Home Services Chronic disease management
Diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and COPD, kidney disease, arthritis. The conditions you live with rather than get over — the ones a written plan and a regular review are designed for.
Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm. No referral needed to see a GP.
We are a Medicare Bulk Billing Practice. Standard consultations are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card.
We are a Medicare Bulk Billing Practice
Now Accepting New Patients
Walk-ins Welcome
Shop 12, 297–299 Brisbane Water Drive, West Gosford NSW 2250
Open Mon–Fri 8:30am – 5:00pm
Chronic disease management
Anyone can treat a high reading on the day. What changes the long run is having a written plan, knowing which numbers are being watched, and having the review already in the diary rather than waiting for something to go wrong.
That is what a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan does. It is a structured, Medicare-funded appointment where we set out your condition, what we are aiming for, who else is involved, and when we will look again. Copies go to you and to anyone else in your care team.
What it covers
Most people have more than one, which is exactly why a single plan is designed to cover them together.
Regular review of your levels, blood pressure, cholesterol, kidneys, feet and eyes — the checks that come as a set rather than one at a time.
We also look at what is realistic. A plan you can actually follow beats a perfect one you cannot.
The most common long-term condition in Australia and the easiest to lose track of, because it produces no symptoms at all until it produces a serious one.
Home readings are welcome — often more useful than a single reading in a clinic.
Most of the year-to-year work of heart disease happens in general practice: medicines, blood pressure, cholesterol, activity, and picking up changes early.
We work alongside your cardiologist rather than duplicating them.
An action plan you actually have on the fridge, inhaler technique checked properly, and a review of what has been setting it off.
Spirometry can be done here where it is useful.
Kidney function can fall a long way before you notice. It is checked with a blood test and a urine test together, and it changes how other conditions and medicines are managed.
The aim is what you can do, not just what hurts. That usually means movement, weight where relevant, sleep, and a realistic conversation about medication.
Once a thyroid condition is established it needs periodic blood tests and a look at dose. Straightforward to manage, easy to let slide.
Most people over sixty are managing several conditions and a list of medicines that interact. One plan that sees all of it beats several that each see part.
How it works here
It is a Medicare-funded appointment with rules attached, so here is the practical version.
A longer visit where we go through the condition, your current medicines, what is being monitored and what the targets are. We write it down, you get a copy, and a review date is set. If allied health is useful, that is arranged at the same time.
The part of the plan that brings in other providers — a podiatrist, dietitian, physiotherapist, diabetes educator or exercise physiologist. Where you are eligible, it gives you Medicare-subsidised visits to them each year.
Plans are reviewed periodically rather than written once. The review is where most of the value is, because it is the appointment that asks whether the plan is working rather than just repeating it.
Yes, where you have one. General practice handles the ongoing management between those visits and makes sure nothing falls between the two.
Chronic condition management plans and their reviews are bulk billed here where you meet the Medicare criteria. Reception will tell you if anything attracts a fee before you agree to it.
Please do — or bring the boxes. A current, accurate list is the single most useful thing you can bring to this appointment, and it is very often the thing that changes.
Questions
A structured, Medicare-funded appointment for people with a chronic condition. Your GP writes down the condition, what is being monitored, the goals, who else is involved in your care and when it will be reviewed. You get a copy.
It is for people with a chronic or terminal medical condition — generally one that has been present, or is likely to be present, for at least six months. Your GP will confirm whether you meet the criteria.
A GP Chronic Condition Management Plan gives you up to five individual Medicare-subsidised allied health services each calendar year, or ten for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, on referral from your GP. Many providers charge a gap on top of the rebate, so ask them directly.
It depends on the condition and how stable it is. The plan itself sets the review interval, and having that date booked is much of the point.
Yes, where you meet the Medicare criteria and hold a valid Medicare card. Reception will confirm before anything is billed.
This page is general information for people in the Gosford and Central Coast area. It is not advice about your situation and it does not replace a consultation. If you are worried about a symptom, book an appointment or call us on (02) 4311 3800. In an emergency, call 000.
Ask reception for a long appointment and mention it is for a care plan, so enough time is set aside. All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card.
Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am – 5:00pm · Shop 12, 297–299 Brisbane Water Drive, West Gosford · Serving Gosford, West Gosford, Point Clare, Narara, Wyoming, Springfield, Tascott, Koolewong, East Gosford, Erina, Green Point and Lisarow.