Introduction

Camberwell Sports and Spinal Medicine operates on an appointment-based system. No-shows, late-comers and late cancellations impact greatly on our ability to provide a high quality service. It affects not only our practitioners but also our patients who are excluded from accessing services at that time.

We respect that your time is valuable and we appreciate that you understand ours is too.  Our cancellation policy supports and respects the time commitment of our patients that we treat and our practitioners,  and is intended to enable the Practice to operate more smoothly and efficiently.

Cancellation Policy – Individual appointments

We have a 24 hour cancellation policy. Any changes that occur 24 hours or more before the scheduled appointment time are able to be cancelled or re-booked at no additional cost to the patient. This allows adequate time for us to contact patients on our waiting list who need to be seen urgently.

The first time a cancellation is made within the 24-hour period prior to the time of the booked appointment, as a courtesy the patient will be given the opportunity to re-book (with no financial penalty applied), with a friendly reminder of our cancellation policy.

Any subsequent cancellations by/for the same patient that occur outside our cancellation period will be referred to the Practice Manager and a cancellation fee will be applied:

• Late Cancellation within the 24-hour period but with greater than 12 hours notice will be charged at 50% of the consultation fee for that booking which had been made and subsequently cancelled.

• Late Cancellation with less than 12 hours notice will be charged at 100% of the consultation fee for that booking which had been made and subsequently cancelled.

• Missed / forgotten appointments will be charged at 100% of the consultation fee for that booking which had been made and subsequently cancelled.

After more than two failures to attend or late cancellations pre-payment will be requested for any future appointments.

Cancellation Policy – Group appointments

We have a 24 hour cancellation policy. Any changes that occur 24 hours or more before the scheduled appointment time are able to be cancelled or re-booked without loss of class credit.

• Late Cancellation with less than 24 hours notice will result in loss of class credit for that session.

• Missed / forgotten appointments will result in loss of class credit for that session.

If a participant misses two or more class sessions all future appointments will be cancelled and the participant will need to rebook and reconfirm future appointments.

Cancellation Fees Support Indigenous Health

CSSM does not keep the cancellation fees.  From April 1 2024, all cancellation fees will be donated to CSSM’s preferred Charity – the Indigenous Marathon Project through the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

The IMF shares the values of CSSM which is to encourage all of the community to remain active.  Acknowledging the relationship between sport, exercise and health and its ability to change lives and enhance a renewed sense of empowerment, purpose, and pride.

We will report each year on how much is donated to the IMF.

Late Arrival

Patients who arrive more than 10 minutes late for their appointment, may need to reschedule their session to avoid delays for other clients. In such cases:

1. Clients will be charged the full consultation fee, even if the appointment is reduced in time or rescheduled due to their late arrival.
2. Every effort will be made to accommodate the rescheduled appointment at the earliest available time.

Exceptions

We understand that emergencies and unforeseen circumstances can arise.  Exceptions may be made for immediate emergencies only (eg. medical emergencies), at the clinic’s discretion. This does not include last minute work commitments, family commitments, change of plans, forgetfulness, etc.

Appointment Reminders and Follow-up

CSSM will make every effort to assist you in attending your appointment including email confirmation and sms reminders.  Please do not rely on these reminders – they are a complimentary service and are not infallible. We consider it your responsibility alone to remember your appointment.

It’s Always Worth Calling

Let us help you avoid a late cancellation fee!

If you do cancel and cannot attend that day at all, the late notice cancellation fee will be removed if CSSM is able to fill the allocated appointment slot from our waiting list. We would rather avoid late cancellation fees.  So it still is in your interest (as well as ours) to give as much notice as possible of any appointment changes.

Refunds and Rebates

Cancellation fees are not refundable.

Cancellation fees are generally not covered by private health insurance or third-party payers (Medicare, Workcover, TAC, DVA, NDIS etc).  These charges will need to be met by the individual.

Help Us Help You

We value you as a part of the CSSM community and appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

CSSM reserves the right to review and update this cancellation policy as needed. Our community will be informed of any changes in advance.

If you have any questions or queries – Please reach out to us via our contact page.