Policy – Metta Medical Karrinyup

Policy

UPDATE – NEW LEGISLATED LAW

If you assign your benefit to your doctor so your bill can be sent through to Medicare directly, we need your consent at each visit. Discuss with your doctor during the consult if you are unable to do so. If we do not receive your consent within the business day, the service will be changed to PRIVATE BILL and a GAP Fee will incur. For in person appointment, you MUST visit the reception desk. For telephone appointment, you MUST action the prompts received as in-app push noti / sms / or email.

Parking Situation

Please allow extra time. Thank you for your understanding.
You are welcome to utilize our designated car park on L1 Pink (take 2 right turns on level 1). Be sure to notify reception of your usage to avoid being fined.

Updates:

NEW PATIENTS AND WALK INS WELCOME. Private Charges apply for all initial consultations. Visit each provider page for billing detail.
WEEKEND Appointments are fully private.
EXISTING PATIENTS: Most recall appointments will incur a charge. All outstanding needs to be paid before further booking.

Notice: Appointments without CONFIRMATION will be cancelled. Confirm appointment by response to email or noti reminder.

NON-ATTENDANCE FEE (up to a full consult fee) will incur without a 3 hours’ notice. Psychology and procedure appointments require a 48 hours’ notice to cancel.

Appointment

Medicare rebates usually apply but not in some circumstances. Different providers have their own billing schedule. Please visit each provider page.

Procedures: Additional Gap Fees apply for all procedures including ECG, Ear Syringe, Wound Management, Implanon, IUD and Skin procedure. Please book appointment according to the type of procedure.

The practice is located in a modern and highly convenient location within Karrinyup Shopping Centre with free 4 hours parking.

Our Policies

NEW REQUESTS: Phone messages and email request are NOT advisable. Clinical details can get lost. Please book in either telephone or face to face appointment to have your request done. Your request will be triaged accordingly by your provider.

RESULT STAUS: Email enquiries are strongly encouraged.

COPY OF ESCRIPTS/ REFERRALS/ CERTIFICATES/ RESULT AFTER THE APPOINTMENT – Only email requests are accepted. Reception has limited access to your clinical file, and it may take more than 2 weeks to be responded. Request ELECTRONIC copies during the consult and make sure you receive them during the consult or while on the phone.

CINICAL INQUIRIES: You are welcome to call us for same day urgent appointment if there is no appointment available online. For after hour queries please call 1300 644 483. If this is a medical emergency, please call 000 or attend the nearest emergency department. Emails are not responded on the same day.

At Metta Medical centre, a standard appointment time with a service provider is 10-15 minutes. This allows time for the service providers to address concerns and provide thorough care. Patients are encouraged to request an appointment with a preferred doctor.
Please note, not all issues may be addressed in one appointment and review appointments maybe needed. Please make a separate appointment for each person that requires a consultation, even with the same doctor. A long appointment needs to be made for general check-up, issues more than one, counselling and procedures.
Walk-in Appointments – If you arrive without an appointment, you will be triaged and seen as soon as an appointment with a service provider becomes available.
My Medicare Enrolment – Enrol your chosen practice and doctor via MyGov to ensure you receive the best care in your healthy journey.
Priority Booking Privileges – Ask us how you can qualify. You may be able to get a same day appointment.
Referrals, Repeat Scripts or Medical Certificates – Please make a referral appointment at least 1 week before your specialist appointment. To ensure quality and continuity of care, doctors need to write a letter containing all relevant information such as updated regular medications etc.
Doctors need to review patient history even for repeat scripts for regularly prescribed medication. It is advised to make an appointment before the last repeat.
A Medical certificate needs to be in person.
Service providers do not prescribe drugs of addiction to any new or existing patients.
All New Patients
- Payment Card Details – Store your payment info to confirm your appointment. The information will NOT be used to charge any fees before the consultation. This is solely for the invoices that are past due.
- New patient registration – For new patients only
- BetterConsult – Clinical questions to let your doctors know of the reason of your visit.
- MyMedicare – This unlocks government benefits available to you.
Telephone Consultations
- Medicare benefit eligibility for telehealth service is only for patients who have been in to see the doctor at Metta Medical Centre in the last 12 months.
- All standard appointment policy applies.
- Remember to call the reception after the consultation so that your certificates/ prescription/ pathology request or referrals can be released and your account can be settled.
- Payment Card Details – Store your payment info to confirm your appointment. The information will NOT be used to charge any fees before the consultation. This is solely for the invoices that are past due.
After Hour Services
- In case of emergency, dial 000.
- Our centre provides access to medical care for patients 24/7.
- Afterhours healthcare services are provided by Night Doctors ( ph: 1300 644 483)
- Fee may apply, please enquire at the time of booking.

Please cancel or reschedule through the confirmation email/message or through the booking app.
Appointments without CONFIRMATION will be cancelled.
Please note that we cannot apply Medicare rebates to any of the late cancellation/ non-attendance fees.
Your cancellation notice would be much appreciated as it helps enable us to provide services to other clients in need.
Standard Consultation
- Non-attendance fee (DNA fee of $50 or more) will be charged if less than 3 hours’ notice is given for all standard appointments, rescheduled or cancelled. Thank you for understanding. Some providers may charge a different fee.
Procedures
- A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required for all skin checks and procedures. Failure to do so will result in a DNA fee and the deposit will be forfeited in additional to non-attendance fee of $50 or more.
- Please reschedule procedure and skin appointments if cold/flu/respiratory symptoms are present within an appropriate timeframe. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit of the deposit.
Psychology Appointment Cancellations:
- We require at least 48 hours notice for any rescheduled appointments or cancellations.
- Cancellation under 48 hours prior to appointment: 50% fee per session.
- Cancellation under 24 hours prior to appointment: Full fee per session.
- Non Attendance: Full fee charged for clients who fail to attend an appointment.

We understand you don’t always need a doctor just within normal business hours. When the practice is closed, you can call the after-hours doctor service to have access to 24 hour care. They will forward copies of notes and results pertaining to the patient’s attendance to Metta Medical Centre within 24 hours.
In case of emergency, dial 000.
Afterhours healthcare services are provided by Night Doctors ( ph: 1300 644 483)
Fee may apply, please enquire at the time of booking.

Results
- Please discuss with your doctor during the consultation how you would like to be contacted.
- Nursing staff may contact you to convey any message from the doctors such as urgent / non-urgent appointment. Reception staff are not medically trained or legally allowed to discuss details of test results. If you have further questions, please contact our nursing staff.
- In some instances, notification to make a follow up appointment for the results maybe conveyed via SMS.
Emails
- Emails are for admin purposes only. There is no monitoring at all times.
- The practice email does not get forwarded to the doctors. For confidentiality purposes, please refrain from contacting doctors electronically.
- If the emails are not encrypted, they could be open to hacking. We use fax and encrypted emails to transmit sensitive information on your behalf to hospitals and specialists. Email (without encryption) is an unsecured form of communication.
Telephone Calls
- Doctors are unable to take a call during consultations and surgery. In many cases, the reception or nursing staff may be of assistance. Alternatively, a message can be relayed to the doctors, should you have a query.

A telephone interpreting service is available on request. Please inform the reception at the time of your appointment.

Feedback is always welcome at Metta. We strive to provide you with the best outcome possible. Your feedback helps us to continually improve ourselves. The management team is happy to be contacted to discuss any suggestions. If you wish to remain anonymous, there is a suggestion box in the waiting room.
For further advise or if you feel you need to discuss the matter outside the practice, please contact Health and Disability Services Complaints Office at Albert Facey House, 469 Wellington Street, Perth WA 6000

Metta Medical Centre is a private billing practice. The service providers supported by Metta Medical Centre will charge a fee for service. Payment is required on the day of the consultation.
Fees may be charged by the service providers according to the consulting providers and appointment content. Payment to the service provider is required at the time of your consultation.
Your Medicare rebate at the time of payment will be processed on the spot or processed it through Medicare automatically into your nominated bank account within 48 hours. Please register your nominated bank account with Medicare directly.
You will require a current and valid Medicare card to claim a rebate. A full payment is required without a Medicare card before the consultation.
Telehealth – Patients who have attended our clinic for face-to-face appointments in the last 12 months can claim a Medicare rebate.
Skin Check and Procedure – A deposit is required to secure your booking.
Employment Medicals – There is no Medicare rebate.
Work Cover Compensation – This is no Medicare rebate. The full fee needs to be paid at the end of the consultation. We can provide a certificate and clinic invoice to claim back from the health funds or insurer by the employer.
Oversea Health Cover Insurance – If not processed at the time of the consultation, it usually can be compensated similar to the amount of Medicare rebate and patient may need to claim back from the insurer.
EXISTING PATIENTS: Most recall appointments will incur a charge.
All outstanding needs to be paid before further booking.

Metta Medical Centre Privacy Policy

Current as of: April 2026

For enquiries concerning this policy, you can email to reception@mettamedical.com.au or post to Shop 1280 Level 1, 200 Karrinyup Road, Karrinyup, WA 6018.

Introduction

This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.

Why and when your consent is necessary

When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. The information you provide becomes part of your health record. Your health record documents in detail all interactions with your health care provider, all clinical findings, diagnostic test results, pre and post operative care, progress, medications, allergies, past conditions and social factors that affect your health and wellbeing. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this. This includes:

Presence of third parties during a consultation (e.g. Medical students, interpreters, other family members etc)
Real-time audio-visual recording and duplication and storage of a consultation, including those during telehealth and those conducted remotely

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect about you includes your:

names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
healthcare identifiers
health fund details

Dealing with us anonymously

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.

During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information via electronic prescribing, My Health Record, and online appointments.
We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from: your guardian or responsible person; other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services; your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).
CCTV recordings may be collected from our premises for security and safety purpose.
Photos and medical images can be taken using personal devices for medical purposes, following the RACGP guidelines which are aligned with Australian privacy obligations, particularly the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), on using personal devices for medical images.
We will always comply with privacy obligations when collecting personal information from third-party sources. This includes ensuring transparency with patients, obtaining necessary consents, maintaining data accuracy, securing the information, and using it only for specified purposes.

When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?

We sometimes share your personal information:

with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
with other healthcare providers
when it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
to assist in locating a missing person
to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
during the course of providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary)

Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent. When we request consent to update and/or send your health summary or referrals to approved parties (paramedics, hospital, specialists or community health providers), we will confirm any information you would like omitted, as well as electing to omit information that is not relevant to your referral. Our practice software enables us to deselect information such as medications, diagnosis or social history from appearing on your health summary.

Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.

Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data.

We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. The information is secure, patients cannot be identified and the information is stored within Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.

Our practice uses automated technologies from within our clinical software Best Practice to ensure that only relevant information is provided in referrals to other medical professionals.

The practice uses an AI scribe tool to support GPs take notes during their consultations with you. The AI scribe uses an audio recording of your consultation to generate a clinical note for your health record. The practice AI scribe service is Heidi Health/ LyeBird/ iScribe/ Inca Health and practice online medical questionnaire is Better Consult. The services:

do not share information outside of Australia
destroy the audio file/online questionnaire once the transcription is complete
retains sensitive, personal identifying information as part of the transcription

When is consent required to share personal information?

Consent will be required when the practice duplicates or records a consultation. Consent will be required if a third party attends during a consultation. This consent could be verbal or written. You have the right to refuse your consent.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms, e.g.: paper records, electronic records, visual records (X-rays, CT scans, videos and photos), audio recordings.

Our practice stores all personal information securely in practice software called Best Practice. Our server and computers are protected with professional Firewall and Internet Security Software which are regularly updated and backed up.

If your consultation takes place via telehealth, the practitioner will always ensure your privacy is maintained by undertaking the consultation in a private setting, whether this is at the clinic facilities or via remote access.

How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing and our practice will respond within a reasonable time, usually within 10 business days. There will be a fee of $30 for the transfer of records to another clinic. The fee may vary if the transfer of medical records needs to be reviewed by your regular GP before the transfer of records and you will be informed of the fee.

Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests by emailing to reception@mettamedical.com.au or post to Shop 1280 Level 1, 200 Karrinyup Road, Karrinyup, WA 6018.

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Please contact the practice manager about your complaint by email to reception@mettamedical.com.au or post to Shop 1280 Level 1, 200 Karrinyup Road, Karrinyup, WA 6018.

We will contact you in 5 business days and explore the possible solution relating to your complaint. You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.

Privacy and our website

We may collect your personal information if you contact through the online enquiry form in our website. We may also collect your personal information if you interact with us through social media such as Facebook.

Telehealth and Privacy

All telehealth consultations that take place from our practice are undertaken within a private consulting room. Where telehealth consultations take place through practitioners having remote access to practice systems our practice insists that all remote access is undertaken from a private and secure location in line with the RACGP’s ‘Information security in general practice for remote access guidelines’.

In cases where an interpreter is required for a telehealth consultation, our practice ensures that the interpreter can be effectively connected to our telehealth platform when they cannot be present in person. Our practice always engages a qualified medical interpreter.

Policy review statement

This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. You will be able to access our latest privacy through our website or from our receptionist on request.