Practice Information for Patients

Tasman Medical Centre is currently enrolling new patients who are residing in the Richmond area. Please speak to our friendly reception team and ask for an enrolment form.

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General practice provides comprehensive primary, community-based, and continuing patient-centred health care to patients enrolled with them and others who consult. General practice services include the diagnosis, management and treatment of health conditions, continuity of health care throughout the lifespan, health promotion, prevention, screening, and referral to hospital and specialists.

Most general practice providers are affiliated to a PHO. The fund-holding role of PHOs allows an extended range of services to be provided across the collective of providers within a PHO.

Enrolling with a Primary Health Organisation

What is a PHO?

Primary Health Organisations are the local structures for delivering and co-ordinating primary health care services. PHOs bring together doctors, nurses and other health professionals (such as Māori health workers, health promoters, dietitians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health workers and midwives) in the community to serve the needs of their enrolled populations.

PHOs receive a set amount of funding from the government to ensure the provision of a range of health services, including visits to the doctor. Funding is based on the people enrolled with the PHO and their characteristics (e.g. age and gender). Funding also pays for services that help people stay healthy and services that reach out to groups in the community who are missing out on health services or who have poor health.

Benefits of Enrolling

Enrolling is free and voluntary. If you choose not to enrol you can still receive health services from a chosen GP / general practice / provider of First Level primary health care services. Advantages of enrolling are that your visits to the doctor will be cheaper and you will have direct access toa range of services linked to the PHO.

‍How do I enrol?

To enrol, you need to complete an Enrolment Form at the general practice of your choice. Parents can enrol children under 16 years of age, but children over 16 years need to sign their own form.

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Question and Answers

 What happens if I go to another General Practice?

You can go to another general practice or change to a new general practice at any time. If you are enrolled in a PHO through one general practice and visit another practice as a casual patient you will pay a higher fee for that visit. So if you have more than one general practice you should consider enrolling with the practice you visit most often.

What happens if the general practice changes to a new PHO?

If the general practice changes to a new PHO the practice will make this information available to you.

What happens if I am enrolled in a general practice but don’t see them very often?

If you have not received services from your general practice in a 3 year period it is likely that the practice will contact you and ask if you wish to remain with the practice. If you are not able to be contacted or do not respond your name will be taken off the Practice and PHO Enrolment Registers. You can re-enrol with the same general practice or another general practice and the affiliated PHO at a later time.

‍How do I know if I’m eligible for publicly funded health and disability services?

Talk to the practice staff, call 0800 855 151, or visit http://www.moh.govt.nz/eligibility and work through the Guide to Eligibility Criteria.

Tasman Medical Is CURRENTLY only taking new Enrolments for those in the Richmond and surrounding area

Living in New Zealand, it is essential to consider the health of your skin. A full skin check offers the best chance to detect skin cancers early.

Our SCCA (Skin Cancer College of Australasia) qualified Doctors offer comprehensive 30 minute full body skin examinations, diagnosis and treatments. 

Patients are encouraged to SCAN their skin for any lesion that is:

S-Sore -any skin lesion that is sore, scaly, itchy, bleeding or tender and doesn’t heal in 6 weeks

C- Changing  - in size, color, texture or shape.

A- Abnormal- looks or feels different or stands out compared to your other spots or moles.

N- New- has appeared on your skin recently. Any new moles or spots should be checked, especially if you over40. 

If you wish to consider a skin check, please call 03 544 7272 to book an appointment with one of our Skin Doctors

Skin Doctors

Dr Bee Hildick-Smith

Dr Katy Roff

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Charges and fees:

Skin check appointments are $220 for a 30 min consultation

Payments are required at time of booking and will be rescheduled if not paid prior to appointment.

Cancellations: Cancellations prior to appointment will incur a 50% cancellation fee

Cancellations or 'no show' missed appointments on the day will be charged at the full consultation fee

• Immigration medicals must be booked and paid for in advance, payment in full must be made within 24 hours of booking your appointment.
• We need a name, address, mobile phone number, email and a contact person for the appointment.
• You must bring your passport (NOT a photocopy)
• Do not bring any medical forms-we complete it online at the Practice.
• Do not bring a photo- we take it here.
• Please let us know if you need an interpreter.
• You may bring a support person if you need.
• If 18 years or under, a parent/guardian is to accompany you.
• Three easy steps- medical assessment, chest x-ray and blood tests, which can all be done in Richmond. You must have had a chest x-ray within the last two years.
• We will require a urine sample while you are here.
• Total process takes 7-10 working days.

Booking an immigration medical

To complete a booking application, please click HERE.

Once your details have been sent, we will call you to confirm a booking day/time. Please note, due to high demand, please allow up to 10 working days for a booking confirmation. Appointment availability can be up to a 6 week waiting time.

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To see our fees click HERE

Payments are required at time of booking and will be rescheduled if not paid prior to appointment.

Cancellations: Cancellations prior to appointment will incur a 50% cancellation fee

Cancellations or 'no show' missed appointments on the day will be charged at the full consultation fee

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Chest X-ray

Your chest x-ray can be booked at Pacific Radiology.

186 Queen Street (03 544 1306)
105 Collingwood Street (03 548 2745)

Cost: (To be confirmed by Service provider)

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Blood Tests

Blood tests are taken at Awanui lab

355 Lower Queen Street (03 544 5576)
Nelson Hospital (03 546 1632)
63 Collingwood Street (03 548 4262)
158 High Street, Motueka (03 528 1088)

Cost: (To be confirmed by Service provider)

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Please note: if a medical issue is discovered, there will be additional charges involved, including GP time, tests and investigations.

For urgent care outside of clinic hours: Medical and Injury Centre Ltd.

You can find their website HERE

If you are a new patient, you must be seen by a doctor first before medications are given.

For regular patients, repeat prescriptions for some regular medication may be obtained without making an appointment to see your doctor, but this is always at the doctor’s discretion, you may be asked to attend for a consultation before receiving your medications. The final decision on types and amounts of medications supplied on repeat prescription is up to your doctor.

We do not normally provide repeats if you were not seen for your last prescription or if your medication was changed at your last visit.

An appointment is always needed for certain medications e.g., antibiotics.

‍Please note, fees apply to prescriptions if they are not part of a consultation.

• Repeat prescriptions require 72 hours to prepare.
• Same day urgent scripts (within 24 hours) are an additional charge.
• Prescriptions will be electronically sent to your pharmacy of choice.

We will phone you if results are abnormal. However, if you have any concerns, you may phone and request for the nurse to call you back to discuss.

Alternatively, you can access your results online on our patient portal ManageMyHealth, once the GP has viewed and downloaded them.

Our reception staff do not provide medical advice or results.

Information on the Health Information Privacy Code 1994 can be viewed on line:  www.privacy.org.nz

A copy of the Health and Disability Consumers Rights can be downloaded from the Health and Disability website:  www.hdc.org.nz

Under the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, patients have the right to:

1. Be treated with respect
2. Freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment and exploitation
3. Dignity and independence
4. Services of an appropriate standard
5. Effective communication
6. Be fully informed
7. Make an informed choice and give informed consent
8. Support
9. Rights in respect of teaching or research
10. Complain

We value your feedback as an opportunity for us to look at how we can improve our services to you. If you wish to make a comment or compliment we have a box on the front reception desk.

Should you have concerns, you can ask to speak to our Practice Manager or you may put your concerns in writing and email it to practice.manager@tasmanmedical.co.nz. It is best if you do this as soon as you can after the event.

Our aim is to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion for all parties concerned.

Use and confidentiality of your health information (fact sheet)

Your privacy and confidentiality will be fully respected. This fact sheet sets out why we collect your information and how that information will be used.

Purpose

We collect your health information to provide a record of care. This helps you receive quality treatment and care when you need it.

We also collect your health information to help:

• keep you and others safe
• plan and fund health services
• carry out authorised research
• train healthcare professionals
• prepare and publish statistics
• improve government services.

Confidentiality and information sharing

Your privacy and the confidentiality of your information is really important to us.

• Your health practitioner will record relevant information from your consultation in your notes.
• Your health information will be shared with others involved in your healthcare, and with other agencies with your consent, or if authorised by law.
• You don’t have to share your health information, however, withholding it may affect the quality of care you receive. Talk to your health practitioner if you have any concerns.
• You have the right to know where your information is kept, who has access rights, and, if the system has audit log capability, who has viewed or updated your information.
• Your information will be kept securely to prevent unauthorised access.

Information quality

We’re required to keep your information accurate, up-to-date and relevant for your treatment and care.

Right to access and correct

You have the right to access and correct your health information.

• You have the right to see and request a copy of your health information. You don’t have to explain why you’re requesting that information, but may be required toprovide proof of your identity. If you requesta second copy of that information within 12 months, you may have to pay an administration fee.
• You can ask for health information about you to be corrected. Practice staff should provide you with reasonable assistance. If your healthcare provider chooses not to change that information, you can have this noted on your file.

Many practices now offer a patient portal, which allows you to view some of your practice health records online.

Ask your practice if they’re offering a portal so you can register.

Use of your health information

Below are some examples of how your health information is used.

• Your practice is contracted to a Primary Health Organisation (PHO) so the PHO may use your information for clinical and administrative purposes including obtaining subsidised funding for you.
• Your District Health Board (DHB) uses your information to provide treatment and care, and to improve the quality of its services.
• A clinical audit may be conducted by a qualified health practitioner to review the quality of services provided to you. They may also view health records if the audit involves checking on health matters.
• When you choose to register in a health programme (e.g. immunisation or breast screening), relevant information may be shared with other health agencies involved in providing that health programme.
• The Ministry of Health uses your demographic information to assign a unique number to you on the National Health Index (NHI). This NHI number will help identify you when you use health services.
• The Ministry of Health uses health information to measure how well health services are delivered and to plan and fund future health services. Auditors may occasionally conduct financial audits of your health practitioner. The auditors may review your records and may contact you to check that you received those services.
• Notification of births and deaths to the Births, Deaths and Marriages register may be performed electronically to streamline a person’s interactions with government.
• Your practice is contributing to, and accessing healthcare information from HealthOne -  

What is HealthOne?

HealthOne is a South Island based secure electronic record that allows registered healthcare providers directly involved in your healthcare, to quickly access information such as your test results, allergies, medications, GP summaries and hospital information. HealthOne strictly adheres to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020 as well as the Rules set out in the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.  Access is only possible via an approved highly secure healthcare information network which is regularly audited and tested.  Privacy auditing is used to check that only those directly involved in your care are accessing your information.  To find out more about HealthOne please visit https://healthone.org.nz/. Please note that you are entitled to restrict the sharing of your healthcare records by contacting 0508 837 872 or emailing HealthOne.privacy@pegasus.health.nz 

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Research

Your health information may be used in research, approved by an ethics committee, or when it has had identifying details removed.

• Research which may directly or indirectly identify you can only be published if the researcher has previously obtained your consent and the study has received ethics approval.
• Under the law, you are not required to give consent to the use of your health information if it’s for unpublished research or statistical purposes, or if it’s published in a way that doesn’t identify you.

Complaints

It’s OK to complain if you’re not happy with the way your health information is collected or used. Please talk to us in the first instance. If you are still unhappy with the response you can call the Office of the Privacy Commissioner toll-free on 0800 803 909, and they may investigate further. 

For further information

• Visit www.legislation.govt.nz to access the Health Act 1956, Official Information Act 1982 and Privacy Act 1993.
• The Health Information Privacy Code 1994 is available at www.privacy.org.nz. You can also use the Privacy Commissioner’s Ask Us tool for privacy queries.
• A copy of the Health and Disability Committee’s Standard Operating procedures can be found at ethics.health.govt.nz/operating-procedures

I understand the following:

‍Access to my health information

I have the right to access (and have corrected) my health information under Rules 6 and 7 of the Health Information Privacy Code 1994.

‍Visiting another GP

If I visit another GP who is not my regular doctor, I will be asked for permission to share information from the visit with my regular doctor or practice.

If I am under six years old or have a High User Health Card, or a Community Services Card, and I visit another GP who is not my regular doctor, he/she can make a claim for a subsidy, and the practice I am enrolled in will be informed of the date of that visit. The name of the practice I visited and the reason(s) for the visit will not be disclosed unless I give my consent.

‍Patient Enrolment Information

The information I have provided on the Practice Enrolment Form will be:

• held by the practice
• used by the Ministry of Health to give me a National Health Index (NHI) number, or update any changes
• sent to the PHO and Ministry of Health to obtain subsidised funding on my behalf
• used to determine eligibility to receive publicly-funded services. Information may be compared with other government agencies but only when permitted under the Privacy Act.

‍Health Information

Members of my health team may:

• add to my health record during any services provided to me and use that information to provide appropriate care
• share relevant health information to other health professionals who are directly involved in my care

‍Audit

In the case of financial audits, my health information may be reviewed by an auditor for checking a financial claim made by the practice, but only according to the terms and conditions of section 22G of the Health Act (or any subsequent applicable Act). I may be contacted by the audit or to check that services have been received. If the audit involves checking on health matters, an appropriately qualified health care practitioner will view the health records.

Health Programmes

Health data relevant to a programme in which I am enrolled (e.g. Breast Screening, Immunisation, Diabetes) may be sent to the PHO or the external health agency managing this programme.

‍Other Uses of Health Information

Health information, which will not include my name but may include my National Health Index Identifier (NHI), may be used by health agencies such as the District Health Board, Ministry of Health or PHO for the following purposes, as long as it is not used or published in a way that can identify me:

• health service planning and reporting
• monitoring service quality, and payment.

Research

My health information may be used for health research, but only if this has been approved by an Ethics Committee and will not be used or published in a way that can identify me.

Except as listed above, I understand that details about my health status or the services I have received will remain confidential within the medical practice unless I give specific consent for this information to be communicated.

Appointments

Standard appointments are scheduled for 15-minute intervals.

It is usually only possible to deal with one problem in that time.

If you think you will need longer, please book a longer appointment which may incur an extra fee.

Credit Terms and Conditions of Trade

1. PAYMENT for all services is on the DATE OF SERVICE unless prior arrangement is made with practice management.
2. NO CREDIT is available for visitors/casual patients/new patients/bad debtors.
3. An invoice not paid at the time of the appointment will incur a $10 administration fee. Exceptions to this are patients with regular automatic payment set up, Phone consultations or flu clinic appointments (for these, payment is due within 24 hours of appointment).
4. Tasman Medical Centre will endeavor to send an outstanding invoice via email, text, or post. A statement will also be emailed or posted at the start of each month.
5. A MAXIMUM of $100 credit limit applies and only in exceptional circumstances by prior arrangement. Where this limit or time for payment is exceeded, the patient will be notified and Tasman Medical Centre may cease to provide non-urgent medical services.
6. Unpaid accounts will incur a $10 late fee after 30 and 60 days and will be referred to a debt collection agency after 90 days. Fees incurred in the collection of overdue accounts are payable by the debtor (patient).
7. Tasman Medical Centre reserves the right to charge a full consult for missed appointments.
8. Cancellation of appointments MUST be made 24 hours prior to appointments time; ON THE DAY cancellations will incur a $15 fee.
9. A scheduled phone consult will be charged at normal consult rates.
10. Charges may be made for forms left for completion by the doctor or other work performed outside the consultation time.