OUR RESPONSE TO THE CORONAVIRUS,  COVID-19

How we're keeping you safe.

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Updated Thursday, March 6, 2020.

 

Prahran East Medical Centre is determined to continue to provide the highest standard of care for our local community throughout this period. We have instituted a number of measures to optimise the safety of patients and staff alike. These measures are designed to minimise the foot traffic through our clinic and keep those inside as safe from infection as possible.

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Stay at home and use the phone

 

• All patients are asked to book telephone consultations in the first instance, including for new problems, scripts and referrals. Following a telephone consultation, the doctor may ask you to come in for an examination or procedure, generally just afterwards, or at least on the same day.  

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• Patients to be seen are asked to wait in their car or outside nearby the clinic until called by the doctor. Seating is provided on our front verandah for those arriving by foot. The waiting room will only be used as a last resort and any people in the waiting room must be free of symptoms of the coronavirus and wear a mask. They will be kept a safe distance apart.

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• Any member of the public entering the building is asked to wear a mask (surgical masks can be purchased from Prahran Midnight Pharmacy on nearby Williams Rd) and use the hand sanitiser provided upon arrival.

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• Please DO NOT enter the building unless instructed by a staff member.

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• Please DO NOT enter the building if you have a cough, sore throat, runny nose or fever, or you are in mandaory self-isolation or quarantine. Call us or book a phone appointment.

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The staff at Prahran East Medical Centre thank you very much for your kind cooperation and understanding during this difficult period.

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Free testing available

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Bulk-billed testing via nose and throat swab, for people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (see below), is provided in one of two ways. Those who have mild symptoms and simply want a test can arrange self testing at any time by calling reception. A nurse will meet you at the rear of the building and instruct on self testing. Alternatively, youcan be assessed and tested by a doctor onsite, in an isolated area. First a doctor will call you to confirm your eligibility and book your swab test. Book the phone consultation via the button at the top of this page.

 

Symptoms that warrant testing are a new onset of cough, sore throat, runny nose, loss of sense of smell or taste, shortness of breath, or fever (or symptoms of fever, like chills or sweats), where another cause for the fever is not obvious. For health and aged care workers and those with close contact* with an affected case or recent overseas travel, testing is also performed for less specific symptoms, like headache, muscle pains, blocked nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.

 

What about people with no symptoms yet?

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There is no test to exclude the risk of developing the coronavirus illness in people who may have been infected but remain symptom-free. Incubation can take up to 14 days. For this reason, people with close contact* must self-isolate (quarantine) for 14 days, and get tested if they develop any symptoms. See here for advice on self-isolation. Testing for asymptomatic close contacts under instruction from the Department of Health is available at some pop-up and mobile testing units. During the current testing blitz, people without symptoms who live in 'hot spots' may also be able to access testing at these centres. GP Clinics are not authorised to test asymptomatic people at this time.

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*Close contact is people who have had face-to-face contact with actual cases for at least 15 minutes, or spent at least two hours in the same space.

  

 

Cost of phone consultations

 

Bulk-billed telephone consultations (no payment required) are available to the all of following groups:

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Pensioners; Healthcare Card holders; unemployed; people aged over 70 or under 16; ATSI people over 50; pregnant women; parent of a child under 12 months; people who are immune compromised or have chronic health conditions that increase their risk of complications from COVID-19 (discuss with your doctor); people in mandatory self-isolation or quarantine in relation to COVID-19.

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Private patients - time-based fees:

 

5 to less than 10 minutes -     $62 (Medicare rebate $38.75, gap $23.25)

10 to less than 20 minutes -   $92 (Medicare rebate $38.75, gap $53.25)

20 to less than 40 minutes - $164 (Medicare rebate $75.05, gap $88.95)

​(Brief consultations under 5 minutes are bulk-billed)

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Fees will be charged after consultations automatically, with Medicare rebates going into your bank account, arranged by us. We will call you for a credit card number prior to your consultation.

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Consultations that involve phone and in-person components with the same doctor, on the same day, for the same problem are charged as a single consultation, for the total time taken.

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Further info

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We encourage everyone to download the COVIDSafe App to enhance contact tracing, which we hope will help to further limit the spread of the virus and bring forward the easing of restrictions.

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See here for daily updates on COVID-19 from the Victorian Health Department.

 

An excellent video explaining COVID-19 in detail, from the Head of Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg's Austin Hospital and friend of PEMC, A/Prof Patrick Charles, is here, with updates here: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9.

General info from a GP's perspective is available here.

 

Lastly, we are unfortunately seeing an upsurge in family violence. A GP friend has provided us with this helpful info sheet.

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Extended

Opening Hours:

 

Mon - Thurs

8.00am - 7.00pm

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Friday

8.00am - 6.00pm

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Sat & Pub Hols

9.00am - 1.00pm

 

 

 

RECOMMENDED LINKS

 

• HealthDirect - comprehensive Aust Govt self-help website, with clever symptom checker.

 

• General info sheets - simple, practical 1-2 page information sheets on hundreds of common conditions we see.

• Testing for genetic disorders and healthy eating in pregnancy - a clear summary of what you need to know in plain language

 

• Kids' health info - info sheets from the Royal Children's Hospital.

 

• Video Doctor - short video explanations and advice from a family GP about many common problems of the body and mind.

 

• Health& - animated videos explaining over 400 different conditions.

 

• DermNetNZ - detailed information about a huge range of skin problems.

 

• MoodGym and eCouch - do-it-yourself therapy for depression, anxiety and more that works.

 

• 'How not to die' - medicine's best kept secret!

 

• ... and how to solve the biggest existential threat to health of all - a huge team of Australian experts have donated their expertise to make a masterplan for a zero carbon Australia, to deal with climate change.