripts, letters to GPs, referrals, medical certificates. A standard follow up appointment with Dr Valeria Spivak can range from 30 – 60 minutes. If you arrive less than 10min into your appointment, your appointment will still conclude at its scheduled time with the full consultation fee being levied. If you arrive too late (more than 10min into your appointment), or do not arrive for a session, the full consultation fee will be charged (no associated Medicare rebate).
If you would like to book in for a longer review, please let our reception staff know, a higher fee will apply. If the length of your consultation runs over the time frame that you are booked in for, you are responsible for paying the difference, a higher fee will apply.

Booking an appointment:
All appointments are booked by phone only, please contact us on 0435 074 567 to speak with one of the friendly receptionists. No bookings will be made via email and the emails requesting that will not be answered. Initial bookings require a deposit of 50% to be paid at the time of the appointment booked. The deposit goes towards the payment of the initial consultation and is completely refundable if you wish to change or cancel your appointment up until one week before your appointment. In case of non-attendance or cancellation less than one week from day of consultation the deposit will be forfeited as the clinic may be unable to reallocate the time slot to another patient. We regret that this is necessary to reduce the likelihood of people booking a consultation and failing to turn up on the day. Such instances prevent others from accessing the limited appointments available.

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Correspondence via email:

 Please be aware our emails are only monitored twice a week, emails asking for the paperwork completion outside of an appointment time, an appointment to be booked, or provide any medical advice will not be answered, should you require any assistance please contact reception on 0435 074 567 to book an appointment.

Locum of Responsibility:
It is the responsibility of the patient to keep a record of their schedule and appointment dates and times.
If an appointment time is misplaced or forgotten, please feel free to call Brisbane Medical Specialists to inquire about your scheduled appointment time/day.
We require confirmation by text message for appointments (please reply ‘Yes’ to our appointment reminder sent one week prior to your appointment). In the absence of a response from you, as a courtesy we will attempt to call you once to confirm your attendance. If unsuccessful, your appointment will be cancelled.
While our reception team can assist with letting you know when your referral has expired, it is ultimately the patient’s responsibility to keep track at each session, to avoid instances where you attend an appointment and may not be eligible for a Medicare rebate.
Referrals from General Practitioners last 1 year after the first session they are used. If you need to confirm whether you have an in-date referral, please feel free to call Brisbane Medical Specialists to check with the reception team, we are always happy to. Remember that the valid current referral is required to attract a Medicare rebate.

Cancellation Policy:
Your psychiatry sessions and wellbeing are important to us. Arriving late or missing appointments limits the service Dr Spivak can provide. If you arrive less than 10min into your appointment, your appointment will be shortened to the remaining time and charged in full.
If you arrive too late (more than 10min into your appointment), or do not arrive for a session, the full consultation fee will be charged (no associated Medicare rebate). If you are unwell and would prefer to stay at home, Dr Spivak can provide phone consultations as an alternative. See Non-attendance and Cancellation Fee Policy below for more details.

Payment Policy and Consent
Payment Due Date
All fees are to be paid in full on the day of your appointment. Dr Spivak does not provide a bulk billing service.
We use SMS invoicing software for phone consultation payments. You may pay via the link sent as a text online, call the practice to pay with card details over the phone or come into the practice to pay at our reception desk. Our reception staff will send your claim to Medicare, if you have a current referral and Medicare card, for the rebate to be transferred to your nominated account within 48 hours.
At times, Dr Spivak may request pre-payment for appointments to ensure that payment is settled promptly. If the appointment is missed, this deposit taken for pre-payment may be kept to settle the cancellation fee.

Workcover:
If you are under a work cover claim, it is the patient's responsibility to pay for the consultation. We are unable to bill any fees to Workcover directly. Once you have paid the consultation, we will provide a receipt, and you can claim this back with your Workcover provider.
Non-attendance and Cancellation Fee Policy
Please provide at least one weeks’ notice if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment to avoid a fee. By giving us appropriate notice, you will allow another patient in need on our waiting list to have the chance to access Dr Spivak’s appointment.
Dr Spivak charges a fee equal to the consultation price in the event you do not attend an appointment or fail to give a minimum of one weeks’ notice. Cancellation fees are not claimable through Medicare. We are unable to book further consultations for patients with outstanding cancellation fees.

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Insurance and Legal requests:
If your insurer or lawyer requires a report from Dr Spivak this can be arranged subject to Dr Spivak’s work capacity and pre-approval. If agreed, Dr Spivak requires a copy of the request, prepayment and an appointment prior to their completion. Depending on who is covering the cost, the patient or their insurer/legal representation will be invoiced for this. These are not eligible to claim through Medicare, so will incur a private fee.

Cold and flu symptoms:
If you are experiencing any cold and flu symptoms, please do not enter the rooms. Your appointment can be changed to a telephone consultation, no additional fees apply, to change your appointment, please contact reception on 0435 074 567.

Scripts and letters:
If you require a script, a medical certificate, a letter written by Dr Spivak or a form completed, you must have a booked appointment. Dr Spivak is unable to complete any out of consult works.

Confirming your appointment:
Dr Spivak has a one-week cancellation policy on all appointments. It is the patient's responsibility to keep track of your appointments, however, we do send a courtesy text message reminder to you one week prior to your appointment, if you are unable to provide the correct notice, cancellation fees will apply. Please note, all appointments can be changed to telephone, this is an alternative method of cancelling. If there is an emergency or crisis, cancellation fees may be waived, subject to Dr Spivak’s approval upon receipt of relevant medical certificate.
If we are unable to contact you to confirm within the week coming up to your appointment, your appointment will be cancelled. Please note, we do always have several patients on our waiting list, for Dr Valeria to provide the best continuity of care, we do require all appointments to be confirmed, as we do not want to run the risk of a last-minute cancellation, and therefore, a missed appointment for another patient.

Services Requested Outside of Consult:
If you require a script, certificate, letter or service from Dr Spivak, an appointment is the only means to receive this. Please remind the doctor during your appointment if you require script repeats.
Dr Spivak must see patients who are prescribed ADHD medications at least once every six months in order to continue safely prescribing. These appointments require at least 30min and they include interview with a patient, scripts completion and preparation/transfer of a letter to the referring GP. Patients must book in advance to ensure they will receive a new script prior to their previous one running out. It is the responsibility of the patient to manage their scripts and bookings. Dr Spivak is unable to provide scripts for patients who are not attending review appointments and have no appointments booked. Dr Spivak does not write reports to the Courts.

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