247 Doctor

FAQ For Patient

When can I request a home visiting doctor?

The call centre will book you in for the same day/night when you call:

Weekdays: From 6.00 pm to 12.00 am the next day (evenings and overnights)

Weekends: Saturday From 12.00 pm

Sunday : 24 hours

Public holidays: 24 hours

The doctors start visiting patients from 6 pm on weekdays, from 12 pm on Saturdays and all day on Sundays and public holidays. It usually takes 1-3 hours for the doctor to drive to your place.

What if it is an emergency and I can't wait?

Call 000 immediately for an ambulance.

What is the cost? Do I need to pay anything?

247 Doctors will generally bulk bill all* consultations through Medicare, you do not need to pay anything out of pocket if you are in our coverage area and:

  • Registered with Medicare,
  • Registered with Veterans Affairs,
  • A Pension card holder,
  • A Healthcare Card holder,
  • a Member of our services,
  • A Resident of age care facilities or
  • Insured by Medibank, Allianz or NIB.

* Please check our billing policy in Servicing Suburbs

What conditions can you treat?

The doctors are fully equipped to diagnose and treat any urgent problems, conditions, and/or injuries for which you would find necessary to be done.

Also, they can suture lacerations, provide wound care, arrange hospital admission, palliative care, catheterization, incident reports, peg tubemaintenance, verification of death and start medications if required. You should call us during the operation hours when you:

  • Need acute care and you want to avoid the emergency rooms or
  • Can't get out of the house, or feel too sick to drive or
  • Have got a referral from your GP for a planned or routine healthcare service.

The doctors may refer patients to hospital if any further investigation or management is required.

How can I book a home visit?

Phone 1800 247 477. Your call will be triaged by our operator and you will be booked for a home visit. The operator will request the following patient details:

  • Full name, date of birth and address for the doctor to attend,
  • 2 phone numbers and an emergency contact name and number,
  • The patients regular GP. Please provide the clinics name and phone number. At the end of the consultation, a clinical record will be given to you or sent to your GP.

All home visits are scheduled according to their urgency. Our focus is to provide you the most timely medical care, so your call will be prioritised. Our operators will stay in touch and contact you when the doctor is on the way, so please stay close to the phone. At any time please do not hesitate to contact us, we are here to help.

What are the qualifications and experience of the home visiting doctors?

The home visiting doctors are fully qualified and often have a few years of emergency experience.

They are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), as required by the Medical Board of Australia and have full medical defence (indemnity insurance). They are the very same doctors you would see at a hospital or in a local general practice.

Our medical practice is accredited by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Standards and approved by the Commonwealth Department of Health.

Do you take private pay patients?

Yes. We accept the following insurances for overseas visitors:

 Medicare  DVA  ALLIANZ  NIB  &  MEDIBANK  

If patient does not have any of these insurances, we require a $150 for calls before 12 midnight by Visa/MasterCard prior to visit. We will send the receipt to your address on the next working day with which you may be able to claim the consultation fee back from your heath insurance company.

How quickly can a doctor visit?

We are endeavoring to offer a prompt service and patients will be advised at the time of phoning an approximate time of arrival. Home doctor visits can typically be scheduled within 1-3 hours of receiving your call with some exceptions on busy and quiet days.

The doctors usualy give you a phone call when they are close to your home.

Please give them some directions to facilitate finding your place especially at nights.

How often do home doctors come out to visit?

Your health care needs will determine house call frequency. If you are sick and experiencing issues, your condition is not improving despite previous treatments or if your regular doctor requests us to visit you for any reason, our doctors can see you more often. The doctors can even visit you or your patient more than once on a day or night.

What Medications can a Home Visiting Doctor prescribe?

Medications

A Home Doctor Service can prescribe most of the commonly prescribed drugs required to treat your urgent medical condition.
Some of the conditions the After Hours doctor can treat include:

  • Kidney Infections
  • Bacterial Infections
  • Asthma
  • Gastro and Vomiting
  • Reflux
  • Neck and Back pain
  • Respiratory infections
  • Skin infections and rashes
  • Eye conditions
  • Migraine and severe headache
  • Earache
  • Many other common conditions

Your condition may require follow up with your regular GP and our Doctors will advise you of this during the consultation.

Do You Bulk Bill?

Yes, but after 12:00 AM there may be an unsociable hours fee applied. Please check at the time of booking.