Appointment types

Mental health

Longer appointments, so you are not rushed

Anxiety, low mood, stress, burnout, grief and sleep problems are among the most common reasons people see a GP. Mental health appointments with us are booked as long consultations because these conversations do not fit into ten minutes.

What we can help with

• Anxiety, panic, low mood and depression
• Work stress, burnout and adjustment difficulties
• Grief and loss
• Sleep problems
• Review of existing mental health medicines
• Preparing a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan
• Referral to a psychologist, mental health social worker or psychiatrist

Mental Health Treatment Plans

A GP Mental Health Treatment Plan is a structured assessment your doctor prepares with you. Where you are eligible, it gives you access to Medicare-rebated sessions with a psychologist or other mental health professional each calendar year. Preparing one takes a longer appointment, and a review appointment is required part-way through.

These plans depend on Medicare eligibility. If you do not have a Medicare card, we can still assess you, provide treatment and refer you to a psychologist — you would pay the psychologist's private fee, and we will help you find affordable options, including free services in your area.

What we cannot do by telehealth

• Provide crisis or emergency mental health care
• Prescribe drugs of dependence, including sedatives and stimulants
• Take over prescribing of ADHD medication started by a specialist without appropriate arrangements in place
• Provide psychology or counselling sessions — we assess and refer, we do not provide therapy

Medical certificates

A real consultation that may result in a certificate

We want to be clear about what you are booking. You are booking a consultation with a doctor. If, after assessing you, the doctor forms the view that you are unfit for work or study, they will issue a certificate. If they cannot honestly form that view, they will not — and they will explain why.

Certificates we can issue

• Certificates of unfitness for work, covering the day of your consultation and reasonable following days
• Carer's leave certificates, where you are caring for an unwell family or household member
• Certificates for university or school absence
• Certificates for compassionate or bereavement leave
• Fitness-to-return certificates after an illness we have been managing

Certificates we cannot issue

• Backdated certificates. A doctor can only certify what they have assessed. If you were unwell last week and are seeing us today, the doctor can record what you tell them, but cannot certify a period before the consultation.
• Certificates for conditions needing examination. A back injury, a suspected fracture or an abdominal problem generally needs hands-on assessment.
• WorkCover, insurance, Centrelink and fitness-to-drive certificates. These require examination, forms and continuity of care, and are best handled by your regular GP in person.
• Pre-employment or fitness-for-duty assessments.

Certificates are emailed as a PDF, usually within an hour of your consultation. They carry the doctor's name, AHPRA registration number and the practice details, and can be verified by your employer on request.

Repeat prescriptions

Scripts for medicines you already take

If you take a regular medicine and have run low, we can review it and, where it remains safe and appropriate, issue a new prescription. This is a clinical review, not an automatic renewal — your doctor will check how the medicine is working, ask about side effects and confirm your monitoring is up to date.

How electronic prescriptions work

You receive an SMS containing a token. Show the token at any Australian pharmacy and they dispense from it. If your script has repeats, the pharmacy sends you a new token each time. You can also nominate a pharmacy for us to send it to directly.

Commonly requested

• Blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes medicines
• Asthma preventers and relievers
• The oral contraceptive pill
• Antidepressants that you are stable on
• Reflux and stomach medicines
• Thyroid medicines
• Skin treatments and other regular medicines

What we will not prescribe by telehealth

• Opioid painkillers
• Benzodiazepines and other sedatives
• Stimulants, including ADHD medicines not already arranged with a specialist
• Medicinal cannabis
• Any other Schedule 8 or drug of dependence

This is a firm policy and applies to every patient, without exception. Prescribing these medicines safely requires continuity of care and access to your full history. Please see a regular GP in person.

Referrals & results

Specialists, allied health and your results

Telehealth is well suited to arranging referrals, and to the conversation that follows once results are back.

Specialist referrals

We can write referrals to specialists and, where relevant, suggest options in your area with an indication of waiting times and whether they bulk bill. Referrals from a GP are generally valid for 12 months; the specialist's rooms will confirm what they need.

Allied health

Referrals to physiotherapists, dietitians, exercise physiologists, psychologists, podiatrists and other allied health professionals, including under a chronic disease management plan where you are eligible.

Discussing results you already have

If you have results from another practice and want them explained, book a standard appointment and email them to us beforehand. Having them in front of the doctor makes the appointment far more useful.

If you bring us a result that needs urgent attention, we will tell you and we will not leave it unactioned. If we cannot reach you by phone, we will contact you by SMS and letter.

Sexual health & contraception

Discreet, non-judgemental, and confidential

These conversations are easier for many people over the phone than across a desk. Nothing you tell us is shared without your consent.

• Discussing and starting contraception, including the pill, and referral for long-acting options that need a procedure
• Emergency contraception advice
• Erectile difficulties and other men's sexual health concerns
• Menstrual problems, period pain and perimenopause
• Pre-pregnancy planning and early pregnancy advice

Some assessments and all procedures need a face-to-face appointment, and anything needing a test — including STI screening and cervical screening — has to be arranged by a GP in person. Your doctor will tell you clearly if that is the case and help you find somewhere.

Ongoing conditions

Reviews for conditions you live with

Regular review appointments for long-term conditions fit telehealth well, particularly when you can measure things at home.

• Blood pressure reviews, using readings you take at home
• Type 2 diabetes reviews and medication adjustment, using results you already have
• Asthma reviews and written action plans
• Cardiovascular risk discussion, using recent results from your regular GP
• Thyroid condition monitoring
• Chronic disease management plans and team care arrangements, where you are eligible
• Medication reviews when you are taking several medicines

We do not order blood tests or scans, so bring recent results with you. Reviews that require examination — such as listening to your chest, checking your feet or measuring blood pressure ourselves — need a face-to-face appointment. Telehealth works best alongside a regular GP, not instead of one.

Travel health

Advice before you go

A travel consultation covers the health risks at your destination, what vaccinations are recommended or required, and what to carry with you. Book at least six to eight weeks before departure where you can, since some vaccination courses take time.

• Destination-specific risk assessment and written advice
• Recommended and required vaccinations, with a referral to a clinic or pharmacy that can administer them
• Malaria prevention advice and prescriptions where appropriate
• Travellers' diarrhoea, altitude and motion sickness planning
• Managing existing conditions and medicines while away, including letters for carrying medication

We cannot give vaccinations by telehealth. We provide the assessment and the plan, then refer you locally for the injections.