Appointments

For all appointments and enquiries, please call (03) 9928 6261.

Please print out and complete the Patient Registration Form and fax to us on (03) 9928 6260 or bring completed form with you to your appointment.

Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment.

Office hours: Monday – Friday 9.00am – 4.30pm.

 
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When you come for your appointment please remember to obtain and bring the following:

• Referral letter from GP, family physician or other doctor
• Medicare card, DVA card, Pension Card
• Have your Private Hospital Insurance information with you
• Copies of results, x-rays, MRI’s. CT scans etc and any other relevant information

If you need to postpone or cancel an Appointment:

Telephone the office during business hours and allow at least 24 hours notice so that we can offer your appointment time to patients on our waiting list.

We recognise that your time is valuable, and we make every effort to run on time. Occasionally emergencies or patients require a little more time, and these cause scheduling delays beyond our control. We apologise if we keep you waiting.

Making Your Appointment

When you call to enquire about making a new patient appointment, Sue (pictured right) will ask you a few preliminary questions, and for details of any previous or recent breast investigations you may have undergone. Before an appointment is able to be offered, you may be asked to email more details, including any recent breast investigation reports, potentially enabling us to arrange additional tests to be performed prior to your initial consultation with Miss O’Brien if indicated.

The aim is to streamline the process as much as possible, minimising unnecessary visits.

For new patients with a confirmed breast cancer diagnosis or highly suspicious breast imaging, it is imperative that Miss O’Brien is able to view any recent breast imaging in a high resolution format, prior to your appointment, which often requires electronic transfer of the images via PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) to our local imaging provider (I-Med, East Melbourne), a process which usually takes around 24 hours. You may have been provided with links to your breast imaging by Breastscreen Victoria or other imaging services, however the images available for viewing on these platforms are not of diagnostic quality, and are not a suitable alternative to the images digitally transmitted via PACS, which are required by both Miss O’Brien and her radiology colleagues.

Depending on your imaging provider, it may be necessary on occasions to delay your appointment until we are able to access your imaging, as your breast imaging forms an essential component of your breast assessment.

Attending Your Appointment

A breast cancer clinic is not the ideal place for small children, and it is not appropriate for young children to be present during your consultation with the surgeon, so we ask that if at all possible, arrangements be made to care for them when you attend for your appointment Consultations are chaperoned by our breast nurses, but do not hesitate to bring your partner, spouse or a friend with you.

Punctuality is a high priority for this practice, and we ask that you please arrive on time for your appointment. As an extended time slot is allocated for new patient consultations, if you are late for your new patient appointment, particularly if it is early in a clinic session, it may need to be rescheduled, or at the least, postponed until the end of the consulting session, as it is not fair to delay all the other patients attending the session.

We appreciate that your time is also valuable, and we make every possible effort to run on time. Occasionally consultations unexpectedly require a little more time than anticipated, causing delays beyond our control, and we apologise in advance if we unavoidably keep you waiting.

If the information below has not been provided prior to your appointment, please bring with you details of:

• Medicare Card
• Private health insurance details
• DVA card (if applicable)
• Current referral letter. A referral from your GP is usually valid for twelve months, but referrals from other specialists are only ever valid for three months. A current referral is required in order for you to be eligible to claim a Medicare rebate for your consultation.
• Test results-reports on any recent and/or previous relevant tests, including breast imaging and needle biopsies (if applicable)
• An up to date list of current medications, including dosages

Updating Records

It is very important that we have your current email address and phone number. Please make Sue aware of any changes.

If you need to postpone or cancel an Appointment:

If you are unable to keep an appointment, please telephone the office during business hours. We ask that you kindly provide us with at least 24 hours notice if possible, as this courtesy on your part, makes it possible to offer your appointment time to another patient.