Cessnock · Hunter Valley · Telehealth
Telehealth Dietitian for Cessnock & the Vineyards
Video appointments with Accredited Practising Dietitians for Cessnock, Kurri Kurri and the vineyards — including conversations about alcohol that are not a lecture.
How we see Cessnock clients: by telehealth only. Ausclin’s rooms are in Mount Hutton and we do not run a clinic in Cessnock, so every Cessnock appointment is a video consultation. Medicare and private health rebates apply on the same basis as an in-person visit.
Alcohol, without the lecture
Cessnock sits in the middle of a wine region, and a lot of people here work in or around hospitality. That makes alcohol part of the social fabric and, for a fair few, part of the job. It also makes it the thing people most expect a dietitian to be sniffy about.
We are not. Alcohol has a genuine bearing on liver health, blood glucose, sleep, reflux, appetite and how much you eat late at night, and it is worth understanding — but understanding is different from being told to stop. If you want to talk about it we will, practically and without judgement. If you do not, we will work around it.
Appointments that fit hospitality hours
Hospitality and cellar-door work runs when clinics are shut. Weekends are the busy period, not the quiet one, and a Tuesday 2pm appointment is often the least convenient slot in the week.
Because we see Cessnock clients by video rather than in a room, there is more room to move on timing, and no travel wrapped around it. A 30-minute review is 30 minutes, not half a shift.
Where our Cessnock clients are
Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Weston, Abermain, Bellbird, Nulkaba, Pokolbin, Lovedale, Rothbury, Branxton, Greta, Millfield and Wollombi.
Cessnock is around 45 minutes from our rooms in Mount Hutton, so this is not a distance problem so much as a timing one. Video appointments solve the timing.
How telehealth works, and what it costs
Do you have a clinic in Cessnock?
No. Our rooms are in Mount Hutton and we do not run a Cessnock clinic, so Cessnock appointments are by video. You are welcome to drive to Mount Hutton if you would rather be seen in person — it is roughly 45 minutes.
Is a telehealth dietitian covered by Medicare?
Yes, on the same basis as an in-person appointment. If your GP prepares a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan, Medicare item 10954 currently rebates $63.40 per session for up to five allied health sessions per calendar year, and the session must run at least 20 minutes. Eating disorder arrangements allow considerably more. You can check the pathways with our Medicare Eligibility Checker.
Does telehealth actually work for dietetics?
It suits dietetics better than most clinical work. There is no physical examination in a standard dietitian appointment — it is conversation, history, food patterns, planning and review. A video call loses very little of that, and it gains something: we can see your kitchen, your pantry, the labels on the products you actually buy, which is often more useful than anything that happens in a consulting room.
Will you tell me to give up drinking?
No. We will tell you what alcohol is doing in the context of whatever you have come to us about, and then it is your decision. Some people choose to change nothing about their drinking and still get a great deal out of the work. Ultimatums tend to end the conversation rather than help it.