FAQs for Nutrition, Dietetic and Diabetic Services

You can book your appointment via our online booking system or by calling the Nutritional Balanced clinic on 0478 612 228 during our opening hours or e-mailing us.

Yes, absolutely. You can book a consultation at Nutritionally Balanced without having a referral from your doctor. Simply call, email or book in via our online booking system.

An accredited dietitian is a trained health professional with the qualifications and skills to provide expert nutrition and dietary advice. They are Accredited nutritionists (AN) and Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD).
They understand how your body works and how food and drink help nourish both healthy individuals and those with specific medical conditions.
Nutritional and dietetic support can be integrated into medical treatment plans or provided as a standalone service if the medical condition (for example, a pre-diabetic diagnosis) has been caught early on and is able to be controlled with food and diet alone (without medication).
Dietitians may work in a variety of settings (eg private clinic, within a hospital/health centre, as a consultant or for an organisation) and have a number of work functions.

The key difference between an accredited dietitian/dietician and accredited nutritionist is their level of education and specialised role.
In addition to or as part of a qualification in human nutrition, an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) is someone who has graduated from an accredited Australian university dietetic course. They undertake ongoing training and education programs to gain and keep/maintain their credential.
All dietitians are therefore considered to be nutritionists, but nutritionists without a dietetics qualification cannot take on the specialised role of a dietitian.
According to the Australian government “an APD is the only national credential recognised by the Australian Government, Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs and most private health funds as the quality standard for nutrition and dietetics services in Australia. It is a recognised trademark protected by law.”
Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD) are registered with nationally recognised bodies, such as Dietitians Australia, and must abide by the National Competency Standards for Dietitians.

No, the term ‘nutritionist’ and ‘dietitian’ or ‘dietician’ is not protected by any regulations, and as such anyone can label themselves as a nutritionist and/or dietitian. Therefore, these titles may be used by dietitians, nutrition scientists and nutrition graduates – and also those with very limited qualifications in nutrition.
So, it is important to check for their ‘APD’ credentials, as Accredited Practising Dietitians (APD) undertake ongoing training and education programs to ensure that they are an up-to-date and credible source of nutrition information.

Yes, but out-of-pocket charges will be applied depending on the tests needed, as consult charges do not incorporate the cost of blood or other tests. We also affiliate with a few highly qualified areas that we can communicate with and connect you for a test appointment, if needed. However, my preference is to work with your doctor to send you for these blood tests, as we are a multidisciplinary team and work together for your best health and wellbeing.

Yes, absolutely. In addition to our daily consults, we are open until 7 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. And from 9 am – 1 pm on Saturdays. Please refer to our clinic opening hours.

Early on. If a medical condition has been identified (e.g., you’ve been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or insulin-resistant or iron deficiency), early intervention is key.

Private health insurance rebates are available. If you have private health insurance, you will need to check with your provider that you have cover for dietetics. 

Check that you’re covered for the work, and what % of the consult price you will get back, and your maximum amount of cover per year.

DVA rebates are available depending on your DVA card cover and the service provided. If you have a Gold Card, you are covered. For other DVA cards including White Card, you will need to check if you are covered for our services with DVA’s Health approval line, by calling 1800 550 457 then choosing option 3 then option 1.

If you like to use your DVA approved cover for our services, you need to get your doctor’s referral under our name and make a booking with us. Not having a cover for our services does not prevent you from booking with us but you are unable to use the refund from your DVA cover for the service.

DVA Health approval line also allows us to check on your behalf if your DVA card covers refund for our services. However, you would need to give us your details including DVA card number.

Medicare rebates are available if you have a chronic disease and a referral from your doctor with a care plan.
Your doctor will be able to determine if you have a chronic disease and are therefore eligible for a Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDM) – then they are able to issue one for you under Nutritionally Balanced.

If you have a CDM plan from your doctor, you will get back $58 of the cost of the consultation for up to five sessions a year from Medicare. Click here for more details. 

If you are diabetic and eligible for diabetic group sessions, the government will assist with the cost (providing you with a total of 14 sessions). Reem Bashour is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and Diabetes Educator (DE) and able to offer group sessions, please refer to our services for full details.

Yes, if you are illegible for the CDM and you would like to use our services, your doctor should add the below information to the CDM plan.
Nutritionally Balanced
Ms Reem Bashour
Suite 1E, 9 Burwood Road
Burwood NSW 2134
Phone: 0478 612 228

The doctor wouldn’t stop you from choosing our services. The doctor is a respectable health professional who knows it is your choice of which dietetic and/or diabetes educator services you would like to choose to go to. They are supportive individuals who work with you for your health and wellbeing.

Chronic diseases are best managed by a multidisciplinary approach, where each discipline works within their credentials. For example, dietitian (APD) for Nutrition, diet and diet-disease relationship, Exercise physiologist (AEP) for exercise, the specialist looks after the chronic disease from a specialised medical perspective and monitoring, doctor (GP) for a regular check-up and overall medical monitoring. We all communicate together and work with you for your better health and wellbeing. So, make sure you seek the advice of the appropriate professional for what you need, for a good multidisciplinary approach and better health outcome.

In Australia, there is currently no bulk billing offered for allied health services*. The Australian Government will fund patients a maximum of five sessions within a 12-month period for all 13 allied health professionals (this includes dietitians). This Government assistance essentially gives a helping hand to introduce you to allied health services, supporting with some of the initial costs only.

Nutritionally Balanced is still committed to keep on assisting the community and wave off the co-payment for patients who would otherwise be unable to afford the service for the number of visits the patient has on their CDM plan referral from their GP.

*Allied health practitioners are trained professionals who are not doctors, dentists or nurses.

Using testimonials is against the DA’s Code of Professional Conduct and Statement of Ethical Practice. As health professionals and members of the DA, we (dietitians) are therefore prohibited from sharing testimonials to promote our services.
We do, however, greatly welcome feedback from our patients – whether it be positive or constructive recommendations for improvement. We are always striving to improve and grow Nutritionally Balanced to better assist and serve you. Client feedback can be submitted anonymously through our Feedback form

10954 (DIETETICS SERVICES face to face)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=10954

81120 (DIETETICS SERVICE – ASSESSMENT FOR GROUP SERVICES)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=81120

81125 (DIETETICS SERVICE – GROUP SERVICE)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=81125&qt=ItemID

81320 (DIETETICS HEALTH SERVICE provided to a person who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=81320

82350 (Dietetics health service provided to an eligible Eating disorder patient)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&qt=ItemID&q=82350

 

Telehealth (similar information to 10954, 81320, 82350 but different code number to reflect telehealth)

93000 (DIETETICS SERVICES by video)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93000&qt=item&criteria=93000

93013 (DIETETICS SERVICES by Telephone)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93013&qt=item&criteria=93013

93048 (DIETETICS HEALTH SERVICE provided to a person who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent by video)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93048&qt=item&criteria=93048

93061 (DIETETICS HEALTH SERVICE provided to a person who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent by telephone)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93061&qt=item&criteria=93061

93074 (Dietetics health service provided to an eligible Eating disorder patient by video)
http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93074&qt=item&criteria=93074

93108 (Dietetics health service provided to an eligible Eating disorder patient by telephone)

http://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/fullDisplay.cfm?type=item&q=93108&qt=item&criteria=93108