Your appointment

Prior to your appointment (preclinic consult)

In most cases, a preclinic consult is required before you will be offered an appointment in one of our clinics. This may occur by telehealth or telephone. One of our genetic counsellors or clinical assistants will contact you to obtain information about your personal and family history to support your genetics appointment. If you are not sure why you have been contacted or if you are wondering what will happen at the appointment, you can discuss this in your preclinic consult.

When we are talking about conditions that may have a genetic cause, sometime we can better understand what is happening by looking at your family. This is the reason why the genetic counsellor will ask you about your family members and their medical history. We know that families come in different shapes and sizes, however, and sometimes relationships are complex or unknown. While it is helpful if you can give information about your family, we understand that it is not always possible.

We will usually enquire about your first degree (children, siblings and parents) and second degree (grandchildren, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and grandparents) relatives. This generally includes:

• names
• dates of birth
• general health
• ages of diagnoses
• details about relevant medical conditions and diagnoses
• details on where and when people were investigated or treated

We might ask you to pass on a consent form to certain relatives requesting permission to access their relevant medical records. This is typically required when you are seeing us because of a diagnosis in another person in the family. We will not contact your relatives directly without your permission and the information provided to us is strictly private and confidential.

If you have been referred because of a personal and/or family history of cancer, you may also receive a cancer history questionnaire to complete. This may include details regarding the type of cancer and age at diagnosis of family members.

Once you have attended your preclinic consult, you will receive a letter or an SMS offer inviting you to attend a clinic appointment and you will be asked to confirm / accept this appointment as soon as possible. Once confirmed, you will be sent details of the appointment (location or telehealth login details).

At your clinic appointment

• Please refer to your letter of appointment or SMS regarding the location of your appointment (facility or telehealth details).
• For telehealth appointments, login details are sent by email prior to the appointment. If you have not received this information before your appointment, please contact us. For all queries, please contact GHQ on 07 36461686.
• The consultation time is up to one hour. For face-to-face appointments, please allow sufficient time for travel, traffic and parking. If you are more than 15 minutes late to your appointment, you may not be seen and the appointment may be rescheduled.
• An additional half an hour may be required after the appointment if any investigations (e.g. blood tests or X-rays) are required. This may be necessary to assist us in making a diagnosis.
• You will be seen by a doctor (clinical geneticist or registrar), a genetic counsellor or both.
• You are welcome to bring a family member or friend along for support.
• Time is spent with you discussing your concerns and providing you with information. We encourage you to ask questions, so you might wish to write these down beforehand.
• Depending on the reason for referral, a geneticist may need to perform a physical examination. Sometimes clinical photographs can assist in making a diagnosis, but they will be taken only with your permission.
• Appointments with GHQ are free, and there are no out-of-pocket costs for patients/families.
• If genetic testing is offered, this will be discussed with you in detail (see below)
• It is not always possible to obtain a diagnosis in the same appointment.

Genetic testing

• If genetic testing is recommended, this will be discussed with you at the time of your consultation. This may include a written consent.
• Genetic testing is always voluntary.
• Genetic testing is not always required or may not be funded by the health service.
• Genetic testing in eligible individuals, organised by our clinicians, is funded by the public health system, and will not have an out-of-pocket cost to you.

After your clinic appointment

• Both you and your doctors will receive a letter detailing what was discussed during the consultation, including any recommendations made.
• Sometimes follow-up appointments are arranged to discuss any outstanding results.
• Our service does not provide ongoing care or case management. Once the goals of your referral have been met, you will be returned to the care of your GP and/or treating specialist.

Rescheduling or cancelling an appointment

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, please contact our office by telephone (07 3646 1686) or email (ghq@health.qld.gov.au) during business hours. Please allow at least 24 hours notice so that we can offer the appointment to other patients on our waiting list. Please be sure to contact GHQ directly and not the local hospital or health service where your clinic appointment might be located.

While every effort will be made to accommodate any requests, please be aware clinics occur on certain days or at fixed times in the year. Our clinicians are happy to provide you with a medical certificate to support you attending your appointment. Please note that multiple cancelled, missed or rescheduled appointments may result in you being removed from our waitlist.

Missed Appointments

There is a high demand for our services, and we encourage you to attend your offered appointment. Our clinicians are happy to provide you with a medical certificate to support your attendance. You may be eligible for the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) if you need to travel to your face-to-face appointment.

If you/your child misses an appointment without notice, you will not automatically be rebooked. You will receive a letter or SMS asking you to contact our office to reschedule. If there is no response, you/your child will be removed from our waitlist and returned to the care of your referring doctor. Should you wish to visit with us in the future, a new referral will be required, and the usual waiting times will apply.

Telehealth

As the state-wide clinical genetics service for Queensland, Genetic Health Queensland (GHQ) offers appointments via telehealth whenever clinically appropriate. Through Queensland’s telehealth program our patients receive quality care closer to home via video-telecommunication technology, which improves access to specialist healthcare for people in regional communities and reduces the need to travel for specialist advice. Our genetic specialists and triaging team will determine if telehealth is an appropriate and available option for you based on your individual circumstances and whether a physical examination is required. For more information about Queensland’s telehealth program, please review the resources below.