FAQ

Grow is a cooperative of medical and allied health practitioners who run their own small business with the support of Grow Medical Group. From the outside it may appear to be a regular GP clinic, but once you start your patient journey you will understand the difference in concierge private practice that support comprehensive medical appointment in a supported multi-disciplinary team approach. 

GP services are available on-site at Grow, provided by independent medical practitioners, or medical businesses.

Each Medical Practitioner set their own fees and as such the medical clinic has no jurisdiction over bulk billing. Please check your Doctors on-line information (via their webpage under their profile) to confirm their fee structure. Should you be in financial hardship please speak to the Doctor as they may be able to offer a discounted fee, discounted follow up or payment plan.

A Nurse Practitioner (NP) is a qualified Registered Nurse having completed a university degree of at least 3 years, had a minimum of five years clinical experience and has undertaken a Master’s in nursing, a minimum of 2 years, to work in a specific area of clinical practice. They are highly skilled nurse specialists who are independent clinicians. NPs can refer patients to GPs, other specialists and allied health, prescribe within their scope of practice and refer for investigations such as pathology and imaging. Grow Medical Group Is privileged to engaged with a NP who has special skills in ENT and chronic Eczema management and has worked extensively in paediatrics for many years. We look forward to welcoming Nurse Practitioner and supporting them at Grow Medical to provide services to patients.

Medical Centres delivering or supporting the delivery of General Practice services can apply for accreditation under the RACGP 5th standards of General Practice Accreditation. Application and accreditation is a comprehensive process which covers all aspects of the delivery of safe health care services in a supportive environment, meeting all legislative requirements and working towards business improvement. It ensures patients are receiving the highest quality care, in a clinically safe environment, supports all-inclusive health services, culturally appropriate delivery of health services with accountability. The accreditation process is a three-year cycle that requires the practice, staff and any employed or independent clinicians to have continuous professional development, clinical and business meetings and quality improvement goals. Grow Medical Group was accredited in January 2023 and provides ongoing education to staff regarding the requirements of accreditation as well as providing a supportive network for self-improvement and improving patient care and access to services.

Patient with complex health conditions often struggle financially due to physical and psychological restraints on the ability to work. Engaging with a private clinician sounds unaffordable, but the benefits often are significant cost and time savings, as well as a team of people who support you in all aspects of your health. Registered patients have access to a minim of four bulk-billed medical appointments per year, and five nursing appointments per year, providing at least nine opportunities for you to connect with your team of health professionals with no out of pocket costs. The focus of the team is to collate all history, investigations, and treatments to better understand your past experienced and future expectations. Your first appointment requires an out-of-pocket fee of $50-$100 with your chosen doctor and on registering with the practice you will be invited to attend an appointment for chronic disease management with one of our friendly nursing staff. Following you will see your chosen Doctor who will provide you with referrals and information as discussed with the nurse. A management plan is created, a copy provided to you and follow up arrangements made to help keep you on-track towards better health. Often referrals are made to allied health such as physiotherapists, dieticians, psychologists, diabetes educators, occupational therapists, optometrists and even pharmacists and we ask your consent to hold case-conferences with your team members to better understand how each of the members can contribute to your help journey. In addition, we communicate with ALL your medical practitioners, from private practice to public hospitals, we ensure that they are aware of where to send correspondence, request for investigations and medication changes. Grow offers a truly comprehensive medical service to all patients but understands the special needs of patients with chronic complex conditions and offers affordable services to suit.

The Doctors pride themselves in offering a full range of services for our over 75 patients, providing 4-5 bulk-billed appointments per year, for registered patients under the over 75 health assessments, chronic disease management plans and mental health treatment plans. We understand that financial restraints can impact access to care and as such the clinic supports the Doctors by providing nursing support staff to have regular contact with our elderly patients. Generally, your first appointment will have a $50-$100 out of pocket costs, depending on your doctors fees. Once registered with the clinic you will be invited for a 60-90 minutes appointment with a nurse for a comprehensive medical examination and assessment, and will be offered a number of support services that will assist you with health and wellness, maintaining independence and mental health wellbeing. You will be allocated an appointment every three months at no out of pocket costs to update scripts, referrals, check in on mental health and services, as well as getting to know you better so we can tailor services to suit your health and family needs. We love to meet your family and know who we can communicate with when you are unwell or needing extra assistance.

There is an extensive range of services and assistance that are available for elderly patients who remain in the community independently living and our nursing staff are well versed on assisting you with accessing services such as home help, gardening, home maintenance, transport to appointments, medication reminders, personal care assistance, home equipment such as beds, chairs and safety equipment’s, essential home renovations such as bathroom modifications, steps and ramps, rails and more. We also assist with the completion of applications for disability parking permits, continence pad funding, medic alert bracelets, personal alarms, advanced care directives, and provide information for you and your family of power of attorney and power of guardianship. This comprehensive service ensures you are accessing all available services and funding to help you remain safe and well in your own home. If you reach a point that you feel unsafe or cannot care for yourself, even with assistance, we support you in transitioning into residential aged care services.

Many parents are being asked to present to their GP for a referral for a paediatrician for inattentiveness or disruptive behaviour in the classroom. Typically, children are 5-8 years of age and are often struggling with basic literacy and math skills. Perhaps the question of ADHD or ASD has been raised, and maybe not for the first time. Some parents have had their own concerns, other have not. Grow offers parents the opportunity to discuss concerns raised, provide a full comprehensive medical, social, and developmental history, identifying possible medical or psychological reasons for the teachers concerns. The parents are provided comprehensive information regarding sleep, nutrition, screentime recommendations, exercise, outdoor activities, reading and math tutorials, boundaries, working with siblings and included extended family and friends into a network of support for the children. Medication may be offered (non-stimulant), referrals to allied health such as OT, psychology, and speech therapy, and failing to meet goals and expectations, referrals to child and adolescent psychiatrists or paediatricians. Appointments can only be booked by CALLING the clinic. Out of pocket fees apply for all appointments and a fee schedule will be provided to you on enquiry. 

Please note: a diagnosis of ASD or ADHD cannot formally be provided for patients, however supportive evidence can assist with fast-tracking access to specialist doctors who can diagnose and prescribe stimulant medication if deemed necessary.

The Doctors welcome travelling patients and visitors to Perth to update their scripts and medications that are provided by their regular GP. Please be aware that there are many restricted medications that require evidence of your regular prescription and details of your regular General Practitioner. Medications can only be prescribed for the duration of your stay in Western Australia. We encourage patients to keep an up-to-date medical history, medication list and the names of their regular GP and specialist with them while travelling. Australian residents have a Medicare rebate on appointments, overseas visitors will be required to pay a full-out of pocket fee for service. NZ residents are eligible to apply for a Medicare card once they have been in Australia for six months by taking their passport to Medicare.

A shared care model of service for pregnant patients allows patients to remain under the care of a GP who has done additional education in obstetrics and follows the state-wide shared care policies for the care of pregnant women. There are several doctors who have additional training for shared care and one GP Obstetrician who can care for you from pre-conception until delivery. This frees your time up by having set appointment times, the opportunity for your partner or children to attend appointments on weekends and the conceive of on-site ultrasound to check on the health and wellbeing of your baby. Shared care can be provided for any of the state based public hospitals, locally this is Joondalup Health campus, Osborne Park hospital, Midland St John of God, and King Edward Hospital. In addition, some private consultants will support shared-care with GPs to reduce the out of pocket costs for obstetric services.

Many of the clinicians working from Grow provide extensive support to DVA Gold card and White Card eligible patients. All DVA patients are provided with extensive health assessments, a collaborative approach to health care with the coordination of a multi-disciplinary team. Some of your team may even be employees of Grow Medial Group, such as nurses, nurse practitioners and other allied health, whereas others may work from other locations.

As of 1st October 2024 patients are requested to register a practitioner as their primary doctors, they will also be registered under the clinic in which that Doctor operates. This will provide patients with access to additional item numbers for extended telehealth and Televideo consultations. As of November 2024 patients who are not registered will not be able to access chronic disease management item numbers that provide them access to additional Medicare funding for allied health and psychological services.

As of 1st November 2024 patients who are eligible for bulk-billing will receive three time the bulk-billing incentive when their Doctor bulk-bills them for a standard (Level B), Long (Level C), Extended (Level D), or very long (Level E) appointment. In most cases this is an increase of $13.20 per appointment and will often not be sufficient to remove out-of-pocket costs unless there are other services provided at the same appointment. For further information click HERE