They aim to keep their patients healthy by diagnosing and
treating physical illnesses, injuries or mental health
problems.
Doctors are widely available around Australia. They will keep
your health issues private and their services are either free or at
low cost. This means that seeing a doctor is a great place to start
when you are concerned about any health issues including
contraception, sexual health, drug or alcohol use, relationship
problems, or feeling down or upset.
Finding a Doctor
One way of finding a doctor is to ask your friends, family or
someone at school or work who they would recommend. There might
also be a medical centre in your area where you can simply drop in
and ask about their services. You can also ask at
headspace, look in the Yellow Pages, or search the
internet. Schools, TAFEs and universities often know about local
doctors, and sometimes have their own medical services.
Making an appointment
You'll usually need to make an appointment to see a doctor,
either by phoning or dropping into their medical practice. The
receptionist doesn't need to know the reason why you want to see
the doctor. If it's your first visit, you will probably have to
provide some personal contact details.
If it's an urgent problem, you should say so. If it's very
urgent and you can't get an appointment, then go to a hospital
Emergency Department instead.
Appointments are usually for 10-15 minutes. For your first
appointment, or if you have a number of issues you want to talk
about, ask for a longer appointment so you and your doctor both
have plenty of time.
If you don't feel comfortable on your own, it's OK to take
someone else to the appointment, whether it's a friend, parent or
relative.
Costs and Medicare
When you make your appointment ask the receptionist about the
costs of your visit. Many doctors 'bulk bill' the full cost of the
consultation to Medicare, so you won't have to pay anything. You
will need to show a Medicare card or give your Medicare number to
be bulk billed. You can use a parents' or family's card, or you
might have your own card. With some doctors you will need to pay a
small fee but with a Medicare card you will be able to get most of
the money back later.
Australians over 15 years of age are entitled to have their own
Medicare card. You can apply by filling out a form available at a
Medicare office, or through the Medicare website. Your doctor and some
pharmacists might have forms as well.
What to expect when you visit a doctor
At your first visit the doctor will usually ask a range of
questions to find out about you and how you are feeling. These
might include your general health and lifestyle, your family
background, how you are thinking and feeling, and how you are
getting on at school/work/study and with your family and
friends.
Doctors need to know about you as a 'whole person' so that they
can understand the problem and give you the right advice. They are
not prying into your life for no reason, and they are not making
judgments about you.
The doctor might want to give you a physical check-up, for
example by taking your blood pressure, heart rate and temperature,
or examining other parts of your body relevant to your problem. A
doctor cannot perform any type of physical examination unless you
give permission.
The doctor will then discuss the problem, and what to do next.
Make sure you understand exactly what is happening - ask questions
if you need to - and find out exactly what you need to do to feel
better.
Sometimes the doctor will ask you to come back for a return
visit - for example, to check on your progress, discuss the results
of any tests, or just to have some more time to explore the
problem.
Changing doctors
It's important to feel comfortable and safe with your doctor, so
if it is not feeling right you can change to another doctor and ask
that your medical records get transferred.
Confidentiality
All doctors have to keep information about their patients
private. This means they cannot discuss your visit with anyone else
but there are some exceptions.
If a doctor thinks you are likely to harm yourself or someone
else, they have a 'duty of care' to make sure you stay safe so they
may need to tell other people. There are also some circumstances by
law that require doctors to share information.
If you want to know more about your rights to privacy and
confidentiality ask your doctor to talk it through with you at the
beginning of your first appointment.