Location and opening hours

Think about when you are likely to see a doctor and where it will be most convenient for you to go to see a doctor. For example, will it be best for you if the clinic is close to your home, your work, or your child’s school?

Different clinics have different opening hours, so it is good to work out if you are more likely to see a doctor during usual business hours (8am- 6pm), or after hours (6pm – 8am on weekdays, Saturdays before 8am and after 12pm and Sunday and public holidays).

In some areas of Tasmania, you can use a Call the Doctor out of hours service. These doctors will visit you in your home. This option, if it is available, can be very beneficial to people with specific conditions or circumstances that make it difficult to get to a clinic or to wait to see a doctor in a busy environment with lots of people.

Personal recommendations

Your friends or family may also know of good doctors in or close to the area you live, work or study. Other doctors and medical professionals may be able to suggest someone when you have a specific health concern. Some doctors have particular medical interest areas and specialisations that may meet your needs. For example, the SHAID clinic in Lenah Valley, just outside Hobart, specialises in health care to adults with an intellectual and/or physical disability.

Paying for the doctor

If you are worried about how you will pay for your appointment, make sure when you contact a new clinic to ask if they provide bulk billing options or payment plans. Bulk billing is when the doctor only charges you the Medicare rate, so there is no additional cost to you. The Health Department calls additional costs ‘out of pocket fees’ or ‘gap charges.’ You can ask the clinic each time you book an appointment what the charges will be to make sure that you know if you will have any out of pocket costs.

Don’t let being unable to pay to see a doctor stop you when you have a health concern. Phone the clinic letting them know of your situation and ask if it is possible to be bulk billed or to be able to delay payment. You can also choose to visit a bulk billing doctor as a one-off to gain needed medical assistance.

Your relationship with your doctor

It is important that you feel you can talk to your doctor about anything. When choosing your doctor you need to consider a few things. Will you feel more comfortable with a female or male doctor? Would you like to see a doctor who is close to your age or older or younger? Would you prefer to see someone who speaks your language?

When you know the answers to these questions, you can ask to add this to your list of things you are looking for in a doctor.

When you have made decisions about what you are looking for in a doctor and their clinic or service you are ready to find your doctor. Make a list of your questions and contact or ask for someone from your network of support to help you to contact the clinic’s or doctor’s services, and ask the reception staff your questions.

Remember to also ask if they are taking new patients.

It is then time to make an appointment with a doctor who sounds like they’d suit you and to see how this goes.

If you think that the first doctor you meet is not right for you, and if you have other doctors available in the area to choose from, you can make your next appointment with a new doctor and keep looking until you find someone you are comfortable with.

Once you’ve found the doctor that is right for you, stick with them. A regular doctor will get to know you and your health needs really well. When a doctor has a longer-term understanding of your health they will be better able to diagnose your health concerns, work with you to decide what treatments are going to help you the best, and maintain an ongoing record of what’s happened to you over your lifetime to assist you in the future.

They can be a central point for information about your health, which you can access at any time, and they can advocate for your health needs when you require it.

To make sure you are looked after in the best way possible, you must have a good relationship with your doctor. You need to be able to talk to your doctor about anything, even things that may embarrass you. Feeling comfortable with your doctor will help you communicate better, and help the doctor work out what is happening with your health and what treatments are going to work best for you.

The better your doctor knows you, the better they are able to make decisions about your treatment, and who and where to refer you to when other health professionals are needed. They can also talk to other health professionals on your behalf if you have any problems communicating your needs to them.