Policies
Cancellation Policy
What is our cancellation policy?
We require two full business days’ notice of a cancellation, prior to the day of your appointment. A business day is considered any normal weekday (Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm), other than a NSW public holiday or office closure period. A business day does not include the day of your appointment.
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If an appointment is cancelled with more than 2 business days prior to the day of the appointment: no fee
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If an appointment is cancelled within 2 business days prior to the day of the appointment: 50% of the session fee will apply
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If an appointment is cancelled within 1 business day prior to the day of the appointment: 100% of the session fee will apply
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A detailed example is provided at the end of this page.
The aim of our policy
When you make an appointment with us, we set this time aside for you with an experienced clinician. Late cancellations or no-shows cause disruptions to the clinicians' diaries and it often means that we are unable to offer this time to someone who is waiting to access therapy. Unlike brief medical appointments, it is impracticable to fill a psychology appointment that runs for 50 minutes at short notice. As such, we have a strict cancellation policy in place.
You are advised of our cancellation policy when:
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Booking your initial consult
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Filling in and signing our New Client Intake Form
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Receiving our courtesy reminder email
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Reading our website
As a courtesy, we endeavour to call, send an SMS, or send an email to confirm appointments 4 days prior to your appointment, however it is your responsibility to be aware of upcoming appointments and this SMS reminder should not be relied upon.
Cancellation/No show fees are payable the day of the scheduled appointment. If we are unable to get a hold of you, payment will be charged to the encrypted credit card we have on file.
How can I cancel an appointment
By phoning reception on 02 8580 9322 to advise of the cancellation. If we are attending to another patient and are unable to answer your call, please leave a voicemail advising of cancellation. Alternatively, you may send an email to info@roweandassociates.com.au. Phoning reception without leaving a message or sending an email will not be considered acceptable notice.
What if myself or my child is sick on the day of their appointment or has COVID?
We understand that sometimes people get sick, and request that you do not come into the clinic if you are feeling unwell. Please phone or email reception to request a Telehealth session instead. If your child is too young for Telehealth, this appointment can be used as a parent appointment instead. Alternatively, the clinician may use this time to create resources specifically for your child. This is a great solution to proceed with your appointment, without incurring a cancellation fee.
Example of an acceptable notice period
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If your appointment is on MONDAY, we require notice of cancellation by 5:00 pm WEDNESDAY the week prior.
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Thursday and Friday are two business days prior to the day of your appointment
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If your appointment is on TUESDAY, we require notice of cancellation by 5:00 pm THURSDAY the week prior.
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Friday and Monday are two business days prior to the day of your appointment
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If your appointment is on WEDNESDAY, we require notice of cancellation by 5:00 pm FRIDAY the week prior.
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Monday and Tuesday are two business days prior to the day of your appointment
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If your appointment is on THURSDAY, we require notice of cancellation by 5:00 pm MONDAY that week.
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Tuesday and Wednesday are two business days prior to the day of your appointment
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If your appointment is on FRIDAY, we require notice of cancellation by 5:00 pm TUESDAY that week.
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Wednesday and Thursday are two business days prior to the day of your appointment
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This policy current as of 24/08/2023
Separated Parents
Introduction
We understand that the separation of a family can be one of the hardest times of a parent or child's life and comes with its own unique set of circumstances.
Rowe & Associates boasts a team of psychologists who are highly trained, experienced, and passionate about child and family psychology. We are one of the few child psychology practices in Sydney that provides clinicians with specific training, expertise and experience in working with separated parents and families, particularly those who are currently in the Family Court.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to outline our practice policy and expectations of families to ensure that your child/children's best interests are always prioritised.
Policy
Our expectation is that separated parents work together, respectfully, cooperatively, and communicate effectively, to support the treatment process and the care of your child/children. Where there is parental conflict that disrupts the clinic or impedes the care of your child/children, we reserve the right to limit our services until the conflict has been resolved. It is not the responsibility of Rowe & Associates to mediate conflict or disagreements between separated parents.
We generally require the consent of both parents before booking an appointment for your child/children as well as arranging an initial appointment with each parent. It is best practice for the psychologist to gather information from both parents during the assessment to ensure they have all relevant information pertaining to each environment the child is in, no matter how limited or infrequent that time may be.
It is the parents’ responsibility to advise us of the current family situation accurately and honestly and to inform the other parent of this policy and invite them to speak with Rowe & Associates so they can book their own initial parent appointment.
We request that any relevant legal documents or consent/court orders are provided prior to the initial consultation or as they become available. These can be emailed to info@roweandassociates.com.au. Please note that we do not see children where the purpose is to generate information for legal decision making around custody issues of parental separation unless it has been court ordered.
Payment is to be made on the day of the child/children's appointment. If there is a legal agreement that requires the other parent to pay all or part of the appointment costs, we require documentation indicating this prior to the appointment, otherwise the attending parent will be responsible for payment and be required to collect reimbursement from the other parent. Outside of an agreement, it is the responsibility of the parent who books the appointment to make payment on the day and is responsible for any late cancellation fees. Please see our cancellation policy which can be found here.
Parents are not to book appointments for your child/children on days/times that the children are not in your care without the explicit permission from the other parent.
Please help us provide the best care for your child/children by providing all information regarding your family situation at or before your first appointment with us. It is important that you understand the implications of this policy and for you and your family.
This policy current as of 24/08/2023
Credit Card Policy
We require credit card details for all appointments booked. Once entered, the card details will be encrypted, and our staff will not have access to these credit card details. Reception will take your details when booking your initial appointment, or next appointment if they have not already been provided.
Your card will only be charged in the event of a late cancellation that is in line with our cancellation policy, prior to Telehealth appointments or in the event we are unable to reach you the day of your appointment for payment.
Our servers and systems do not store your credit card information. All credit card information will be stored by Stripe. Stripe encrypts all card numbers on disk with AES-256 encryption and stores decryption keys on separate machines. Stripe is certified as a PCI Service Provider – Level 1, which is the highest level of certification available as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. You can read more about Stripe's security here: https://stripe.com/docs/security.
This policy current as of 24/08/2023
Telehealth Policy
Rowe & Associates is committed to providing a high level of quality service which includes making our service as accessible as possible to all members of the community, and to continuity of treatment for all of our valued clients.
In March 2020 the Government updated the temporary COVID-19 Medicare telehealth items to ensure all Australian’s were eligible clients to access telehealth services if clinically appropriate. On 13th December 2021 the Government announced that the provision of telehealth services will continue to ensure flexibility in the provision of health care services.
The fee for the telehealth services will be the same as face-to-face services. Payment is required prior to your appointment time and depending on your psychologist will be charged to the credit card on file the morning of your appointment. Alternatively, our administration team will phone you the morning of your appointment to process payment over the phone. The appointment will not proceed without payment. Alternatively, if you would like to pay by another means, please contact reception via email the day prior at info@roweandassociates.com.au.
This policy current as of 24/08/2023
Privacy Policy
This privacy statement is to provide information to Rowe & Associates clients as to how your personal information (including health information) is collected and used within Rowe & Associates, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
When you register as a client of Rowe & Associates, you provide consent for our practitioners and staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only employees who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.
Rowe & Associates will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits, and business processes (such as staff training).
Information Collected
The information we will collect about you includes:
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Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
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Medical information relevant to your treatment, including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events,
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Social history, family history and risk factors
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Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
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Healthcare identifiers
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Credit card details
Rowe & Associates will collect your personal information:
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When you make your first appointment, our staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
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During the course of providing healthcare services, we may collect further personal information.
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We may also collect your personal information when you send us an email or SMS, telephone us, or communicate with us using social media.
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In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
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Your guardian or responsible person
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Other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services according to your country
Information We May Share
We sometimes share your personal information:
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With third parties who work with Rowe & Associates for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with Federal and State Legislation as well as this policy
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With other healthcare providers
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When it is required or approved by law (such as court subpoenas)
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When it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a client’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the client’s consent
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To assist in locating a missing person
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To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
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For the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
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When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (such as some diseases which may require mandatory notification)
Only people that need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing healthcare services or as otherwise described in this policy, Rowe & Associates will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
Rowe & Associates will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt-out of direct marketing at any time by notifying Rowe & Associates directly.
Our practice stores all personal information securely.
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Your Right to Access
Rowe & Associates acknowledges clients may request access to their health records. We require you to put this request in writing in person, mail or email. All requests must be accompanied by photo ID. Our practice will respond within 10 working days. There may be an administration cost involved depending on administration services required or for the retrieval of archived files.
Rowe & Associates will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is correct and up to date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing.
This policy current as 24/08/2023
Complaints Policy & Procedure
Rowe & Associates provide a high-quality service and are committed to using all feedback, including complaints to improve our service and ensure the best care for our clients. This policy sets out how you can make a complaint and have your concerns addressed.
Purpose of Policy
Our complaint policy and procedure as outlined below aim to achieve consistent treatment in the handling of complaints and provide a process to follow in the event a complaint arises. A complaint can be based on any type of problem or concern related to the quality or delivery of a service.
Who can make a complaint?
Any person may make a complaint. You have the right to make a complaint and have your concerns heard. You are welcome to have an advocate, or someone make the complaint on your behalf. To enable the timely consideration of a complaint; specific details of the incident, conduct or behaviour giving rise to the complaint should be provided.
Complaints Handling Process
All complaints must be submitted in writing using our online form.
We are committed to respond to any complaints within two business days of receipt.
We are committed to resolve any complaints within 30 days where possible. If a complaint takes longer than this to resolve, we will communicate this with you and let you know of our progress as we work to resolve the issue.
Step 1
The matter will be referred to the Practice Manager in the first instance.
The role of the Practice Manager is to:
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Assist people making a complaint with the complaints-handling process.
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Maintain and review our complaints-handling framework.
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Resolve administrative related complaints to the best of their ability.
The Practice Manager will advise our director of the receipt and outcome of formal complaints.
Step 2
If the complaint requires escalation and is unable to be resolved by the Practice Manager, relates to a clinical issue, or at the request of the person making the complaint, it will be referred to the director, Clare Rowe.
The Director will confirm receipt of your complaint within two business days.
The Director will then respond to your complaint in writing within thirty days of the complaint being made.
The response will address the concerns raised, include provide possible solutions, and provide next steps if required.
Step 3
If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint internally, or our internal process presents a conflict of interest, you are entitled to pursue an external method of review. These methods include:
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
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AHPRA online complaints form: www.ahpra.gov.au/About-AHPRA/Complaints.aspx
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Telephone: 1300 419 495
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Website: www.ahpra.gov.au
Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC)
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HCCC online complaints: https://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/understanding-complaints/make-a-complaint-online
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Telephone: 1800 043 159
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Website: https://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/
NDIS participants can lodge a complaint with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
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Complaint Contact Form: https://forms.business.gov.au/smartforms/servlet/SmartForm.html?formCode=PRD00-OCF
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Telephone: 1800 035 544
This policy current as of 13/02/2024