When you come for your first appointment, you will need to bring:

• A referral from your GP or other medical specialist
  
• Your Medicare card
  
• Health fund membership card
  
• Your x-rays and any other scans
  
• List of medications (if appropriate)
  
• Your list of questions for Dr Sherlock
  
• Patient Registration Form (see below or complete on the day)

You will be greeted by one of Dr Sherlock’s secretaries, who will ask you to fill out an information sheet with important demographic information. It is likely you will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire relevant to your current problem.

Following this you will be seen by Dr Sherlock. This consultation will take about half an hour and will involve a physical examination. Some consultations can take longer if the problem is complex or arrangements for surgery are required. You may want to ask about this when you ring to make an appointment. Dr Sherlock will discuss your condition and recommend the best treatment options for you.

There is a charge for this consultation, part of which you can claim back from Medicare. This fee is payable at the time of consultation. Please see Settling Accounts for more information.

If further consultations are required, to manage a more complex problem, then subsequent consultation fees will be charged at a lesser amount. Please discuss this with Dr Sherlock’s staff at the time of booking your next consultation.

If surgery is necessary, a date for surgery can be booked at this consultation. Dr Sherlock will give you some information to take home. Patients are under no pressure whatsoever to go ahead with surgery. If you are unsure at any time please feel free to discuss it further with Dr Sherlock or his secretary.

We like to keep to our appointment schedule and respect that your time is valuable. We do our best to set aside the appropriate amount of time for each patient at the time of booking. In the event that we are running late, we try to contact patients, but it is not always possible. You may wish to call us prior to leaving home to find out if Dr Sherlock is running to schedule if you have the pressure of another commitment after your appointment.

Missed Appointment ( No Shows )

We do respect your time and we ask for the same courtesy. Missed appointments (no shows) affect our ability to provide timely attention to our patients. When a patient does not show up for their appointment, another patient loses an opportunity to be seen. If you are unable to make your appointment, we respectfully ask that you notify our clinic at least 24 hours in advance. Failure to cancel an appointment that you do not attend will be considered a missed appointment or no show.

Protocol for No Shows:

The first no show will be followed up with a phone call reminding you of our missed appointment. If you fail to attend two consecutive appointments, you will be charged 50% of the full amount appointment fee - no show fee. You are directly responsible for payment of the no show fee on or before your next appointment. The no show fee cannot be billed to Medicare or your insurance company.

If you no show your initial visit (first appointment) and fail to contact our office, no further appointments will be scheduled.