History: Summit Medical Group (SMG) was commenced in 2013. It was founded by, and is fully owned and operated by

Dr Prem Saranathan, a general practitioner committed to SMGs motto: “Dedicated to the provision of the highest standard of holistic patient care.”

A – Z of Services provided: SMG has been established with a vision of providing a holistic health service to the community. To this end, SMG provides patients with access to these and more services within the same building:

• Aged care: over-75 health assessments
• Asthma care
• Care plans for complex problems
• Childhood/adult immunisation
• Diabetes care
• Exercise physiology
• Family planning and pregnancy care
• Health check ups: BP checks, cholesterol, blood sugar & over-45 health checks

• Hearing tests
• Minor surgery: removal or liquid nitrogen therapy of skin lesions, wound repair and fracture management
• Paediatrics
• Pathology
• Physiotherapy
• Pre-employment and insurance medicals

• Psychological care: grief counseling, depression & anxiety management
• Quit smoking programs
• Skin checks
• Sports medicine
• Travel clinic
• Veterans’ health
• Weight management
• Women’s and men’s health
• Workcover and injury management

We aim to broaden the range of services offered including medical specialists, as we continue to grow. Our commitment to you and your family is to continue to strive for excellence and be the leading provider of health care in the community.

Fees and Billing Arrangements: Consultations by GPs at SMG on Weekdays are bulk billed with a valid Medicare card. Consultations on Saturdays are charged privately as follows: All accounts must be paid in full at the time of the consultation. Patients with a valid Medicare Card and debit card can have their Medicare rebate credited to their Cheque or Savings account instantly at the time of payment.

• Standard Consult – $70 (rebate from Medicare – $$38.20)
• Long Consult – $130 (rebate from Medicare – $73.95)
• Prolonged Consult – $190 (rebate from Medicare – $108.85)

Children under the age of 16 years, pensioners and healthcare card holders will continue to be bulk-billed on Saturdays.

There are however, certain consultations which cannot be bulk billed. These include WorkCover consultations and other consultations related to employment as well as consultations for patients without Medicare cards. The fees for these consultations are published in the waiting room and are payable at the time of the consultation. The clinic also direct bills Allianz Global Assistance OSHC for students with eligible cards.

Clinic Hours

Monday toFriday: 8:30am – 6:00pm Saturday: 8:30am – 1:00pm

Sunday and Public Holidays: Closed

Medical and Allied Health Practitioners

Doctors (GPs):

• Dr Prem Saranathan
• Dr Mounir Ayache
• Dr Maneesha Manglick
• GP Registrars – Various

Practice Nurse

– Ms Natalie Simpson-Stewart

Pathology Services:

• Dorevitch Pathology

Dentist:

• MyDental Group

Appointments: Please ring 9923 7888 for an appointment. Every effort will be made to accommodate your preferred time and GP. Emergencies will always be given priority and our receptionists will attempt to contact you if there is any unforeseen delay or your GP has been called away.

Longer consultation times are available, so please ask our receptionist if you require some extra time. If you are unsure about the time that may be required to manage a particular problem, please discuss this with our receptionists who are trained to assist in this matter. If you or a family member requires an interpreter service, we can organise this for you. Please let us know when you make the appointment.

Walk in appointments: SMG operates primarily on an appointment system. However, allowances have been made to cater for patients who walk in to the clinic without a pre booked appointment. Patients will be advised by our reception staff of the approximate time at which they will be seen by the GP.

Appointment Confirmation/Cancellation Policy: We will confirm your appointment by text message the evening before, or on Saturday for Monday appointments. Appointments for the nurse and allied health providers are confirmed by a phone call the evening before. If you do not answer your phone we will send a text message to your mobile phone asking you to call us back within 2 hours to confirm your appointment. If you do not confirm your appointment, it may be given away to another patient.

We require a minimum of 2 hours notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment with a doctor. You will receive a text from us advising you of each appointment you have missed. If you fail to attend 3 appointments, you will be charged a $40 “Fail to Attend” fee. This will need to be paid before you are allowed to book another appointment. Each of the Allied Health providers has their own cancellation policy and this should be discussed with them.

Care outside normal opening hours: SMG provides 24-hour care for our patients. If you have an urgent medical problem when the clinic is closed, please ring the clinic number on 9923 7888 and you will be provided with the contact details for the accredited medical deputising service used by the clinic – National Home Doctor Service (NHDS). Alternatively call NHDS directly on 13 SICK (137425). If you have an emergency you should dial 000 and request Ambulance assistance.

Home visits: Please contact the clinic if you feel you are too unwell to attend. A home visit may be offered depending on the availability of doctors for patients that live within a 5 km radius of the clinic.

Procedures: Procedures performed by the GPs at SMG will attract an out of pocket fee. The required fee will be discussed with you by the doctor at the pre-procedure consultation. This fee will be payable on the day of the procedure.

Payments: We accept payment by cash, EFTPOS, Mastercard or VISA. Discounts will be given for Health Care Card holders and pensioners. If you should have any difficulty in paying our fees please discuss this with your doctor.

Repeat prescriptions and test results: Legal constraints and best practice procedures dictate that an appointment is made to see a doctor for all repeat prescriptions and test results.

Reminder system: SMG has a strong commitment to preventative care. We operate a computer-based reminder system to notify our patients if they are due for a review of their medical situation. If you would like to receive a reminder for your next review, or if you would prefer to be excluded from our reminder system, please let our receptionist know.

Recall system: SMG has a system in place to follow up tests and results, reports and clinical correspondence where there is concern about the significance of the test or result. Patients may be contacted to return to the clinic for an appointment if required.

Management of your personal health information: SMG maintains a fully computerised medical record system. Your medical record is a confidential document. It is our firm policy to maintain privacy and security of personal health information at all times, and to ensure that this information is available only to authorised members of our staff. No information will be conveyed to any third party without your express prior consent. We comply with the Privacy Act (1988), the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), the Health Records Regulations 2012 (Vic) and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic). Further information is provided in the practice Privacy Policy and Collection Statement.

Telephone and Email Contact: If you feel you need to contact our GPs by phone, please call the clinic. A detailed message will be taken by the reception staff and forwarded to your doctor, who will return your call at the earliest convenience. Our practice does not charge a fee for telephone communication. Patients are unable to email the GPs in our practice directly. However, they are able to contact the administrative office via email to forward correspondence to the GPs where required. This email address is provided to patients on request by practice staff. Please note that no appointments can be made or changed via email.

Patient feedback: Should you have a problem with any aspect of the care you receive from SMG then we would like to hear about it. Please feel free to talk to your doctor, the receptionist or the practice manager, or write to us if you prefer. Rest assured that we take your concerns, suggestions and complaints seriously. If however you have a problem that you feel needs to be pursued outside of the clinic, then you may prefer to contact:

Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner Telephone: 1300 582 113

AHPRA

Telephone: 1300 419 495