GV Osteopathic Clinic | Your Consultation
16723
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Your Consultation

First Consultation
A usual Initial Osteopathic Consultation consists of a Case History, a detailed Osteopathic Examination and Treatment if appropriate, usually lasting between 30mins and 1hour depending on your condition. You will be asked about your complaint, your medical history, any medications that you take and other questions your Osteopath may need answered in working out the best way forward that may not appear directly related to your problem. You will then undergo an examination and clinical testing relevant to your complaint. This may involve your Osteopath asking you to perform some movements and may necessitate you removing some clothing down to your underwear, you will be offered a gown should you require one. As Osteopathy takes a whole of body approach to treatment, the examination will involve assessment of other regions of the body as well as the complaint. For example if you have a sore neck, your Osteopath may also look at your shoulders, ribcage, back and pelvic girdle.

 

Following your examination your Osteopath will develop and discuss with you an appropriate management plan based on all of this information and your expectations of your healthcare. This plan may involve further treatment and your Osteopath may provide education and advice to help you manage your condition between treatments such as giving you exercises to do at home or work. You will be given the opportunity to ask questions about the nature, extent and purpose of the treatment before your consent is obtained and treatment is performed (if the patient is under 18 years of age a parent or legal guardian is required to attend for this purpose.) If you do require any subsequent Osteopathic Consultations these usually last between 15 and 30mins duration.

 

In some cases it may be concluded after the discussion and examination that Osteopathic Treatment may not be the best approach for your complaint and appropriate referral will be advised or more information sought before continuing.

 

All information discussed, observed and obtained during your consultation is confidential.
On the day
We suggest that you try to arrive approximately 10 minutes prior to your consultation time to allow you time to fill out our new patient forms and to relax before you receive your treatment. Unfortunately late arrivals may necessitate a reschedule of appointment as we do aim to operate as close to time as possible for your convenience.
You should bring any referrals you may have with you and also any other medical images and x-rays, medication lists, nutritional supplements and any other information that may be of benefit to your consultation.
After you have received your treatment here at the clinic it is ideal to try and rest for a few hours if possible (well understanding this is not always practical.) This is to help with the recovery of any post treatment soreness that you may experience. Most Osteopathic treatment is gentle and should not cause undue discomfort. However you may experience some mild soreness and tiredness afterwards. We also suggest you increase your hydration (water) after your appointment and consider trying a warm shower to relax your muscles. It is also recommended that you continue to keep mobile (unless advised) but to rest from vigorous activity including sport and exercise for a couple of days. If you have any concerns after your treatment, that your soreness persists or increases significantly, or are unsure that what you are experiencing is “normal” please contact the clinic.
My condition has changed
Complaints are often dynamic and can change or progress over time. If you have any concerns about your complaint, or your symptoms change, please get in touch with us. If you have further injury, new injuries or complaints, or a change in medications that you may not think are related to what you see us for, please let us know anyway so we can update your file and make any necessary adjustments to what we do.
Further treatment
This is a decision you will be able to make together with your Osteopath after your first consultation for your complaint, and is dependant on both your requirements and expectations of your health care. As some of the problems we see here have built up over a long period of time it can take a few treatments before the body limbers up and we see a both a positive improvement in peoples mobility and a positive reduction in peoples pain. As a general guide the longer you have had the injury the longer it can be before these positive changes are seen. Your Osteopath will be able to give you a better idea of your prognosis when they have seen you and discuss any changes to this with you as they arise.
Appointment Fee
Payment is required at the time of consultation for all appointments except DVA. Please contact the clinic for our current fee schedule. Cash, Eftpos and Credit Card are all accepted.
HICAPS is available for on-the-spot private health insurance claims for eligible members of participating health care funds. If accepted you will only be required to pay the ‘gap.’
Dept of Veterans Affairs (DVA)
Can be billed directly after referral from your G.P.
Workcover and TAC
This clinic does not send accounts to Workcover or TAC and full payment is required at the time of consultation regardless of your claim status (please contact the clinic for the current fee.) A receipt will be issued upon receipt of payment which needs to be presented to your employer or insurer for reimbursement.
Medicare
If you are eligible for the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Scheme from Medicare (as referred by your GP) you are able to claim your rebate at this clinic. Full payment of our Osteopathic Consultation fee is required at the time of your appointment (please contact the clinic for the current fee) and you can chose to either claim your rebate on the spot or we will issue you with a receipt to enable you to claim your rebate from Medicare. You will be out of pocket a gap fee, details of your out of pocket expense can be obtained from the clinic.
Cancellations
Whilst we appreciate sometimes things happen that are unavoidable, this clinic requires 24 HOURS NOTICE of intended cancellations or otherwise a fee may be charged. This is to allow patients on our waiting list access to appointments that would otherwise go to waste.
Appointments need to be made either via phone, or our online booking and not via email. Appointment changes and cancellations need to be made either over the phone, or if it’s longer than 24 hours before your scheduled appointment time, can be also done by clicking on the link in your appointment confirmation and following the prompts. You can also follow this same process if you receive an emailed notification of your appointment booking. Should you need to leave us a message, our answering machine is available if our phones are unattended. If you have any concerns please call the clinic.