1. INCEPTION
1.1

The Doctor reserves his / her rights to withhold treatment from the Patient until this contract has been accepted by the Patient, or the Guardian on behalf of the Patient;

1.2

This contract contains the terms and conditions that govern the relationship between the Doctor and the Patient, and shall be deemed to have been agreed to by the Patient, or Guardian on behalf of the Patient, should the Patient or Guardian submit to any treatment by the Doctor, whether this contract is only signed prior to the first consultation or subsequently;

2. CONFIDENTIALITY
2.1

All information imparted by you / your guardian to the Doctor is treated as confidential and such confidentiality will/may only be broken in the following cases:

2.1.1

WILL be broken to allow access to personal details and diagnosis if applicable: –
a) by medical aid companies (Regulations of Medical Schemes Act state that an account must contain a diagnostic code (ICD10)
b) by Accounts Department
c) by Doctor’s Personal Assistant
d) by Credit Bureau, in cases of outstanding payments, for which you hereby give consent.

e) Sick certificates: can only be issued if warranted, I will discuss the content of certificate with you, it remains your discretion whether to disclose your diagnosis to your employer.
f) If a patient poses a risk to self/others;

2.1.2

MAY be broken, to the extent necessary: –
a) If required to liaise with a third party with regard to medical reports;
b) With the patient’s consent

2.2

The Doctor and any of the Doctor’s employees shall use all reasonable means to maintain the confidentiality of all the Patient’s and Guardian’s personal information and hereby indemnifies and holds the Doctor blameless for any breaches thereof, whether due to the actions or inactions of the Doctor, whether with the Doctor’s consent or without (in the case of theft of files or hacked email accounts and the like), in all cases, save for gross negligence.

3. PAYMENTS & APPOINTMENTS
By your signature hereunder and/or acceptance of treatment you agree to pay the Doctor the following rates, which may be higher than that remunerated by your medical aid, or gap cover (if applicable) and it is the patient’s / guardian’s responsibility to settle the account of the Doctor and may contest it with their medical aid if need be.
3.1

Rates for outpatients
a) Cash Patients and Patients covered by hospital plans without funds available in Medical Savings or Patients on any other medical aid except Discovery Health:

• 1st appointment: R 2 450,00 per 60 minutes
• Follow-up appointments:
  • R 2 350,00 per 50 mins
  • R 1 200,00 per 30 minutes

b) Patients on Discovery Health Medical Aid: We will submit directly to the fund once PMB sessions are approved.

3.2

All payments must be fully settled at the first appointment and the Doctor may refuse/reschedule a follow-up appointment if this has not occurred. In addition, interest will be charged at a rate of 15% per annum on accounts overdue for longer than 30 days.

3.3

Telephonic attendances will be billed to the medical aid (if applicable), or the patient/ guardians as needed.

3.4

Medical reports will be charged as per preparation time at a rate of R1200 per 30 minutes and R2200 per 60 minutes. Reports will only be released once payment is made in full. Payment for reports is for the patient’s own account, as this is not covered by medical aids. No reports will be issued for medicolegal and/or forensic purposes e.g. child custody, civil or criminal cases for patients under my care. These reports should be done after an evaluation by an independent psychiatrist, who is not directly involved in your care. Clinical information can be shared with the independent psychiatrist upon request and with your consent.

3.5

Appointments MUST be cancelled a minimum of 24hrs in advance to avoid being charged, therefore. ALL appointments not cancelled timeously will be invoiced directly to patients/guardians for payment and not submitted to the medical aid, if applicable.

3.6

Late arrival to appointments does impact on time spent in consultation with the Doctor. The length of the originally scheduled appointment will be the total consult duration as the Doctor may have scheduled other patients for consultation afterwards. The time spent waiting for the patient will be invoiced to the patient/guardian / medical aid (if applicable).

3.7

Preauthorization for consultation/hospital is the patient’s responsibility prior to the first consultation/admission.

4. AFTER HOURS SERVICE

4.1 Working hours are Monday- Thursday, 8am – 5pm; Dr Comrie does not consult on a Friday.
4.2 In case of emergency please go to your nearest hospital and please contact the Doctor the next working day.

5. COMMUNICATION

5.1 Email is the preferred method of communication. You may reach the Doctor at: [email protected]
5.2 Emails received Monday – Thursday will be replied to by the next 2 working days.
5.3 While every attempt is made to maintain confidentiality and privacy, this cannot be assured with regards to electronic communication.

5.4 Telephonic contacts are to be as per working hours, 8am – 5pm, Monday to Thursday.
5.5 Whatsapp messages received will not be responded to.
5.6 Emails and SMS communications will be charged for per email and SMS

6. LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS

6.1 During periods of leave an automated email response will be sent out with details of the covering psychiatrist and details regarding the Doctor’s duration of absence.

7. MEDICATION

As per Medicines Act 101 of 1965, a pharmacist may substitute prescription for generic. If original
substance is required, please request the doctor to stipulate ‘no generic substitution’

7.1 Scripts: must be requested 1 week prior to running out of medication
7.2 Maximum of 6 months repeat script will be given
7.3 Scripts requested outside of appointments will be charged
7.4 It remains the patient’s responsibility to receive the prescription from the practice and forward it to the pharmacy.
7.5 A prescription will be issued with repeats in keeping with your recommended follow up schedule. This may vary from time to time and will be discussed during your consultation.

8. ASSESSMENT OF DISABILITY:

8.1 In cases where the purpose of psychiatric evaluation is to determine disability the usual
treating psychiatrist should not (as an ethical rule) apply for disability and as such, you may be referred to a colleague for an independent assessment.
8.2 A psychiatric assessment is merely an opinion on functional impairment and not on disability.