Doctor Communication Policy

To ensure prompt delivery of care and reduced wait times our consultants are fully booked each day. Empowered Minds Clinic is therefore unable to accept direct communication to our psychiatrist from patients via phone call or email.

• All correspondence will be filtered by our administration team and communications will be forwarded to your psychiatrist.
• Please take note of your psychiatrist’s working days. They may not check their correspondence outside of these times. Your query will be answered, and the response will be forwarded to you by our administration team.
• If you were asked to provide additional information following your last appointment, please contact our reception team at info@empoweredmindsclinic.com with the necessary information or upload (and click to share) this directly to the patient portal for your psychiatrist to review. Please note, any information shared with your psychiatrist via your Halaxy portal will not be visible to our admin team to maintain confidentiality.
• If you have more concerns you want to discuss with your consultant, please book a follow-up appointment. This includes enquiries about medical conditions, symptoms, prescriptions, medical reports, medical certificates and application forms.

Please note, as a private telehealth clinic we cannot provide appointments at short notice or emergency care. In an emergency, please call triple zero (000) or seek assistance from your local emergency department. This includes all current and future patients of Empowered Minds Clinic. If you are a current client and have accessed emergency services since your last appointment or feel that your circumstances have changed and you need to see your psychiatrist, please schedule the next available follow up appointment at your earliest convenience and consider contacting our reception team to be added to the cancellation list.

Privacy Policy

Please refer to our separate privacy policy document on our website (www.empoweredmindsclinic.com).

Communication

By providing your contact details and those of your referrer you consent to these details being used to send information about appointments or assessments. This may include Personal and/or Sensitive Information. Please inform us if this is a concern for you. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for further information.

Collateral History Policy

In order to provide our patients with quality care, it may be necessary for your psychiatrist to gather collateral history from third parties including other health professionals, family, friends or loved ones. Generally, this occurs within your appointment when other people are present during your consultation; e.g. parents are asked about their concerns when the child is the patient. However, at times it may not be possible or appropriate to gain collateral history within the appointment.

• If your psychiatrist needs to contact third parties outside of your scheduled appointment, we will bulk bill this cost; therefore, there will be no cost to you as the patient.
• You, the patient, must complete a consent form for bulk-billed consultations. This enables Medicare to release the rebate funds to Empowered Minds Clinic as a form of payment for services delivered.
• If you do not complete the consent form when this is provided, you must pay an out-ofpocket fee for this service to the equivalent cost of the Medicare rebate.
• This consent form will be provided to you as necessary.

Risk Policy

As a private telehealth clinic, we are best suited to serve the needs of those with mild to moderate mental health concerns. We therefore recommend that those deemed at higher risk of harm to self or others seek a referral to a more appropriate service via your general practitioner.

• If you require immediate support, please call triple zero (000) or visit the emergency department at your local hospital. Alternatively, please call the Mental Health Line number specific to your state.
• If you are a current client of Empowered Minds Clinic and you are experiencing thoughts of harm to yourself or others, we recommend that you contact triple zero (000) for support or visit the emergency department at your local hospital. Acute care assessments/services can also be requested via the Mental Health Line number specific to your state
• Please ensure that you schedule an appointment with your psychiatrist at Empowered Minds Clinic at your earliest convenience once you have accessed emergency services. The purpose of this appointment is to offer further assessment and treatment in light of the change in risk. Any emergency support will still need to be provided by the emergency/acute care services in your local area.
• Please read our Privacy Policy which outlines when your doctor must break confidentiality.