As of 01/02/2021, all of our practitioners are offering both telehealth and in person appointments. If you are unsure as to whether or not your appointment can proceed as in person, please contact our rooms on (03) 9497 1428. 

According to the latest MBS Medicare guidelines, Telehealth consults will continue to be privately billed unless you are notified otherwise by your practitioner.  

 **Please note that our fax number is currently being transferred to a new provider. As of 16/10/20, please fax to the interim number: 03 9923 6763. Please include enough details for the Doctor to make an informed decision regarding the referral. 

Please note only Dr Rosemary Field and Dr Claudia Anton are reviewing limited referrals. Please call our practice before referring a patient.

Our procedure is that the relevant Doctor will review the written referral and we will then either contact the patient directly to make an appointment or your office to advise if we are unable to accept. We would appreciate if you would inform your patient of this procedure. 

If you would like to speak to one of our clinicians prior to referring, please contact our rooms on  (03) 9497 1428 to arrange a call back.

Please be aware that we are unable to offer a Crisis Service.  For urgent referrals please call 000 or contact the local Mental Health Service in your area.

Monday to Friday from  8.30 am to 5.30 pm

We are excited to advise that we now have a room available on the following days each week - Monday, Wednesday and from December 2019 two rooms on a Friday - so if you are a Consultant Psychiatrist or a Psychologist and looking to rent rooms please contact us.  We would love to show you around.

Under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), you have a legal right to access the personal information Ericton House Consulting Rooms holds about you (such as your medical record), subject to some exceptions.

Access Fees

The Practice is entitled to charge an appropriate fee, determined in accordance with the Health Records Regulations 2002 (Vic), plus GST, to cover the administrative costs of this service. Our reception will advise you of the applicable fee, which is not redeemable under Medicare or private health insurance. 

How do I request Access to my Personal Information?

Patients who wish to access or obtain a copy of their personal information should put their request in writing using the attached Request to Access Personal Information Form, and submit the form to our Practice reception. All requests will be acknowledged in writing within 14 days of receipt of the request.

Ordinarily, access to the requested information will be provided within 30 days.

How will Access be Provided?

Access may be provided by:

• inspecting your medical record (or a print out of your record) at the Practice.; and/or
• providing a copy of the requested information in person or via secure email or post (additional fees for postage may apply); or
• providing an accurate summary of the information, instead of a copy, if you and the doctor agree that a summary is appropriate.

We recommend that you make an appointment with your doctor to view your medical record together, so the doctor can assist you to understand and interpret the material contained within it. A consultation fee will apply in addition to the administration fee, plus GST. The fee is not redeemable via Medicare or private health insurance. 

Can I Amend my Medical Record?

You will not be permitted to remove any contents of your medical record from the Practice. Should you wish to amend or delete any personal information, you will need to fill out a separate written request using the Request to Amend Medical Record Form available from reception.

When will Access to My Medical Record be Refused?

Access to your personal information may be legitimately withheld in certain situations, including (among others):

• where access would pose a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual or the public;
• where access would cause unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals;
• where the request is frivolous or vexatious; or
• where the information is privileged as a result of actual or anticipated legal proceedings. 

If access to your personal information is refused, the Practice will provide you with written reasons for the refusal. You will not be charged an access fee in this instance.  If access is refused, you are welcome to contact the Practice to discuss means by which access may be facilitated.

If you have any queries regarding the above policy, please contact the Practice Manager who will be happy to discuss these with you.

Seeing a Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a specialist medical practitioner.

As a doctor and a psychiatrist, we are able to apply a comprehensive approach to understanding a patient’s situation, including biological factors.

A psychiatrist can prescribe medications, refer patients for investigations and make referrals to other specialists.

Visits to psychiatrists do attract a Medicare rebate as will be detailed later.

At Ericton House, the psychiatrists are general adult psychiatrists and see adult patients with a range of issues. However, we also offer special interest in long term psychotherapy (a talking and communicating treatment), perinatal psychiatry, consultation liaison psychiatry, psychiatry of old age, acquired brain injuries and trauma psychiatry.

If admission is required to a private psychiatric hospital and our psychiatrist is not admitting patients themselves then they will refer to a colleague at a preferred psychiatric hospital.

Assessment

The assessment process may take up to 3-4 sessions to complete.

Each session has the duration of 45-50 minutes.

A full psychiatric examination will include questions about early developmental experiences as well as current experiences.

The assessment process is an opportunity for both psychiatrist and patient to decide if they are comfortable and are able to work together if ongoing treatment is required.

We will discuss this during the assessment sessions.

Contact with Ericton House

Feel free to contact us at Ericton House during business hours on (03) 9497 1428.

You should be aware that it may take a day or two for us to return your calls, so if the matter is urgent either phone your nearest public hospital and obtain the triage number for the local Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT), or if the matter is very urgent, please dial 000.

For less urgent matters your General Practitioner may be able to assist.

Privacy

Ericton House has a privacy policy which is available in the waiting room and we do require you to read it. We can also provide you with a personal copy.

The guarding of your personal information is bound by State and Federal law and we take all the steps necessary to ensure your privacy.

The sessions are confidential with certain exceptions, that is, if there are situations where there is an issue of risk either to yourself or someone else.

We will usually speak to you first if there need be a breach of confidentiality and this is why we must also have the details of your next of kin at the commencement of the treatment. Otherwise we would not speak to anyone requesting information about you without receiving prior consent from you.

Access

Ericton House Consulting Rooms is ideally situated at 5 Ivanhoe Parade, where there is a large car park at the front of the building and we are also a short walk from the bus and train services of Ivanhoe.

Appointments and Fees

It is a requirement that you attend your appointment on time.

Clinicians and patients will both hold responsibility for making, cancelling and changing appointments as part of the treatment agreement. Appointments are made via our reception staff who will then apply the necessary alterations/additions to the computer system.

Appointments are typically 45 minute duration and fees vary with each clinician.

Medicare gives a rebates for this service. You and your family may qualify for the Medicare safety net at which point greater Medicare rebates apply, so please contact Medicare for details of this and for registration of the Medicare safety net.

We require 48 business hours’ notice of cancellation to avoid a cancellation fee

The cancellation fee stands at $120.00 inclusive of GST – Please note that this fee does not attract Medicare rebate.

All fees are to be paid on the day of consultation

This can be done with cash (if correct amount is tendered) or EFTPOS (Visa or debit)

An account keeping fee of $10.00 per month is imposed on all overdue accounts.

The person responsible for the accounts is responsible for any private health insurance claims that are rejected.

If overdue accounts are required to be handed over to a collection agency, additional costs will be added to the amount due.

Download the Practice Privacy Policy