Frequently Asked Questions

Diabetes Care Plus was formally known as Diabetes Victoria Clinic. If you were a client at Diabetes Victoria Clinic, you will continue to receive the same trusted, personalised care from the same friendly team, now under a new name. Your appointments, records, and our contact details all remain the same. 

Our phone lines (1300 153 123) are open Monday to Thursday 9am to 3.30pm.
Or you can book an appointment online for the dietitian and diabetes educator and register to see our psychologist.

Clinic appointment times are offered between 9am and 4pm.

The number of clinic days we offer, and times, will increase gradually over the next year.

Tuesday:

• Diabetes educator, Carlton

Wednesday:

• Dietitian, Mont Albert North
• Diabetes educator, Mont Albert North

Thursday:

• Dietitian, Carlton

Diabetes Care Plus does not receive government assistance to operate. For any non-government funded clinic to operate, the provider must charge an out-of-pocket cost to cover operating expenses including health professional staff costs. Out of pocket costs are common in many healthcare settings. It is the amount not covered by Medicare or any private health insurance extras cover and is sometimes called a ‘patient payment’ or ‘gap payment’.

To view our fees, click here.

If you require financial assistance, please speak to us when booking your appointment.

Diabetes Care Plus is not a bulk-billed clinic and there will be an out-of-pocket cost. If you have a Medicare GP chronic condition management plan or a Medicare GP Mental Health Treatment Plan – then you can claim some of the appointment cost through Medicare.

Access to financial assistance is available at Diabetes Care Plus. A reduced out of pocket fee (plus Medicare rebate) is available for some people attending the clinic. Eligibility criteria does apply. To find out more, please contact us at 1300 153 123.

If you are not eligible for financial assistance, you may be able to access a rebate from:

• Medicare chronic condition management plan
• WorkCover
• TAC (Transport Accident Commission)
• Private health insurance (through extras cover for ‘dietetics and nutrition’ or ‘ credentialled diabetes educator’)
• A compensation fund

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) – we can see people on ‘Plan-managed’ and ‘Self-managed’ levels of the NDIS.

We welcome DVA clients, DVA Health Cards (Gold and White) are accepted as payment upon a GP referral.

Medicare chronic condition management plan is available for people with a chronic (long-term) condition such as diabetes.  A Medicare chronic condition management plan enables you to receive five appointments per year with an allied health professional (for example dietitian, diabetes educator, podiatrist) that are partly subsidised (partly paid for) by Medicare.

You will need to make an appointment with your GP who will need to put together both a Medicare general practitioner management plan and a Medicare chronic condition management plan for you to receive these subsidised appointments. 

Your GP needs to include the specific name of the dietitian and/or diabetes educator and/or psychologist on your plan. Please visit ‘About Us‘ and choose who you would like to see at the clinic. Take this name/s to your GP so they can include it on your plan.

A Mental Health Care Plan is available for people with a diagnosed mental health condition such as depression.  A Mental Health Care Plan allows you to receive up to ten appointments per year with a psychologist that are partly subsidised (partly paid for) by Medicare.

You will need to make an appointment with your GP to find out if you are eligible for Mental Health Care Plan.

If you are eligible and receive a Mental Health Care Plan, you will be provided with the first six appointments.  Then your psychologist will write back to your GP and recommend if you need to the next four appointments. You will need to make an appointment with your GP for this to occur.

Diabetes Care Plus will provide personalised, clinical advice in response to your individual needs.

The initial appointment when coming into the clinic is 45 minutes. During this time, the health professional will individually assess you and provide personalised advice, education and support. Review appointments are 30 minutes in length.

An Endocrinologist and/or GP is just one part of your diabetes healthcare team. Your Endocrinologist or GP appointment is usually limited to about 15 minutes and in that time, they can prescribe diabetes medications and insulin, arrange for you to have the appropriate screening checks and blood tests, review your blood glucose levels and make suggestions for your diabetes management.

Diabetes Educators and Dietitians have a different focus and are able to spend more time looking in detail at your diabetes management. At Diabetes Care Plus, our health professionals are able to thoroughly review your blood glucose levels in relation to your food intake or physical activities, provide personalised dietary advice, assess your insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios and background insulin doses, insulin pump settings, teach you how to check your blood glucose levels, use a blood glucose meter or glucose sensor, or show you how to inject insulin (among many other things).

Your initial appointment at the Diabetes Care Plus will be 45 minutes and review appointments will be 30 minutes. You are also likely to have more frequent reviews with your DNE or APD (depending on your goals) and the cost is cheaper than a specialist doctor’s appointment.

No, you do not need a referral.
Though if you are referring yourself, we recommend you bring a copy of your:

• medical history, current medical conditions, current medications, most recent blood test results and your blood glucose diary or glucose sensor download.

At your appointment we will ask you for consent to contact your GP and other health professionals in your healthcare team – this ensures we are all working together to support your health.

No. Once you are referred, we do not need the referral letter to be renewed every year.
(Note: you do not need a referral to access our services).

If you are being referred with a Medicare GP chronic condition management or Mental Health Care Plan, then this will need renewing each year to receive your Medicare rebate (part payment).

Diabetes Care Plus has selected two locations for in-person appointments in Carlton and Mont Albert North, with a vision to expand our in-person services. Our services are also available for communities across Australia via video calls (telehealth).

We know how important it is for you to see the same person at each appointment. If you would like to continue seeing the same health professional at future appointments, we will try to make this happen.

You also have the choice of which health professional you would like to see in the clinic, just visit our health professional profiles here.

Yes, we are planning to expand our clinic with the addition of an exercise physiologist who specialises in diabetes.

We will also look to add other diabetes health professionals as the clinic grows.

Telehealth is an appointment with a health professional either via a video call or a phone call. It allows you to have a consultation with one of our Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD), Diabetes Nurse Educators (DNE) or Psychologist without having to leave your house.