New Patients
Below is information for new patients including pre-examination questionnaires, what to expect from your appointment, what to bring as well as billing information.
Phone us on 5442 5555 if you require further information.
Questionnaires
We have pdf questionnaires for patients new to our practice to download & fill out before attending their appointment.
By filling these out you will have time to consider your answers & check relevant details. These will also allow us to spend even more time with you or your child during the consultation.
If you do not have access to a printer & are unable to print out the questionnaires please either drop in some time before the appointment to pick one up or arrive at least 10 minutes early to fill one out in the practice.
- Please use the ADULT questionnaire for all patients 16 years or older.
- Please use the NEURO-OPTOMETRY questionnaire for all patients referred for neuro-optometric concerns (eg. Brain injury, concussion, vertigo)
- Please use the CHILD questionnaire for children 15 years & under (or older children with learning or developmental challenges)
- TEACHERS are in a unique position to observe their students while they are learning. Their insights can be invaluable. The Teacher's Questionnaire generally applies to primary school aged children (or High School children where a teacher is concerned about the student's vision, learning or behaviour). This questionnaire is in pdf format for easy printing or download to pass on to the teacher.
Appointments. What to expect.
Adult Consultations
Our standard comprehensive consultation will take around 45 minutes or possibly longer depending on the number and complexity of the tests required to fully evaluate your vision and the health of your eyes.
Should further testing be recommended, such as visual fields evaluation or dilated retinal examination and retinal scanning, either an additional appointment will be arranged for another day or you may be with us a little longer.
Functional Vision Assessments for Referred Work Cover & Brain Injury Patients
We generally set aside 1 hour for our comprehensive functional vision assessments for patients referred due to conditions such as Traumatic Brain Injuries and Work Cover or Accident Insurance Claims. Should further testing be recommended or required an additional appointment will be arranged for another day.
Paediatric Consultations
An initial examination for your child will include a full binocular vision assessment and an eye health evaluation and we allow around 1 hr for primary school age children and high school children with complex problems and 45 minutes for high school children without complex problems.
Depending on your child’s needs and age, this initial examination may also include screenings for various conditions such as visual information processing disorders and Meares-Irlen Syndrome. An additional appointment will be arranged should any of these screenings indicate to the optometrist that further more comprehensive testing in that area be required.
If possible please avoid bringing siblings along to your child's initial examination as they can distract your child as well as disrupt the consultation.
Speciality Consultations for Adults or Children
Speciality consultations including the following are usually scheduled as a separate appointment on a different day to the initial consultation.
- Visual Information Processing (VIP) testing
- Intuitive Colorimetry Assessments
- Readalyzer Eye Movement evaluation
- Ortho Keratology evaluation & fitting
- Contact Lens tuitions
- Introduction to the Vivid Vision virtual reality vision therapy system
What to bring to your appointment
- Your Medicare card so that we are able to process your Medicare claim on the spot if you have your bank account details registered with Medicare or have an eftpos card linked to a cheque or savings account.
- Your Health Fund card if you have optical cover included, so that we can process your rebate when purchasing glasses or contact lenses.
- If you have a Pension, Veterans Affairs or Health Care Card please bring this with you. We are registered to provide services for Veterans Affairs clients and act as an agent for the State Government Spectacle Supply Scheme for pension card holders.
- Your current glasses, sunglasses & contact lenses. Also include any ready-made magnifying glasses that you are using, as well as any eye drops, ointments and a list of any medications or supplements you take.
- For your child’s appointment please bring with you any reports from other professionals such as teacher, paediatrician or other specialists.
Billing
- Most of our consultations are not bulk-billed. We do however offer pension card holders 15% discount on general consultation fees and extra testing such as retinal imaging and scans.
- As a courtesy patients over 80 yrs of age are generally bulk-billed for their consultation. Should extra testing such as retinal imaging and OCT scans be required, fees will apply.
- Patients under 5 yrs of age are generally bulk-billed for their consultation (if there hasn't been billed to Medicare a full comprehensive consultation at another optometrist in the previous 3 years). Should extra testing such as retinal imaging and OCT scans be required, fees will apply.
- For information on billing of children 5 yrs and older please click here.
- We are able to process your medicare claim on the spot for you just like at your doctors surgery. To allow us to process your medicare rebate please make sure you have one of the following:
- Your bank account details registered with Medicare, or
- Your bank account details with you OR
- An eftpos card linked to a cheque or savings account into which the rebate can be deposited from Medicare. Unfortunately Medicare won't allow the rebates to be paid back onto a credit card.
- As the type of consultation and services required are not always fully known until your examination we can only offer you what we expect your cost to be prior to your visit. Extra speciality testing including retinal imaging and OCT scans will incur extra costs.
- Please let us know when arranging your appointment if your consultation will be part of a Work Cover or Accident Insurance Claim as well as if there is pre-approval for your consultation fees.
- Please feel free to enquire about the expected fees when making an appointment.
New Patient Information