In order to continue keeping our clients, our team and the broader community safe, we will be making some changes to how we do things and we thank you in advance for your understanding as we all navigate this new path to living with Covid.

If attendance in person at the practice is possible during COVID, there are a number of changes that you will need to be aware of and agree to as all parties are required to take relevant precautions. We understand these extra measures may be inconvenient, however, we are focusing on managing the risk of exposure and a duty of care to protect individual and public health risk.

Here are some of the things we are doing to make the practice safer for our clients and our team:

1. We will operate under a COVID Safe plan.
2. All our on-site psychologists and administrative staff will receive vaccinations as required.
3. Telehealth remains an option, however we look forward to welcoming clients into the practice for their appointments.
4. Our team will not attend the practice if experiencing symptoms of a COVID-19 infection or when they have tested positive for COVID-19 and we ask clients to do the same.
5. Anyone attending the practice (including children) is welcome to wear a mask and if requested our clinicians are very willing to also wear a mask.
6. We provide a hand-washing station, hand sanitiser, and a mask (for those who want one).
7. We are using HEPA filters throughout the practice.
8. We may be required to notify local health authorities or government bodies of any case of infection at our practice. We will only provide the minimum necessary information to the relevant authorities.

In order to attend an appointment in person during the COVID situation, you will need to agree to the following:

1. I understand that I will be attending a shared office environment and by attending an appointment in person, I am assuming a risk for potential exposure to COVID-19.
2. Wear a mask while at the practice if requested by your clinician (this includes anyone attending the practice with you, including children).
3. Not to attend the practice if experiencing symptoms similar to COVID-19 or within 5 days of a positive RAT.  We can move your appointment to telehealth or reschedule if this occurs.
4. I understand I may not be able to continue my face-to-face appointment if I attend with symptoms, or if my psychologist, myself, or an accompanying person become unwell during my time at the practice.
5. I will notify the staff (reception and/or psychologist) immediately if I am advised I have tested positive for COVID-19.
6. I will follow good hand hygiene processes and will use the hand-washing station and hand sanitiser when needed.
7. I will use contactless payment methods wherever possible at the practice.
8. I will complete forms online prior to attending the appointment in order to minimise the amount of time I need to spend in the waiting room.

Where appropriate, or required, a psychological service will be provided by telephone or video-conference. Telehealth services may or may not attract Medicare or private health fund rebates and will depend on the decisions made by your health fund and/or Medicare.

Limitations of telehealth

1. 1. • A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the psychology session. If the connection is too poor to continue, you and your psychologist can decide to move to telephone or to reschedule the appointment.
      • The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information, this practice uses Coviu which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption.
      • Your psychologist will ensure they use a private and confidential physical space to deliver your telehealth service, however, it is your responsibility to ensure you have privacy and confidentiality at your end. We encourage you to consider where you conduct your telehealth session and how you will ensure your privacy, confidentiality and the chance of interruptions during the appointment.
      • There may be some psychological services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your psychologist will consider and discuss with you the suitability of ongoing telehealth sessions.

If you have any concerns about how this may impact you please discuss with your psychologist and feel free to contact our reception team if you have any questions.

info@benchmarkpsychology.com.au