After Hours
When the Practice is closed, please call our Locum Service on 3831 9999, who will triage your call and advise you of a course of action. Alternatively you can attend the emergency departments of the Mater Hospital at Woollongabba, Greenslopes Private Hospital, PA Hospital at Buranda or QEII at Nathan (Phone numbers for these hospitals are listed toward the end of the website under Support Services).
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Appointments
On weekdays and evenings, consultation is by appointment. We are committed to continuity of care and therefore we encourage you to see the same doctor, and will make every effort to achieve this for you. If it is not possible, the receptionist will recommend alternatives. Urgent consultations can usually be accommodated because of our flexible appointment system. On weekends and public holidays patients are seen in order of arrival or by appointment.

Phone 3343 0000 for an appointment
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Longer Appointments
Some consultations - for example insurance medicals, pre-employment medicals, female health checks (including Pap. Tests), men's health checks, surgical procedures, travel health, hypnosis and allergy consultations - require a longer consultation. Please inform the receptionist when you are making an appointment for these so enough time can be allowed.
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Assessments for Over 75s
We are pleased to offer a comprehensive annual health review for patients aged over 75 years (or 55 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients). The Health Assessment is an opportunity to explore areas of health that may not be covered during routine medical care. Specifically the assessment looks at:

• Physical ability (how well you manage daily tasks)
• Social Support (what friends, relatives and other supports you have)
• Psychological well-being (how you are coping)
• Health Assessments focus on preventative care - solving problems before they happen, and can identify things that could be done to help the patient live independently in their own home for as long as possible.

Health Assessments are done in two parts:
Firstly a practice nurse will perform a comprehensive interview at the surgery which takes about 45 minutes. Subsequently you attend your normal doctor for a medical checkup and completion of the assessment. Speak to your doctor or one of our nurses if you would like a Health Assessment.
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Asthma Service
Metropol Medical Centre is committed to promoting the better management of asthma in the community. Hence we offer the service of an Asthma Education Service. These sessions address: causes and symptoms of asthma, social and lifestyle issues, trigger factors and avoidance, medications and delivery devices, peak flows, emergency procedures and more. The sessions are run by an your doctor, adhere to the principles of the National Asthma Campaign. You need to see your doctor to book in.
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Autonomy
If is the policy of the Metropol Medical Centre that all doctors have complete autonomy in clinical decision making, in whom they refer patients to, and to which pathology and diagnostic imaging services they refer.
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Childhood Immunisations
Visits solely for scheduled childhood immunisations will be bulk-billed.
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Diabetes Service
All doctors at Metropol Medical Centre can refer patients to our Diabetes Service, which provides:

• Diabetes education and information
• Education and review of blood glucose meters and insulin delivery devices
• Diabetes complications screening
• Diabetes care plan where appropriate and personal self management goals
• In addition Dr Martinovic offers longer consultations for diabetic patients

Information brochures about our Diabetes Clinic are available from reception.
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Documents and Forms
Sometimes a third party will ask you to have forms filled out by your doctor. Examples of these include:- Immunisation certificates, Department of Social Security Reviews, school camp asthma plans etc. Please make an appointment to see your doctor for these. In certain circumstances, your doctor may agree to complete work for you without your attendance. Fees will apply for these services.
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Feedback/ Complaints
We are always keen to receive feedback about any of our services. Regular surveys are conducted in our waiting room, so occasionally you may be asked to complete one of these. If there are other matters you wish to raise with the practice, you may write to the Practice Manager. If you need to take the matter further, you may write to the Health Rights Commission:

Level 18, 288 Edward St Brisbane 4000
GPO Box 3089 Brisbane 4001
Phone - (07) 3234 0272 (Brisbane metro)
Freecall™ 1800 077 308 (excluding Bris metro)
Fax - (07) 3234 0333
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Fees
We are not a bulk-billing clinic. Consultation fees are time and complexity based. To keep consultation costs and waiting times down - please ensure that you keep to the time duration you have booked. (Please note: Extra time = Extra fees). Full payment is expected at the time of the visit. Credit cards and EFTPOS facilities are available. Podiatry and Psychology as well as speech therapy can be paid for with HiCaps.

After Hours fees apply after 1.00 p.m. on Saturdays, all day Sunday, all day on Public Holidays, and after 8.00 p.m. Monday - Friday. Although after hours appointments attract a higher fee, the out-of-pocket gap is exactly the same as for daytime consultations.

Most procedures performed in our treatment room will not be bulk-billed. Concession patients will be charged a reduced fee, which will leave a gap.

Dressings and other items that are not covered by Medicare will need to be paid for, either by purchasing from the pharmacy at a discounted price or by an extra fee being added to your account.

A fee will be charged for patients who fail to attend their appointment, and do not cancel within a reasonable time.
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Home Visits?
During weekdays we do home visits for our patients in the local area if necessary. Where possible we ask that you ring before 10.00 a.m. to arrange these. Sometimes demand for this service will exceed our ability to respond and you may be asked whether you would like a locum visit arranged. Higher fees will be charged for all home visits.
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Annual Health Checks
Males carry a greater burden of ill-health through every decade of their lives, yet they use health services and preventative health strategies less than females. Metropol Medical Centre has developed an in-depth Men's Annual Checkup, designed for males aged 35-65 years. Appointments are available in designated times (often in the evening) with a guarantee of no long waits in the waiting room. The whole body check up comprises: heart risk evaluation, ECG, respiratory assessment, diabetes check, fitness test, skin cancer check, eye check, hearing screening test and prostate check when appropriate.

Metropol Medical Centre has an in-depth Men's Annual Checkup, designed for males aged 35-65 years. This is a preventative health strategy suitable for busy men or for companies wishing to safeguard their male workers. The Annual Health Check is available to women also.
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Parking
Ample parking is available at the Metropol Shopping Centre, including covered parking underneath our Medical Centre. Access to the centre from this car park is only by stairs. Urgent cases and disabled patients can use parking immediately in front of the practice entrance. There is easy wheelchair access and no steps or stairs from the front of the Practice. Wheelchairs are available at the adjacent pharmacy. Please never leave your car parked in the parking space immediately in front of the centre as Ambulances frequently need access to our main entrance.
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Prescriptions
Normally an appointment will be made to see a doctor for repeat medication. In certain circumstances, your doctor may be prepared to write a prescription without your attendance. There is a nominal charge for this. The phone request should be made before noon, and we will endeavour to have the prescription ready the same day.
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Privacy
Your privacy has always been a high priority at Metropol Medical Centre. We take great care of private information about you that is held in our records, and we comply with both the Health Records Act 2001 (Qld) and the Privacy Act 1998. A copy of our Privacy Policy is available upon request.
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Reminder System
To improve continuity of care, we offer a reminder service. If, for some reason you do not wish to use this service, please notify us. While we make every effort to send reminder letters or SMS messages, it is your responsibility to return for further assessment or check-ups if your doctor has indicated this is necessary.
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Results of Investigations
Unless previously organized with your doctor, patients are asked to make an appointment for results of investigations.

Results of investigations will not be given to you over the telephone by nursing or reception staff or by doctors other than the one who ordered the test.
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Telephone Calls to Your Doctor
If you phone the Clinic requesting to speak to your doctor, you may be asked to leave a number on which you can be contacted. Most doctors return phone calls at the end of their session (either during their lunch break or at the end of the day). If the matter is urgent, either your doctor, another doctor or the practice nurse will be able to take your call immediately.

Please understand that in many instances, the doctor or nurse will be unable to provide advice over the telephone. Metropol Medical Centre is very conscious of the risk of providing incorrect advice over the phone, and wherever possible, patients are encouraged to attend the clinic in person.

These include medical emergencies, unexpected phone calls from other health workers regarding sick patients, earlier consultations running overtime because insufficient time was booked extra family members being squeezed into appointments and many others.
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Travel Medicine
We are a able to provide a range of travel resources, advice and vaccines including Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid, Meningococcal, Polio and Tetanus, and travel vaccination certificates.
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Waiting Times
We are very aware of the importance of our patients' time and we go to great lengths to see our patients at their booked times. Unfortunately due to a range of reasons this is not always possible. These include medical emergencies, unexpected phone calls from other health workers regarding sick patients, earlier consultations running overtime because insufficient time was booked (see above), extra family members being squeezed into appointments and many others. If your doctor is running behind schedule you will be notified. You may be offered an alternate doctor, if one is available, but the choice will be entirely yours. Please do not book for a single problem (10 minutes) if you in fact have more than one problem that you wish to discuss with the Doctor. Less urgent problems can be booked for another time otherwise you will be charged for a longer consultation. We are keen to try and keep out appointments running on time to minimize inconvenience to waiting patients.
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Websites
Metropol Medical Centre encourages patients to be cautious about medical information found on the internet. If you do searches on the Internet you may find the following websites offer more dependable medical information:
www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo - Children's Health
www.dermnetnz.org - Dermatology
www.mydr.com.au - General medical information
www.nps.org.au/consumers - Medicines
www.nevdgp.org.au/travel/Resources/travlnks.htm - Travel Web Links
www.healthinsite.gov.au - Gateway to other reliable health websites
www.andrologyaustralia.org - Men's Health