SIA Medical Essendon

SIA Medical Centre is a mixed billing clinic. All booked appointments are privately billed. Walk-in consultations are bulk billed for eligible Medicare card holders from Monday to Friday between 7:00am and 6:00pm (excluding Public Holidays), subject to doctor availability. Patients must be seen before 6:00pm to be eligible for bulk billing.

Medicare may reimburse part of the consultation fee, with patients responsible for paying the remaining amount, often referred to as the “gap” or “out-of-pocket” expense. Medicare rebates can usually be processed at the clinic for patients with a valid Medicare card. In some circumstances, patients may be required to pay the full fee and submit a claim directly to Medicare. Rebates are generally deposited into the patient’s nominated bank account within two working days and are often processed immediately.

Additional fees may apply for patients without a valid Medicare card, non-Medicare funded services, procedures, and consumable items. Missed appointments and cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice may incur a non-attendance fee. If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact the clinic as soon as possible to cancel or reschedule. Fees are payable on the day of service. We accept EFTPOS, credit cards, and cash.

Appointments are required for all referrals, prescriptions, repeat prescriptions, and follow-up consultations. Please note that referrals and prescriptions may incur a consultation fee.

All results are reviewed by your doctor. If follow-up is required, you will be contacted by telephone, SMS, email, or letter, depending on the urgency of the result. If you have not been contacted but would like to discuss your results, please book a follow-up appointment with your doctor.

Doctors review all test results and will contact patients if follow-up is required. Depending on the urgency, patients may be contacted by telephone, SMS, email, or letter. If you have not been contacted but would like to discuss your results, please book a follow-up appointment with your doctor.

Our practice supports preventive healthcare and may send reminders for health screenings, immunisations, and other recommended tests. These reminders may be sent by SMS, email, or letter. If you do not wish to receive reminder notices, please inform our reception team.

To protect patient confidentiality and comply with privacy requirements, patients are required to book a follow-up appointment with their doctor to receive and discuss their pathology and radiology results.

Most medical concerns are best addressed during a consultation. However, urgent medical advice may be available during clinic hours. As doctors are often consulting with patients, they may not be available to take phone calls immediately. In these situations, our reception team will take a message and arrange for an appropriate follow-up.

Emails are monitored regularly throughout the day and are generally responded to within two business days. If your matter is urgent, please contact the practice directly rather than sending an email. Our experienced staff can assist in determining whether your concern requires an appointment, a return phone call, or urgent medical advice. If your call is urgent and a doctor is unavailable, you may be transferred to a nurse for assessment and triage. If you require immediate medical assistance during business hours and are unable to contact the practice, please call 000.