House Call Doctors Commitment

House Call Doctor in abiding with the Privacy Act maintains patient reports for patients cared for in the after-hours period. These patient notes are transmitted to the practice on the next business day to ensure continuity of care and allow for follow up.

House Call Doctor maintains a phone line whereby the service is available to practice and patients for enquiry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Moreover, patients have access to after-hours home visits by our team of qualified General Practitioners throughout the entirety of the Commonwealth defined after-hours period. Monday-Friday 6pm-8am, Saturday from noon and all day on Sundays and public holidays.

House Call Doctor is an AGPAL accredited after-hours Medical Deputising Service, providing home visits to patients for an on behalf of the practices for which we deputise. House Call Doctor adheres to the guidelines of the Commonwealth Department of Health AMDS program and is a member of NAMDS the peak body representing after-hours Medical Deputising.

House Call Home Doctor maintains public liability insurance for an amount not less than twenty million dollars per claim with a recognised and licensed insurance company.

Independent Medical Practitioners providing home visits with House Call Doctor are registered with the Medical Board of Australia, are required to hold current medical indemnity on an occurrence basis for an amount not less than ten million dollars per claim. These same Medical Practitioners are appropriately trained and qualified to deputise and provide home visits.

Working with General Practice

House Call Doctor and the General Practices for which we deputise cooperate in order to provide quality care to the practices patients during the after-hours period. In doing so, this not only demonstrates compliance with the RACGP standard for General Practice, it goes further to promoting continuity of care and reducing inappropriate presentations at the Emergency Department.

  • House Call Doctor supplies patient information in order to keep patients informed of after-hours arrangements in place with the practice. This material can be used to demonstrate how the practice meets the RACGP standards.
  • Patient reports are transmitted the next business day to the practice via fax or Medical Objects for patients follow up and record keeping.
  • Independent Medical Practitioners are required to carry a fully stocked doctors bag that exceeds the minimum requirements as advised by the RACGP standards for General Practice.
  • The practice will be provided with a copy of the practice agreement upon request in order to support claims for the PIP with the Commonwealth.
  • A phone diversion can be put in place in circumstances where the practice has had to close earlier than anticipated for the day. We ask only the we are informed in advance.

Quality of Service

House Call Doctor is fully accredited with AGPAL and meets the RACGP standards for General Practice and undertakes continued Quality Improvement activities to improve the service and the quality of care provided to patients. House Call Doctor also collaborates actively with the RACGP, the Department of Health, the AMA and Primary Health Networks to improve service deliverability and patient outcomes.

Staff employed in the call centre undergo ongoing training to ensure the highest standard of accuracy and patient support. Additionally, the service employs agents trained in triage to assist with patient safety. Calls are recorded for privacy and safety purposes.

The workforce of independent medical practitioners engaged with the service is comprised of vocationally registered General Practitioners, locum doctors and other General Practitioners on training programs. All doctors have general registration with AHPRA, medical indemnity, are fully inducted and commit to abide by the quality framework as set by the RACGP standards for General Practice.

Medical Directors, trained and qualified in General Practice provide mentoring, supervision and training to medical practitioners engaging with the service.

General Practices can request patient information as and when required and can provide feedback on our service over the phone, by email or via our feedback form. All feedback is welcome