Fees.

For your convenience, you can make a standard online appointment with one of our General Practitioners by simply clicking on the link below. It is important to make separate appointments for each family member. Please notify us well in advance if you are unable to attend your appointment. Failure to do so may result in a cancellation fee being charged.

Please be advised that when booking via hotdoc there will be a processing fee of 1.75% + 30c.

Click here to book your appointment.

Non- attendance fee

Please be advised that appointments must be canceled or rescheduled in advance in order to avoid a non-attendance fee of $40

Our fees explained

We are a mixed billing medical practice which means some services may attract a fee. Patients under the age of 16, 65+ pension card holders or DVA Card, will be bulk billed.

For patients who do not hold any of the above listed cards there will be an out of pocket expense for your consultation, excluding the following appointments:

• Health Assessments

• Care plans and Review

• Mental Health Care plan and Review

Pricing:

• Standard Appointment $61.20 Medicare Rebate $41.20 — Gap fee of $20

• Long Appointment $99.70 Medicare Rebate $79.70 — Gap fee of $20

• Telehealth Consultations $61.20 Medicare Rebate $41.20 if eligible* - Gap Fee of $20

  *You’re eligible if you have seen a doctor face to face in our centre in the last 12 months

We use Medicare online and Hicaps so the Medicare rebate can be immediately refunded to your bank account resulting in an out-of-pocket expense of the gap fee only.
Please ask our reception members for any information regarding the rebate, as well as the private gap fee.

After hours appointments.

After hours consultation fee of $73.65 applies on Saturdays from 1pm to 4pm. Those who qualify will receive a $53.65 rebate from Medicare.

If it is a medical emergency you should call 000 or go immediately to the nearest Emergency department.

Live video consultations will be available in 2022 via a new app.
Rather than wait until the morning or have another doctor see you, who doesn’t know your medical history, it will be possible to request a video call with a GP who will have immediate access to your full medical history.

FAQ.

1. What is bulk billing?

Bulk billing means that your doctor is paid directly by Medicare, on behalf of the patient. This means that the amount paid for each medical service is the amount set by the Australian Government. Note that some consultations such as occupational health and Workcover consultations are not covered at all by Medicare and need to be paid for privately.

2. Do you bulk bill?

We are mixed billing practice offering a minimal gap fee of $20 for standard and long appointments. Some services are always bulk billed such as care plans and government funded health assessments.

3 . Why don’t you bulk bill everything?

The key benefit of mixed-billing is that it provides the necessary income to offer a higher level of care for each patient. It also results in longer consults for the patient, meaning more time for better clinical outcomes.

The amount set by the Government for a consultation is too low to cover the costs of providing a high quality medical service. For example, the Medicare rebate for a Level B consultation is $39.10. The government pays this for a complex consultation lasting up to 20 minutes. Even if your doctors see a patient every 15 minutes, then Medicare fees for the doctor would be $156.40 per hour. After practice costs, including room rental, facilities, staff and amenities, superannuation contributions and income tax the practice might earn a net amount of just $50 per hour.

We value your doctors and think they are worth more than the minimal value the government is placing on their service!

We want to attract and maintain the very best General Practitioners and deliver a very high quality service.

The doctors at Castle Medical Marsden Park are mindful that some people may be experiencing financial difficulty and have the discretion to reduce fees as they see appropriate.

4. Why would I choose to pay a private fee rather than go to a bulk billing clinic?

Because of the low value the Australian Government places on primary care and General Practitioners as discussed above, bulk billing clinics often need to see more patients in an hour, and often need patients to come back to get test results and may not be able to spend as much time addressing your medical needs. At Castle Medical, we value your time as much as ours. We aim to keep waiting times to a minimum, we offer same day appointments, online bookings, eScripts, we have an excellent recall and test result notification system so our patients do not need to return for follow up appointments unless medically necessary and our excellent staff and service philosophy ensure your experience is as pleasant as possible.