HOW DO I MAKE A REFERRAL
Please forward referrals to the details as listed on the Contact page. If the referral is urgent or you would like to discuss the referral please call reception and asked to be put through to Dr Chau.
Once a referral is accepted, the reception team will contact the patient to directly to organise an appointment.
Please note that Dr Chau does not see TAC, WorkCover or bulk billing referrals.
WHAT IF I HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT MY PATIENT
If your concerns about your patient are immediate please contact 000 or consider the local Crisis Assessment And Treatment Team. Otherwise, Dr Chau would be more than happy to chat with you regarding any concerns you have so please contact him via the details on the Contact page.
WHAT COMMUNICATION CAN I EXPECT ABOUT MY PATIENT
Dr Chau prides himself on regularly communicating to patients’ GPs. Once the assessment is complete, Dr Chau will forward an initial assessment summary to you outlining the patient’s history, diagnoses and initial treatment plan usually within 2 weeks.
After this, Dr Chau will correspond with you when there is a significant change in the patient’s mental health or treatment plan (e.g., escalation in symptoms, changes in risk status, changes in medications, etc).
If you are concerned about privacy, Dr Chau is happy to communicate with you personally if you provide him with your personal contact details.
WHAT IS aN ITEM 291 and 293 Assessment
An item 291 referral is when you and your patient are seeking a one-off psychiatric assessment with Dr Chau after which you will receive a detailed assessment summary and 12-month treatment plan in order for you to continue treating the patient independently. This can be a cost-effective way for patients to commence mental health treatment if they do not intend on seeing Dr Chau on a regular basis as the Medicare rebate for an item 291 assessment is significantly higher.
An item 293 referral occurs when you would like a follow-up review of a patient who previously had an item 291 assessment. A new report will be provided detailing any changes to treatment options for the patient.
Please note, in order for the patient to receive the correct Medicare rebate, we suggest you explicitly state that the referral is for an item 291/293 assessment.
WHY WAS MY REFERRAL NOT ACCEPTED
Dr Chau believes that patients will receive the best care when their mental health problems are matched to clinicians with the most appropriate expertise and skillsets. Consequently, some referrals may not be accepted if they are outside the scope of Dr Chau’s practice. Examples include patients under the age of 16 or patients with significant intellectual disabilities. On the rare occasion this might occur, we will provide feedback about why a referral was not accepted and suggest suitable alternative clinicians or health services.