Frequently Asked Questions

Request a referral from your GP to Dr Arno. When we have received the referral, Dr Arno will triage it, and our receptionist will contact you to make an appointment. Please make sure that we have your correct contact phone number and that you are available to take our call or that we have the option to leave a voice message.

A GP referral is standard practice and recommended. Medicare will not pay any rebates without a valid referral. Only with a valid referral you can claim the rebate from Medicare. We recommend to always involve your family physician into your child’s health care, so talking to your GP about your visit to Dr Arno is a good thing to do.

Exceptions for bookings without GP referral can be made for families who do not have a Medicare card.

Kinderdoctor Paediatrics is a private specialist clinic and does not offer bulk billed appointments. Payments need to made per credit card pre-authorisation. Cash payments are not possible. 

Information about consultation fees, out-of-pocket costs, payment options and late cancellation fees can be found under the tab ‘Visiting Us’ at bottom of the page

Usually not, but you may be lucky if there was a short notice cancellation. Dr Arno does not have walk in clinics, and he cannot see children for acute emergency services. Please see your GP, the Hospital Emergency Department or call 000. If you are an existing patient and your child does not require urgent care and your concern may need only a brief consultation, you can ask for an after-hour phone consultation. Due to the high demand even these may take 3-4 weeks before an appointment slot is available.

Car: Parking can be found at the neighbouring shopping centres, just a few minutes walk away.

Train: Take the T1 Northshore Line to get to Hornsby Train Station.

From Hornsby Train Station: Walk for five minutes by following the foot bridge across the Pacific Highway / George Street to Westfield Hornsby and turn right to Edgeworth David Ave. At the traffic light cross the street and turn left. Enter the inner courtyard of the Hornsby Professional Centre and you will find Kinderdoctor Paediatrics in the offices of Spencer Health.

Bus: Buses arrive and depart from
‘Hornsby Train Station’ (bus routes 575, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 592, 595, 596,, 597, 598)
‘Pacific Hwy at Edgeworth David Ave’ (bus routes 587, 588, 589, 590)
‘Edgeworth David Ave Hornsby Girls High School’ (bus routes 575, 591)

From Pacific Hwt at Edgeworth David Ave: Turn left and walk for one minute and then at the traffic lights turn right into Edgeworth David Ave. Enter the inner courtyard of the Hornsby Professional Centre and you will find Kinderdoctor Paediatrics in the office rooms of Spencer Health.

From Edgeworth David Ave Hornsby Girls High School: Walk for 1/2 minutes toward the trafific lights Pacific Highway / George Street. Turn left into the inner courtyard of the Hornsby Professional Centre and you will find Kinderdoctor Paediatrics in the office rooms of Spencer Health.

It depends. Some children Dr Arno sees only once or twice for an assessment and management plan and then your GP will be happy continuing with the care of your child. More complex cases he will follow for months or for many years with regular reviews, usually alternating in collaborative care with your GP. The more complex and severe your child’s concerns, the more frequent and longer Dr Arno will help you. You will always be involved in the decision-making process, and Dr Arno will always be here for you if needed.

If you are already one of Dr Arno’s patients you can call our reception and ask for an earlier appointment, though they might discuss this with Dr Arno before the change is made. If your concern is related to the previous issues, usually we will be happy to book you in for an earlier review at the next available opportunity. If it is an unrelated concern, it may require a new GP referral. For medico-legal reasons, any questions and discussion about a non-urgent medical concern or prescription change will need a consult with Dr Arno. Please call us to make an appointment, we may be able to do this as an after-hour phone consult / minor appointment. Please do not use email for this but call our receptionist at Spencer Health Hornsby. We use email only for sharing information like clinic letters or forms.

Please let us know if you wish to discuss a new concern at your follow up appointment. This may need a longer appointment time and a new referral from your GP to ensure the Medicare rebate for the required longer appointment.

Dr Arno does carefully calculate all prescriptions until the next review appointment with him, or until the next review time with your GP, in which case s/he will do the prescription.

If you are unsure how many repeats you have left, please contact your regular pharmacist to whom you gave the original prescription. They will have the number of dispensed and remaining prescriptions for each of your medication. You can also ask your pharmacy about a compatible medication app for your mobile phone. These apps are great to keep track of your prescriptions.

If you need a repeat prescription from Dr Arno without an appointment, a fee of $50 will apply. Please call our receptionist.

If you request a medication change or a dose adjustment, you will need to make an appointment. Please do not email us for these requests but call our receptionist.

Yes, but always with your consent only. Sharing information is essential for all involved services to provide the best care for your child. You will always get a copy of Dr Arno’s clinic letters. Please feel free to share the clinic letter with all allied health and other services as you deem appropriate. Vice versa, it is always helpful for Dr Arno, to know what the other services involved in your child’s wellbeing are doing and planning, and a copy of their progress reports is much appreciated.

For his clients with ADHD, learning disorders, autism or behavioural disorders, he kindly asks you to always provide him with the regular school semester reports for his own information and documentation. 

Since 2019 all Australians have a “My Health Record’ automatically created if you have not opted out. Please see here for more information http://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au

Dr Arno always recommends you choose one primary health professional where all health information come together and who will discuss, coordinate and manage ongoing services with you. This can be your family GP or your Paediatrician.

Dr Arno also recommends to keep your own personal medical records for your child at home. Always request copies from all health services who were, are or will be involved in your child’s health care. This way you will be fully informed and when transition to another health service is required, e.g. you move away or your teenager turns 18 years, you can provide all necessary information for seamless best practice care.

For our full privacy policy please look here https://spencerhealth.com.au/ai-privacy-policy