Patient FAQs

YES:
You must have a valid referral from your GP or other doctor/medical specialist to see one of our paediatricians or paediatric sub-specialists at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists.

Referrals from your GP are generally valid for 12 months. Referrals from other doctors (other specialists) are valid for 3 months.

You will also need a referral letter from your GP to be eligible for a Medicare rebate which should cover at least part of the cost of your appointment.

You can get more information about referrals from the Victorian Government website:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ServicesAndSupport/seeing-a-specialist

Referrals to see one of our doctors at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists must be uploaded onto our website via the New Referrals/New Patients Online Form before an appointment can be made.

It is important for you to make an appointment with the right doctor for your child. The best advice is to check our individual doctor profiles before making an appointment. Each of the doctors at our clinic have different areas of expertise and may have particular clinical interests.

You should also ask the GP or medical doctor who provided the new referral, if they can recommend someone.

The waiting time for new patient appointments in particular, varies depending on the individual paediatric medical specialist you would like to see.

Melbourne Paediatric Specialists aims to provide the earliest possible appointment for you and your child.

Once we receive your referral, the next appointment available to see the preferred specialist will be scheduled and you will be notified regarding the date and time of this appointment as soon as possible.

*NOTE: Unfortunately several of our Paediatricians and Paediatric Sub-Specialists are currently FULLY BOOKED and NOT taking new patients at this time.

Prior to requesting a New Patient Appointment, please check the individual practitioner’s profile page to find out what their current appointment availability is for New Patient Appointments. You can also request their Fee schedule and approximate waiting time for new patient appointments (if available).

NO.
You MUST have a copy of your child’s referral that you can upload via our online form.

A Referral Letter is required to enable you to complete our online new patient form and request an appointment with one of our Paediatric Specialists.

If you do not have a referral as yet, please speak to your child’s GP or other medical doctor about getting a referral letter written to one of our paediatric specialists.

NO.
In order to request a new or first appointment with one of our doctors, Melbourne Paediatric Specialists requires you to complete the initial details and request for an appointment online including uploading your referral. This will enable our staff to review your referral and assign an appropriate appointment for you and your child.

After you submit your information via our New Referrals + New Patient Form, the staff at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists will review your referral and request for an appointment for your child. This will occur during business hours.

Once your details and referral have been confirmed, and an appointment time is able to be allocated, you will then receive a SMS text message from the practice that includes a link to our Online Patient Portal where you can continue to complete a full patient registration for your child.

NOTE: Melbourne Paediatric Specialists is currently receiving a high volume of requests for New Patient Appointments so please be patient as our admin team work through these new patient referrals.

To request a Follow-Up or Review Appointment, please use our Existing Patient Enquiries Form
You will be able to select Follow-Up Appointments as the reason for your enquiry and also for which Practitioner it relates to.

This is the best way to contact our Practice team to request or reschedule another appointment if required.

If you need to send a copy of a new valid referral for your child to continue being cared for by one our Paediatricians or Paediatric Sub-Specialist please use our Existing Patient – Update Referral Form

You will be able to upload a copy of your child’s referral letter that is addressed to their specialist using this form.

This is for our current (existing) patients only.

If you need to CANCEL the appointment for your child please do so as soon as possible to enable us to re-book the appointment time with another patient. We require 48 hours notice to cancel your appointment otherwise you may be charged a late fee.

You can contact us to provide notice to cancel your appointment either by:

1. Existing Patients – Enquiry Form
2. Text us via our online chat app (PODIUM) &/or direct message only on: 0482 073 565

NO:
We are a private billing clinic and we do not offer bulk billing.

We are a group of specialist doctors and allied health clinicians that are committed to providing services with fees as low as possible. However, there may be some reduced out of pocket costs for Healthcare card holders.

You will be requested to pay the full amount for the consultation on the day of your appointment.

We use EFTPOS to receive payments and through Medicare online we will be able to automatically credit the Medicare rebate directly to your account.

Telehealth Appointments & Pin Payments

Due to COVID19 Restrictions and to help in maintaining a healthy and safe environment for both our staff and patients, many Telehealth Consultations are currently being offered for our patients in place of Face-to-Face Appointments. All Telehealth patients will receive a Pin Payment reminder, via SMS after their appointment, which displays a link to which they can click on and can pay the consultation fee via a secure online transaction. Once payment has been received, our admin team will then complete the process through Medicare online for the patient to receive their Medicare rebate credited directly back into their account.

If patients receive an invoice for a Consultation via post or email, patients will also have the option of filling out the bottom of the invoice payment section and either post back to us or email the information and we will put payment through and process the Medicare rebate on their behalf.

BPAY

We offer BPAY transfer and our details are listed on all invoices. When paying via BPAY, please ensure to list your child’s name and invoice number, to expediate receipt of payment and online claiming via Medicare.

Please contact us via our Existing Patient Enquiries Form and select “Billing” if you have a problem or concern with a payment of invoice.

YES:
The admin team at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists will claim the Medicare rebate electronically on your behalf once the full amount for your consultation has been paid.

NOTE: A claim for your Medicare rebate can only be processed if the following requirements have been met:

• You have a valid referral: from your GP or other doctor/medical specialist to see one of our paediatricians or paediatric sub-specialists at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists.
  Referrals from your GP are generally valid for 12 months.
  Referrals from other doctors (other medical specialists) are valid for 3 months.
• You are enrolled in Medicare and have provided your Medicare number to Melbourne Paediatric Specialists when you registered as a “New Patient”.
• The fee required for your consultation/appointment has been paid in full.

The individual fees charged to patients are set by each of the doctors and allied health team members at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists and will also vary according to the type and/or length of appointment.

Consulting Fees

You can view information about each of our Practitioners Consulting fees by visiting an individual practitioner’s profile page and submitting a request via the link at the bottom of the page. You will then receive a PDF via email which details the fees charged to patients by that individual Practitioner.

Late cancellations or anytime you fail to attend a scheduled appointment, without giving appropriate prior notice of cancellation, may incur a fee. (This fee is not rebatable through Medicare).

Melbourne Paediatric Specialists requires 48 hours notice prior to cancellation of an appointment.

Melbourne Paediatric Specialists at the Children’s is co-located at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) site at 48 Flemington Road, Parkville.

Our street and postal address is:

Suite 3.7, Level 3
48 Flemington Road
PARKVILLE VIC 3052

Please note: MPS HAS MOVED – from Monday 22 November 2023,  Melbourne Paediatric Specialists is no longer on Level 4 in Suite 4.3

For more information about our location, getting to the clinic, locating our building entrance etc please visit the following page:

There is metered street parking available in the surrounding area and paid secure undercover parking available on site:

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
https://www.rch.org.au/info/az_guide/Car_parking/

The length of time taken for your appointment will depend on the type of consultation booked and/or required.

Appointment times can vary from a brief review appointment (10 – 15 minutes), upwards to a 1 hour appointment for an extended first consultation. You can confirm how long your appointment might last prior to your scheduled appointment by using our Existing Patient Enquiries Form and selecting “Follow-Up Appointments”.

It is important that you bring any documentation to your appointment including

1. Original copy of your child’s referral
2. Any additional medical reports
3. Any copies of pathology &/or imaging test results

There may be an additional waiting time before you see the doctor for your appointment.
We recommend that you bring something to help keep your child entertained (ie favourite book or toy, comforter, iPad etc) and something for you to read also.

With the current Covid19 restrictions, we cannot see children who are unwell on the day of their appointment.

If you or your child has a fever, cough, sore throat or is generally unwell, please contact our practice. We may be able to set up a telehealth consultation on the day.

Melbourne Paediatric Specialists does have a large waiting room and your other children are welcome. It may be worth considering bringing a relative or a friend to help supervise your other children if required, as this will assist you to more fully concentrate during your child’s consultation with our specialists and/or allied health care team.