Important Patient Notices:
16/07/2024
Please see our fees page for updated pricing from the 12/08/2024
Important Patient Notice – Changes to Practice Fees
From 12th August 2024
Pittwater Family Practice is committed to maintaining the highest level of medical care possible. We have the most competent staff, and we treat every patient as an important individual.
The cost of running a practice continues to rise but the Medicare rebate remains far below the cost of providing quality care and with the looming payroll tax threat from state Govt. Therefore, we have no choice but to increase our practice fees. We have tried to keep the increase less than inflation. Our fees are still low in comparison to other practices in the area.
16/04/2024
We will be closed on Anzac day, Thursday 25th April. We will re open on Friday 26th April.
02/04/2024 – Quick Consults
We now have Quick Consults
Quick Consults is a service that allows patient’s the option make requests such as repeat prescriptions for regular medications or referrals for regularly attended Specialist appointments. These requests are sent directly to your doctor to action. This is only eligible for patients who have been seen for an appointment at the practice before.
Existing patients to your practice can go to your HotDoc booking page to request a script or referral, consent to your practice’s terms, select their regular Practitioner and a preferred delivery method, then select a payment method. Patient’s funds will then be pre-authorised for 5 business days and they will then receive an email to confirm their request has been sent to the practice. You can view the status and history of Your requests in your HotDoc account.
All repeat requests can be approved, declined or reassigned to different practitioners where appropriate. Patient’s will receive a confirmation email once their request is approved or declined, and the practitioner can add a note to the patient with customised information to communicate with them directly.
02/04/2024 – Flu Clinics – Bookings open now!
FLU VACCINES HAVE ARRIVED!!!
Either book online or call reception to make your flu vaccine appointment.
For some patients there will be a $20 charge for the flu vaccine. For some patients the vaccine will be provided free from the Government – if you are over 65 years of age, 4months – under 5 years old and some at risk health conditions.
book online
Or call the clinic on 9997 3911
12/3/2024
Important announcement:
The time has come after 35 years at the practice, Dr Peter Brennan will be laying down his stethoscope.
Dr Peter Brennan plans to have a year off, away from medicine and to do some travel, reconnect with his family and recharge his batteries.
Rest assure we will be maintaining the high level of care Dr Peter Brennan gave his patients. We will be taking on a new doctor who will look after all of Dr Peter Brennan’s patients along with the other doctors in the practice.
Please join us in wishing Dr Peter Brennan all the best for the year ahead and all the hard work he has put in over the last 35 years. He will be missed.
Pittwater Family Practice recently underwent an AGPAL accreditation – what does this mean?
Being accredited means that our general practice is committed to a comprehensive program which
involves:
- Engaging our whole practice team to review our practice’s systems and processes
- Opening our practice doors to allow a team of independent surveyors to assess how our practice
operates
- Assessment of our practice, and achievement of the nationally recognised Royal Australian
College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices, that focus on health
care quality and patient safety.
To achieve accreditation, a practice team works over a 12-month period to implement the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for general practices. The RACGP Standards provide a recognised national benchmark for general practices and services, and a template for quality care and risk management.
Areas of focus during an on-site assessment for accreditation include: ensuring vaccines are within their use-by-date and stored at the correct temperatures, that the practice’s equipment is clean and sterile, practice staff are up-to-date with their training, and the practice has emergency care available.
As a member of the community you may be surprised to learn that general practice accreditation is a voluntary process – which means not all practices undergo an independent on-site assessment on a regular basis.
Achievement of AGPAL accreditation reassures you that our doctors and practice team are committed to providing you with high quality health care in a safe environment.
Next time you visit our practice be sure to look out for the AGPAL Accredited General Practice Symbol (below) or our accreditation certificate. Our practice team is proud of this achievement and as part of this process we continuously strive to make quality improvements to better your patient experience.
Pittwater Family Practice received a national award of accreditation, demonstrating its commitment to quality and safety within its practice.
“Achieving accreditation is a major achievement for any practice and a clear demonstration that Pittwater Family Practice is striving to improve their level of care to both patients and the community,” he said. “Practices seek accreditation because they want to do their best and view this as another step towards excellence in patient care.”
“We want community members, nationwide to know that their wellbeing is our priority. By choosing to attend an AGPAL accredited practice, patients know they will get quality and safe care that meets the RACGP Standards.”
Shingrix
We have been given a limited amount of the Shingrix vaccines each month. To book in call reception.
From 1 November 2023, the shingles vaccine Shingrix® will replace Zostavax® on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) schedule for the prevention of shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia. It will be available for eligible people most at risk of complications from shingles.
A 2-dose course of Shingrix® will be available for free for:
- people aged 65 years and older
- First Nations people aged 50 years and older
- immunocompromised people aged 18 years and older with the following medical conditions:
- haemopoietic stem cell transplant
- solid organ transplant
- haematological malignancy
- advanced or untreated HIV.
Unlike Zostavax®, Shingrix® does not contain any live virus so it can be given to people aged 18 years and over who are immunocompromised.
4/10/2023
If you hold a valid Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs Veteran card and have been to see us in person twice over the last 24 months, you’re now eligible to register in MyMedicare. MyMedicare formalises the relationships between patients, their general practice and their preferred GP. By registering in MyMedicare you can access longer funded telehealth consultations with our practice. For more information, chat to us at your next appointment, or visit health.gov.au/MyMedicare.
How do you register?
- Its takes less than 1 minute to do via the Medicare express app
- Or you My Gov account.
- We have a form to complete if the above options are not suited.
What are the Benefits????
It is voluntary and free to register in MyMedicare. When you register in MyMedicare, it will notify your general practice that you have chosen them as your regular care team. Additional funding will be available from the government to help them provide the care you need.
MyMedicare patients will have access to:
- greater continuity of care with your registered practice, improving health outcomes
- longer Medicare Benefit Scheme (MBS) funded telehealth consultations with your GP
- triple bulk billing incentive for longer MBS telehealth consultations for children under 16, pensioners, and concession card holders, from 1 November 2023
- more regular visits from your GP and better care planning for people living in a residential aged care home, from August 2024
- connections to more appropriate care in general practice for people who visit hospital frequently, from mid-2024.
1/10/2023
Please take note that from the 1st October 2023 we have had a slight price increase to our consultation fees.
4/7/2023
Update on new patients
All the doctors are now taking on new patients.
5/4/2023 – Update Thank you to all our patients who did the survey we reached our target number and have completed the survey.
We need your help! As we are a an accredited practice and we obtain accreditation every 3 years, part of the requirement is that we need to get patient feedback via a patient survey. We would really appreciate it if you could please take the time to complete the survey. Thank you
class=”button” https://secure.insyncsurveys.com.au/surveys/PSIAleph/?practice=2001248
4/4/2023
We have some very exciting news to share with you all. We would like to welcome Dr Jodie Parker , who will be a tenant doctor along with the others at Pittwater Family Practice. Dr Jodie Parker is returning from Maternity leave and will be working on Wednesdays and Fridays.
She will be starting on the 5th July 2023 and will be taking on new patients. Call reception to book in with her.
1/03/2023
Check out our google reviews and what patients have had to say about there experience at Pittwater Family Practice
or leave us a review!
28/10/2022
We have some exciting news! we have Dr Fiona Scott starting at the practice in November. She will be working Tuesdays and Thursdays. we are very excited to have another female general practitioner join the team of doctors at Pittwater Family Practice. She will be taking on new patients in the coming weeks after she has settled into the practice.
26/10/2022
We would like to welcome Dr Jeff Cavanaugh who is joining our practice in November for our New Skin Cancer Clinic, which will be held every Wednesdays.
You can book in to see Dr Jeff Cavanaugh for a skin cancer check. He also does skin diagnostic and procedural work. See under the doctors page for more info Abut Dr Jeff Cavanaugh.
12/05/2022
As of the 30th June 2022 Dr Kate Mellowes will be leaving Pittwater Family Practice to take a well-deserved travelling adventure. Kate has been with us for 22 years and will be sadly missed by the staff and all her patients.
Join us in wishing Dr Kate Mellowes all the best for the future! We are in the process of trying to hire another female doctor and will keep you updated when this happens but there is a current shortage of doctors.
02/05/2022
It you haven’t already booked in for your flu vaccine, we have some appointments still available, go to our web page to book or give the practice a call.
We are no longer administering Covid-19 vaccines as we have decided to focus on the flu vaccine campaign and preventative medicine. You can get your booster from one of the local pharmacies.
16/3/2022
We are a accredited Yellow fever practice. The good news is with travel recommencing you will need the Yellow Fever vaccine to go to specific countries. We are happy to announce we have Yellow Fever vaccines back in stock. So speak to the receptionist about booking it in if you require it.
Managing Covid -19 at home
This guide is for people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and have mild to moderate symptoms.
https://gppracticeessentials.com.au/toolkits/about-this-guide/
8/11/2021
How to access your Covid Vaccine Certificate
We can provide you with a Covid Vaccine Immunisations Statement if you were vaccinated with us, however is not an Official Government Document and you will still need your official Covid certificate issued by the Government.
See the links below with information on how to access your official Covid vaccine certificate.
https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/mhr-proof-of-vaccinations
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/getting-help-during-coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-vaccinations/how-get-proof
You can also call the Australian Immunisation Register and they can post you out a copy of your certificate.
Telehealth
Live Life Get Active is a registered health promotion charity focused on health, fitness and wellness. Sydney North Health Network is pleased to be able to offer 3 months of free online access to their health and wellbeing program to those who live or work in the Northern Sydney region.
- Cosmetics
Did you know that Doctor Rowena Giard performs cosmetics at Pittwater Family Practice. See the Cosmetics page for more details or ring the practice.
- Online Bookings
Did you know that you can now book your appointments with us online? Here’s a quick video to show you how it all works:
You can download the HotDoc app simply by clicking on the following link: https://goo.gl/xMTyvH
Vaccinations
Do you know when your last Tetanus vaccine was?
Did you know that if you are aged between 70 and 79 years of age, you may be eligible for a free vaccine to prevent shingles?
If you are over 65 years of age, have you had your Pneumococcal vaccine?
Do you feel you or any family members missed vaccines at school?
The NSW government has recently provided funding for anyone under 20 years of age to “catch up” any vaccination they may have missed from the NSW childhood immunisations schedule.
Please chat to your doctor at your next consultation to ensure you are protected.
