Policies
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Silverstream Medical Centre acknowledges the rights of the patient outlined within the Health and Disability Commissioners Code of Rights. We aim to provide a high quality, professional service for all patients at all times.
If you have a complaint about the treatment or service you have received from us, we would like to know. We encourage you to provide full details of your complaint to us as soon as possible so we can fully investigate your complaint.
Complaints officer: Rachel Fitzgerald
Persons responsible if complaint is about the complaints officer: Dr John Dehn
If you make a complaint to us, we will:
Let you know that we have received your complaint within five working days unless it has been resolved to your satisfaction within that time
Let you know within ten working days whether or not we feel your complaint is justified. If we need more time to investigate your complaint, we will advise you of this and why more time is needed.
Once we have made a decision regarding the acceptance or otherwise of your complaint we will:
Provide you with reasons for our decision
Advise you of actions we propose to take
Advise you of the practice appeal procedures and your rights to complain to the Health & Disability Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner.
For complaints that take some time to fully resolve we will advise you about the progress of your complaint each month.
At any time you require we will provide you with all the information that the Silverstream Medical Centre holds that is or may be relevant to your complaint.
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Following a test, if you do not hear from us, you can assume the results were within a normal range for you. We encourage you to register for the Wellapp where you can view your results once the doctor has viewed them.
All abnormal results are followed up by the clinical staff who will call you on your provided telephone number. Please ensure that reception have your correct contact details.
We are more than happy for you to check on your results status, or confirm that they are normal by contacting the practice.
Please contact us and make an appointment to see your doctor if your problem is not resolving and you require further investigation.
Please note reception is not able to help you with your results, in the event you call and a nurse is not available, a message will be left and you will be contacted by the end of the day on your preferred phone number.
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Consultations at Silverstream Medical Centre are by appointment only except in the case of emergency. Appointments can be booked online or by ringing the practice.
A standard appointment is 15 minutes.
An appointment is required for every person attending for medical advice/treatment.
A longer appointment is necessary if you have more than 1 or 2 issues or a complex issue and allows your GP to give you the best care possible.
Your GP may ask you to make another appointment if your issue cannot be managed within the time booked.
New patients to the practice require a 30-minute appointment.
Longer appointments are required for the following and must be booked by ringing the surgery as not all our clinicians offer all these services:
Minor surgery
IUD/Mirena/contraceptive implant
Insurance medicals
Complex or multiple issues to discuss
Driver’s license medical
At times we may run late due to an emergency, and we ask for your understanding. Please call us if you are running late for your appointment. If you are 8 minutes or more late to your appointment, we may ask you to reschedule your appointment.
Late Cancelation / DNA. If you cancel within 2 hours of an appointment or do not show up, a fee equivalent to your appointment charge will be charged.
We have appointments set aside each day for acute and urgent issues. Please ring the practice and our triage nurse will speak with you and offer advice, book an appointment or direct you to an afterhours provider depending on our capacity and your symptoms.
Routine cervical screening appointments are available with our nurses.
Driver’s license appointments;
You’ll need to present a medical certificate when:applying for or renewing a heavy vehicle licence (class 2,3,4,5), unless you’ve provided a certificate within the last five years
applying for or renewing endorsements for passengers (P), vehicle recovery services (V), driving instruction (I) or testing officer (O) unless you’ve provided a certificate within the last five years
you have a medical condition that may affect your ability to drive safely
you’re an older driver obtaining or renewing any licence class or endorsement beyond your 75th birthday
Please book this assessment by ringing the practice and informing the reception that the appointment is for a driver’s licence medical as extra time is allowed.
A dedicated appointment is required for the assessment. The nurse will complete a test of your vision before you see the GP and then your GP will go through the assessment and fill out the required documents. It is not possible to deal with other health issues during this appointment.
There is no government subsidy for these appointments and there is no subsidy for CSC holders. If further investigations are required e.g. a MINI-ACE, ECG then extra charges will apply.
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If you no longer require your booked appointment, please cancel it with at least 2 hours notice so that another patient can be seen. You can ring us or, if you have booked online, you can use the online service to cancel the appointment. Please do not email us to cancel an appointment as this may not be seen in time. A cancellation close to the appointment time may result in a fee being charged.
A fee will be charged for any patient who does not attend a booked appointment and/or does not give notice that they are unable to attend at least 2 hours prior to the appointment.
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Our policy is that all fees are paid at the time of your consultation (except in an emergency). If finances are a barrier for you, please speak to your doctor or our Practice Manager. We encourage patients to set up a regular automatic payment to help manage appointment costs.
Reminders of overdue accounts will be sent to each patient by text or email where possible. Full copies of overdue accounts can be provided if requested.
Payment can be made to our bank account Silverstream Healthcare Ltd 06-0817-0681488-00 (please include your full name as payment reference).
Silverstream Medical Centre is a member of Pegasus Health PHO, a Primary Health Organisation, this enables us to pass on Government subsidies to patients who are enrolled at this Practice. The fees stated on our fees page are our standard fees. These vary, for longer consultation times or other special circumstances. The enrolled fees apply to patients who are eligible, i.e. New Zealand citizens, permanent residents, and eligible visa holders, and enrolled with our Practice.
Please note that additional charges will be incurred for consumables, documentation completed outside of appointment time.
A non-attendance fee will be charged for any patient who does not attend a booked appointment and/or does not give notice that they are unable to attend at least 2 hours prior to the appointment.
Please enquire about our fees if you are not eligible for funded health and disability services in New Zealand. Casual and non-resident patients may be required to pay prior to their consultation/services being provided (except in an emergency).
Privacy And Your Health Information
Silverstream Medical Centre follows the rules set out below whenever we collect, use, store or disclose information about your health.Collecting Your Health Information
When we collect health information from you we will:Only collect the information for the purpose of treating you (or for some related purpose).
Collect the information directly from you unless you have authorised us to collect the information from someone else (or we have some other lawful reason for collecting the information & what we will do with it.
Tell you why we are collecting the information and what we will do with it.
Using Your Health Information
We will not use your health information for any purpose other than for the purpose of treating you unless we get your consent or we will use your information in a way that doesn’t identify you (or where we have some other lawful reason for doing so).Storing Your Health Information
We will store your health information securely so that only authorised people can access or use your information.Disclosing Your Health Information
We will not disclose your health information to anyone without your consent unless we have a lawful reason for doing so.Access And Correction Of Your Health Information
You can ask us to confirm whether we hold information about you. If we hold information about you, you have the right to access the information.
You can ask us to correct any information that we hold about you if you think that the information is inaccurate. If we refuse to correct your information, you can ask us to put a note on your information that states that you have asked for the correction to be made.
Enquiries
If you have concerns about any matter relating to your health information, please ask to speak to our Privacy Officer.HealthOne
Please note that this practice is contributing to, and accessing healthcare information from HealthOne.What is HealthOne?
HealthOne is a South Island based secure electronic record that allows registered healthcare providers directly involved in your healthcare, to quickly access information such as your test results, allergies, medications, GP summaries and hospital information.HealthOne adheres to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020 as well as the Rules set out in the Health Information Privacy Code 2020. Access is only possible via an approved highly secure healthcare information network which is regularly audited and tested. Privacy auditing is used to check that only those directly involved in your care are accessing your information.
To find out more about HealthOne please visit https://healthone.org.nz/. Please note that you are entitled to restrict the sharing of your healthcare records by contacting 0508 837 872 or emailing: HealthOne.privacy@pegasus.health.nz
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Read our full Privacy Statement here