Terms of Service
Confidentiality
As part of providing a service to you or your child/dependent, Healthy Mind Centre Launceston (HMC) need to collect and store personal information that is relevant to your situation and the service you will be provided. This information includes names, contact details, medical history, and other relevant information required to provide allied health services to you. The collection of this information is a necessary part of accessing allied health services and will only be used for the primary purpose of collecting that information, or a secondary purpose closely related to that primary purpose. Our current privacy policy contains further information and can be accessed via our website https://www.healthymindcentre.com.au/privacy-policy or a printed copy can be requested from the practice.
All personal information obtained by Healthy Mind Centre Launceston is kept confidential and secure and will only be accessed by your clinician/s and other authorised personnel within or associated with the practice, except when:
Your clinical file is subpoenaed by a court, or disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
Your treating clinician, or another authorised person such as their clinical supervisor, has a reasonable belief that failure to disclose the information would place you or another person’s life, health or safety at risk; or
Your prior approval has been obtained to:
Provide a written report to another health professional, professional or agency, such as treating doctor, lawyer, or school; or
Discuss the material with another person, such as a parent/legal guardian, employer, school, or third-party funder; or
Disclose the material in another way approved by you.
Healthy Mind Centre Launceston is required to disclose your personal information to an appropriate third party for the primary purpose of providing an allied health service, or for a purpose closely related to the primary purpose, including reasons such as for your clinician to utilise an external secure online portal to complete psychometric assessments, determining funding eligibility, accounting and billing purposes, ensuring ethical and legal requirements are met, during clinical supervision, etc.
If you claim rebates or receive funding from funding bodies, health professionals are typically required to provide summary reports to referring doctors, specialists and/or agencies regarding your progress. Health research using de-identified data may also be undertaken by this practice, by funding bodies, or by this practice’s technology providers, with your consent.
Information Security and Access
All clinical documentation collected during your treatment and all communications relating to your treatment become a part of your clinical record. Your clinical records are stored electronically in your patient file or in a locked filing cabinet in a secure room, which you consent to as a patient of this practice. Clinical records are legally required to be kept for 7 years from the date of last service, or for a person under 18 years of age, kept for 7 years after they turn 18.
You have a general right to access the information in your clinical file under the Privacy Act (1998), subject to some exceptions which mainly relate to privacy, health or legal considerations, and can request access to the information in your clinical file at any time. Your request must be made in writing, after which your request and any associated fees will be discussed with you.
Fees, Payments and Rebates
Fees vary between clinicians and depend on the service provided. Please ensure you are aware of and agree to all fees and charges prior to accessing any service from us. Up to date fees and charges information can be requested from your treating clinician and/or the HMC admin team. Please note that Healthy Mind Centre Launceston is not a bulk-billing practice, and all services provided may attract a fee.
Payment is required on the day of consultation for direct services, and before a final report is provided for assessment services. Payment of cancellation fees is also due on the day, unless otherwise authorised. It is your responsibility to ensure payment occurs on time. The only exception to this is if a third-party organisation is funding your service directly, in which case we will bill that organisation directly.
Our preferred payment methods are EFTPOS, Apple/Android/Samsung Pay, and direct deposit (bank transfer) payment methods. If you pay online, we recommend you send us a confirmation of payment. We can also accept exact cash. We do not accept cheques (with the exception of some third-party payers). We are able to accept credit card payments over the phone during office hours. We do not charge any additional fees for payments made using the above methods.
If you are not able to pay on the day, or if you would otherwise prefer us to automatically debit your credit card, we can also accept payments via our practice software, Halaxy, using Halaxy’s secure payment portal. This payment method will attract an additional processing fee (up to $1 plus 1.9% of the total fee), which is the exact merchant fee charged to us by Halaxy for these payments. Because of this fee, we recommend you choose to use one of the other preferred payment methods listed above.
All private clients (including NDIS self-managed participants, Medicare, and private-pay clients) will be required to supply their credit card details and authorise us to automatically bill your credit card for the invoice total plus the additional processing fee, should payment not be received within 3 business of an appointment (unless an alternate acceptable payment arrangement has been made).
If you have an outstanding account and have not contacted us to arrange payment, you may not be able to access further services until payment is made and any future appointments may be cancelled.
We are happy to process your Medicare rebates on your behalf, if you choose. If you are intending to claim a rebate via your private health insurance company, you can be provided with a paid invoice to submit to your insurer, or we may be able to process your claim in the office.
Cancellation Policy
At HMC Launceston, we value our clients’ and our team member’s time. Whilst we understand unexpected things and emergencies sometimes happen, late notice cancellations or not arriving at your appointment impacts your progress, our ability to provide you a service, and other clients who may be waiting to attend an appointment.
In order to provide the best possible care, if you cancel/ fail to attend 3 appointments in a row, you may be discharged back to your GP, unless prior agreement has been made with your clinician.
If you have not arrived within 10 minutes of your appointment start time, your appointment may need to be shortened (if appropriate) or cancelled, and fees will apply as below. In the event your appointment is shortened but you still attend, you will still be responsible for the full appointment amount, but your rebate (if you are eligible for one) may be a lower amount.
Where possible, if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment with less than 48 hour’s notice, we will endeavour to book someone else into that appointment spot. If we can successfully book another client into the appointment spot, you will not be charged a cancellation fee. If for any reason we are not able to schedule another client into that timeslot, the following cancellation fees apply:
For private clients (including clients accessing Medicare rebates):
• 0-24 hours cancellation notice – full fee applies
• 24-48 hours cancellation notice – 50% of full fee applies
• 48+ hours cancellation notice – no fee
NDIS Participants (self-managed, plan-managed and agency-managed)
• 0-2 business days cancellation notice – full fee applies
• 2+ business days cancellation notice – no fee
Please note: Medicare or Private Health Insurance rebates do not apply to cancellation fees. If you have a cancellation fee, you will be required to pay the full fee out of pocket.
If you have a Third Party provider, your cancellation fee may not be covered by their funding, therefore, you will be required to pay the cancellation fee in full.
Please phone (03) 6388 9229 or email admin@healthymindcentre.com.au to cancel or reschedule your appointment, or reply “No” to your appointment text reminder to cancel your appointment. Please provide as much notice as possible to allow us to try and fill your appointment slot with another client and rebook you into a new appointment slot, and to avoid needing to pay cancellation fees.