For Patients

To make a Medicare claim, a valid referral is required. A valid referral can be for 12 months from your General Practitioner or 3 months from your specialist. GPs may also issue indefinite referrals which may be used for a longer period.  However, you will need a new referral if this GP moves or retires from practice.  Please be aware, if you have no valid referral or valid Medicare card at the time of your appointment you will be liable for the entire payment of services and will not receive a rebate from Medicare.

In order to book an appointment, you must first obtain a referral from your GP or other treating specialist. This will need to be faxed, emailed or posted to the clinic for triaging by one of our cardiologists to ensure all necessary testing is undertaken prior to seeing your cardiologist. Once your referral has been triaged, you will be contacted by one of our administrative staff to book a suitable appointment time. Please ensure your best contact details are provided.

If the appointment is urgent, the referring physician can call the clinic on your behalf and request an urgent review.

To help your appointment run efficiently, it is important that the Cardiovascular Centre has a valid referral. This allows the Cardiologist to have an informed history and allows you to receive rebates from Medicare. Please bring a list of all your current medications or ensure this information is given in the referral. For further information about referrals, please see our referrals section.

You should bring your Medicare and any concession cards to your appointment in case we need to check the details.

It is helpful to arrive around 10 minutes before your scheduled appointment time to allow time to complete any required paperwork. Prior to your appointment with the cardiologist, our technician will conduct some preliminary observations such as weight, height, blood pressure and an ECG. Arriving early also helps streamline this process.

You will be asked to settle your account on the day of your appointment. You may make your payment by cash, credit card or EFTPOS. We can then submit the claim to Medicare on your behalf and you will be reimbursed directly from Medicare by direct payment into your nominated bank account. Please inform our staff if you have any concession cards.

A request for access to your medical record held by the Cardiovascular Centre should be directed to your cardiologist. This request will need to be in written form.

We take pride in the services we offer and welcome any comments. Please feel free to discuss any suggestions and concerns you may have with our staff.