Communications Policy
Current as of: September 2025
There are multiple ways in which this practice communicates with patients and third parties – face to face, telephone, SMS, and email are the most common. Our website is updated regularly and contains the practice contact details, location, opening hours and information regarding fees and services offered. Our after-hours doctor service details are also available, as is online booking for the practitioners during office hours.
Face to Face
For patient privacy and identification reasons, our clinical and administrative team will ask personal identification details from our patients, even if we do recognize them. Each interaction with a patient will require three points of Personal Identification. This is in accordance with RACGP Guidelines.
We may ask:
- Your Full Name
- Your Birthdate
- Your Gender
- Your Address
We understand that some patients may not be comfortable with stating this information out loud, particularly at the reception desk where others are also around. Should this be the case, we request that each time a patient attends the clinic that they show a form of identification, such as drivers license, which would have these details on them.
Telephone
Our practice endeavors to provide patients with access to timely advice or information about their clinical care via the telephone. The urgency of a patients needs are determined promptly. We aim to communicate effectively over the telephone and use simple, straight forward language and check that patients have understood what has been said. Patients can contact the practice between 8:30am and 7:00pm Monday and Tuesday and 8:30am and 5:00pm Wednesday to Friday. We are also available 9:00am until 12:30pm on Saturday.
Our reception staff use a triage system to assess the urgency of the patients’ needs and concerns. Our reception staff will also perform a three-point identifier check to ensure the correct patient chart is matched to the patient on the phone.
Please note, it is often not possible to speak to the doctor at the time of calling. A secure message will be sent to the doctor who will return your Electronic communication provides a useful and alternative point of access for our
patients. Our patients have the option to contact or be contacted by our practice through electronic means via email and SMS. Our patients are informed of the risks associated with some methods of electronic communications and that their privacy and confidentiality may be compromised. Patients must agree via signing patient consent forms.
Email is not a secure form of communication and as such Mackie Road Clinic requires patient/guardian consent to send clinical information this way. Mackie Road Clinic does not accept clinical requests from patients via email. If patient health information/documentation is requested to be emailed to a patient/carer, email consent is required prior. Email consent can be removed at any time by a patient.
Our staff endeavour to action email messages within 2 business days. For urgent matters, email should not be used.
SMS
SMS messages are sent to remind patients of scheduled appointments, health reminders and health recalls. Please make sure you update the practice if there is a change to your mobile number. Please let us know if you would like to be removed from the SMS list.
Post
For patients who have opted out of SMS, a letter may be sent regarding reminders or recalls. Letters received by the practice are scanned into the patient chart and forwarded to the doctor to review.
When correspondence is received from other healthcare providers, it is directly imported into the patient’s file and then sent through to the doctor to review. This includes results, emails and specialist letters. If the addressed doctor is not available and the correspondence is urgent, another doctor will review and action as necessary.
Communicating with patients with special needs
A contact list of translator and interpreter services and services for patients with a disability is maintained, updated regularly and readily available to all staff at reception.
These include:
- National Relay Service (NRS)
- Auslan services 1300 AUSLAN
- Translation and Interpreter Service (TIS) Doctors Priority Line 1300 131 450
