About HEMAC General Practice

We are a team of medical and allied health practitioners aiming to bring the best and most comprehensive medical care to our patients and their family. We will treat you as we would like to be treated as patients, to be sensitive to your needs, and to be competent and at the forefront of medical knowledge and skills so as to bring out the best of your health. We believe and practice a holistic approach to your care.

We strive to provide as many health services as possible under one roof to provide convenience and simplicity to our patients.  Hawthorn East Medical Clinic offers GP, specialists and allied health consultations. There is also a pathology collection centre in house.

Your every need is taken care of.

GP Services at HEMAC

General medical consultations, immunisations, travel medicine and vaccinations, family planning, pap smears, pregnancy tests, ECG, health assessments, pre-employment medicals, heart checks, care plans, GP management plans, diabetes, counselling, nutritional advice, skin checks, minor procedures, children’s health, women’s and men’s health checks, asthma plans, referrals, family health, psychologist, osteopath, audiology are just some of the services we have available.

  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Dermatology and Skin Cancer Checks
  • Family Planning
  • Antenatal and Shared Care
  • Paediatrics
  • Women’s Health
  • Men’s Health
  • Sports Medicine
  • Nutritional Advice
  • Preventative Healthcare
  • Diabetic Care
  • Approved yellow fever vaccine centre
  • Chronic Disease management
  • Team Care Arrangements
  • Minor Surgery
  • Executive Health
  • Travel Medicine
  • Vaccinations
  • Mental Health
  • Pre-Employment Medical Checks
  • TAC Care / Referrals
  • Work cover Care
  • Injury Management
  • Iron Infusion Procedure
  • Implanon insertion and removal

Please speak to our receptionist about the services you require or your doctor about what may be concerning you.

Check out our latest news and current promotions!

Our Practitioners

We continue to develop and supplement these services to support Good Health in our Community.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apart from medicare and your insurance information

  • Medicare card, DVA card, pension card, student ID
  • Have your Private Hospital Insurance information with you
  • Reports, X-rays, MRI’s, CT scans etc and any other relevant information
  • Referral letter if available
Your medical file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy. Our staff are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment regarding your medical records. Ordinarily we will not release the contents of your medical file without your consent.
You don’t need a referral to see your medical or allied health provider at HEMAC for a normal appointment or as a private patient.
You don’t need to be a patient of our clinic to access the Allied Health Professionals as a private patient. If you are on a chronic disease management plan, your normal treating doctor can refer to our allied health providers under the medicare scheme or as a private patient.
If you are required to see a specialist you will require a referral. This is partly to try to ensure that the specialist you are seeing is appropriate for you and your condition, and also because Medicare pays higher rebates for specialist services if you have been referred.
Before seeing any medical specialist, it is always preferable to talk to your own family doctor, who can discuss your condition with you and advise on whether any specialist care is appropriate. If it is, he or she can help you to choose the specialist best suited to your needs. Your family doctor can help the specialist to care for you better by providing relevant information about your health. Communicating with the specialist will also enable your family doctor to care for you better during and after your specialist treatment.
During your initial visit, the doctor will explain the specific test or procedure you want, help you visualise the results and go over the risks. Your doctor may do a physical examination and ask you a bunch of questions. Once you go and have the test done then the doctor will decide what your diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Appointments can be made via our online booking system. For your convenient we advise to download the HotDoc app from our website. Every effort will be made to accommodate your preferred time. Emergencies will always be given priority. Our reception staff will attempt to contact you if there is any unforeseen cancellation, or your doctor has been called away. Longer consultation times are available and you can select this from our online booking options.

We ask if you are a new patient that you fill in our online registration form beforehand. The form can be found on our website or here.

If you or a family member requires an interpreter please advise the receptionist when booking your appointment so we can organise this for you.
If you are hearing impaired, deaf or have a speech impairment, HEMAC are part of the national relay hearing network. Telephone 133 677. Website www.relayservice.gov.au

After hours services are available for evenings and weekends for our Regular Patients Only. Please contact (National Home Doctor Service) 13 74 25 for an appointment outside of our consulting hours.

HEMAC endeavour to help all patients and we have 24/7 online booking system. If you don’t have an appointment it will pending on our appointment availability for the day and the condition of the patients and all this need to be assess by our Doctors.

Newsletter / Information to Patients

HEMAC have a quarterly newsletter and issues will be available to download online, emailed or obtain a copy from the practice. Please contact Reception for further information. This newsletter will provide our patients with information on services, education, programs, latest developments for patients. Please note all patients are automatically registered to receive information from HEMAC from time to time. If you do not wish to receive this information please advise reception in writing by contacting info@hemac.com.au

Patient Test Results

All patient tests results will be provided by appointment with the doctor. No results can be given over the phone to patients. Please make an appointment at reception when having tests to ensure you have an appointment at a time convenient to you and your doctor for the results to be given. Tests usually take three days for results to be returned back to the Clinic. Please be advised the reception staff cannot provide you with any information regarding your results due to privacy legislation.

Emergencies

If the matter is an emergency please dial 000, or for afterhours services please contact 137425 or go to the emergency department of Epworth Hospital Richmond (4.8km) – enter via 34 Erin Street, Open 24hrs. Phone. 9426 6303 (fees apply) Box Hill Public Hospital (8.4km) – enter via 51 Nelson Road, Open 24hrs. Phone: 03 9895 3333.

Recall / Reminder System

To further improve our service to you, we have implemented a Patient Register for Preventative Activities. This is a reminder / recall system in which we contact the patient by either mail or phone for a follow up of appointments. Patients attending this practice will automatically be included on our reminder / recall register. Patients are requested to inform the Doctor, Nurse or Reception if they choose not to be included. You will need to sign a form if so, for us to keep on record. We also offer the opportunity for patients to initiate these reminders / recalls to be sent to them. Please speak to your doctor or nurse about arranging this. The purpose of the register is purely as  a service to patients from this practice and confidentiality is ensured at all times. If you wish to opt out of our recall system please tell your doctor.

Referrals

Referrals to a specialist may be made during the consultation. Standard referrals are valid for one year so please ensure you book an appointment before your referral runs out.

Allied Health Services

If you are a patient of another clinic and you wish to see an allied health provider at HEMAC. You are free to do so. You do not need to be a patient of this clinic to see these providers. Speak to reception for further information. Allied Health Providers do charge a gap fee if under a Care Plan.

Feedback

We welcome all feedback from patients to our Clinic and love to hear about how we can improve the practice. We also have a patient feedback survey which is located at the front desk. All patient feedback is reviewed by the Practice Manager who will initiate the appropriate steps to follow up your complaint. An acknowledgement will be sent to you within 24 hours of your complaint being received. Alternatively you may speak with the practice manager in person or via phone on 9078 9997.

Despite our best intentions, complaints may arise. Our practice deals with complaints in a courteous and understanding manner.  Perceptions of what is reasonable and fair can change when patients are unwell or anxious. Patient satisfaction affects health outcomes and our practice acknowledges that patient complaints are an important source of customer feedback.  If you have a complaint please contact the Practice Manager at the Clinic on 03 9078 9997 or via email at info@hemac.com.au.

Health Information and Privacy

Your medical record is strictly confidential. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.

Our practice uses a computerised medical record system to record your notes and personal information.

Transfer of Medical Records

If you wish to transfer your health record to another service provider please ask your new provider to send HEMAC a transfer of medical files form signed by you. Alternatively, if you would like HEMAC to obtain records from another service please see reception for a transfer of medical information application form.

Please note that some clinic’s may charge an administration fee to transfer your records. There is a fee HEMAC charge for any transfer of information to another practice. If you require a paper copy of your medical file, a fee is payable for photocopying and administration time. This will be advised at the time of the request as will depend on the size of the medical file.

Telehealth consultations are an alternative option to physical consultations. Telehealth allows you to get the health care you need, where and when you need it. Telehealth consultations are not only convenient, they also ensure the safety of others by reducing the spread of illness. This is important in circumstances where you need to self-isolate.

Telehealth appointments are booked in the same way as you would book a usual face-to-face appointment. You can call our team and book a telehealth appointment time with your doctor, or you can book an appointment online at a time that suits you best.

Any of our current patients, who have seen their doctor in the last 12 months are welcome to request a telehealth call with any of our doctors.

If you’re a new patient, you’ll need to see one of our doctors for your first appointment in the clinic and can then use our telehealth services.

Your doctor will call you at your appointment time.

Policy for managing patient health information-

  • is based on The Handbook for the Management of Health Information in Private Medical Practice published in November 2002;
  • is consistent with the National Privacy Principles for the Fair Handling of Personal Information in the Federal Privacy Act 1988 as amended; and
  • takes into account legislation pertaining to privacy in the ACT, NSW and Victoria.

While the policy focuses on the management of the patient’s health record, it also relates to other recorded information, for example Medicare data, billing and accounting records, pathology and radiology results, medical certificates and letters to and from hospitals and other doctors

Privacy Personal health information is defined as information concerning a patient’s health, medical history, or past or present medical care; and which is in a form that enables or could enable the patient to be identified.

It includes information about an individual’s express wishes concerning current and future health services.

All GPs and practice staff will ensure that patients can discuss issues relating to their health, and that the GP can record relevant personal health information, in a setting that provides visual privacy and protects against any conversation being overheard by a third party.

Staff will not enter a consultation room during a consultation without knocking or otherwise communicating with the GP.

Staff, registrars and students will not be present during the consultation without the prior permission of the patient.

Patient access to their personal health information Under privacy legislation provisions all patients have the right to access their health information stored at the practice. The treating GP will provide an up to date and accurate summary of their health information on request or whenever appropriate.

Any information that is provided by others (such as information provided by a referring medical practitioner or another medical specialist) is part of the health record and can be accessed by the patient.

Requests for personal health information and medical records by other medical practices Access to accurate and up to date information about the patient by a new treating GP is integral to the GP providing high quality health care.

If a patient transfers away from the practice to another GP, and the patient requests that the medical record be transferred, the existing GP will provide the record, a summary, or a medical record to the new treating GP or to the patient.

HEMAC will seek written permission from the patient for the provision of personal health information to another medical practice.

Appropriate administration costs may be charged to the patient. This practice will respond to a patient’s request for access within 7 days of receiving payment of the fee for access, or within 45 days of the request, whichever is the later.

The Practice Communication Policy: What to expect contacting HEMAC via emails & telephone calls?

Email    

All patients in the practice will be asked in the New Patient Registration Form to provide signed consent to agree or disagree to be communicated via electronic means.

It is acknowledged by the practice that consent is implied if the patient initiates electronic communication with the practice.

Our practice’s primary purpose for communicating electronically with patients is to respond to their queries and discourages patients to use email to seek or obtain medical advice.

When communicating with patients via email, it is conducted with appropriate regard to the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), the Privacy Act 1988 relating to health information and confidentiality of the patient’s health information.

Our practice email account is for patients and stakeholders inquire general, non-urgent matters with our practice.

Email/electronic requests are handled by the reception staff and an acknowledgement response is sent to the patient automatically via the email system. A response is within 48hours. If you do not hear from us, please call us to follow up.

Telephone Calls

In the interest of good patient care we ask that you make an appointment to discuss your health or that of a family member.

We do understand that on occasions you may wish to speak to your doctor to ask a question over the telephone. Generally calls will not be put through whilst a Doctor is consulting with other patients, a message will be sent with a request to return your call when possible.

Where matters are not confidential please let the receptionist know the reason for your call so your history or test results may be obtained for the doctor.

Please note that prescription and certificate requests will require an appointment.