Updated  14 April 2012

Appointments

New patient appointments normally consist of 15 minutes filling out a comprehensive medical questionnaire followed by a 1 hour appointment.

Information requested by us

We obtain contact information when you make an appointment, in case we need to contact you about an appointment or obtain important information from you beforehand. We also ask you why you are being referred to ensure that the referral is appropriate, and in case additional information is required by us before you come. This is particularly important with regard to anaesthetic or drug allergy, where we may need to buy in special medications for testing before you come. Under some circumstances, we will ask that your referring doctor provide a detailed referral to us before allocating an appointment. If you have been seen several years ago and wish to return, we will ask about reasons for return and whether there are new or old problems only to review, in order to allocate an appropriate amount of time for that appointment.

Waiting list

This currently averages 3 months, with urgent cases given priority. If your doctor believes your case to be urgent, they can fax a detailed referral and telephone Dr Mullins for initial advice and to be placed on a cancellation list.

Referrals

-You need to bring your referral with you. This is a legal requirement to allow you to claim a rebate from Medicare.

-Referrals are valid for 12 months if obtained from a GP but only 3 months if written by a specialist.

-If you have been seen in the past and wish to be seen again, you may need a new referral. Check when booking in.

What to bring

1. -Your referral
   

2. -Your Medicare card
   

3. -Any recent chest or sinus x-rays or other test results that you think may be relevant.
   

4. -If you are concerned about rashes, taking and bringing photographs is a sensible option, in hard copy form, on a CD or flash drive/USB stick.
   

Eating in the rooms

We see lots of children with food allergy and so we do not allow eating in the rooms. Please feed your child before they come. We rarely run late.

Bringing children

Due to limited space in the rooms and to minimise distractions, we ask that only the child who is being assessed attends the appointment with their parent or carer. it will be harder for you to concentrate having to care for two children during the consultation.

Important instructions

We ask that patients attending for new appointments stop antihistamines (eg. Aerius, Claratyne, Demazin, Dimetabs, Fexotabs, Lorastyne, Telfast, Xergic) for 5 days before the appointment as these can interfere with the results of allergy testing. Also avoid the use of sunscreens and moisturisers on their arms below the elbows only for 3 days. This is because both can interfere with the results of allergy testing. There is no need to stop any other medicines, eye drops or asthma puffers or nose sprays.

Appointment confirmation and cancellation

We ask that all patients confirm their appointment with us within the week of that appointment. We have an answering machine if we are not in the rooms or on another call. If we are unable to confirm an appointment, and are unable to contact you, we will normally cancel that appointment and give it to another patient on our waiting list. If you no longer need an appointment, please give us at least at least 2 business days notice so we can give it to another patient on our waiting list.

Doctor’s reports

We attempt to do all testing required at the time of the first visit. Letters to referring doctors are normally dispatched within 24 hours.

Payment options

Payment may be made by cash, cheques, EFTOS and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express only).

Medicare rebates

The location of Medicare offices in Canberra may be found at the following link.