Your First Appointment

Depending on the nature and complexity of your health issue(s), our practitioners usually recommend 1 or 2 appointments per week for the first two weeks to help achieve the quickest response from your body. As your condition improves, treatment is reduced to once per week or per fortnight.

The aim of traditional Chinese medicine treatment is to improve your internal organ function and circulation so that your body can heal and then support itself without treatment. Therefore, the duration between visits becomes longer until your condition is resolved and you no longer require treatment.

Certain conditions may require treatment to be arranged around the stages and phases of the body (eg. women’s health, fertility & IVF support).

In case your appointment is close to a meal time, we suggest you to have something light to eat so that you don’t receive treatment on an empty stomach.

During your first appointment, we will check your body by traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis methods, including your pulse and tongue. We recommend the following things to avoid a few hours before your appointment:

• Avoid excessive tea, coffee, alcohol;
• Avoid strenuous exercise and emotional upsets;
• Do not brush or clear your tongue coating.

The above can disturb your circulation and symptoms, tire or over-stimulate your body or change the natural appearance of your tongue.

Don’t worry though if any of the above happens, simply mention them to your practitioner so it can be taken into account to achieve the most accurate diagnosis.

A traditional Chinese medicine consultation considers each person as a whole including their physical and emotional symptoms as well as their lifestyle, home and work environment.

Our practitioners will ask you about your body’s physical functions, including bowel movements, urination, menstruation, sleep, digestion, energy and stress levels.

Ping Ming Health practitioners will listen and care about all of your symptoms no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to be. So please don’t be shy to discuss whatever is worrying you.

Our caring practitioners take the time to listen to you, explain your diagnosis, discuss your treatment plan and answer your questions.

We recommend setting aside at least 1 hour for your acupuncture consultation and treatment each time.

If you are receiving treatment and medications from other practitioners (including prescription medications from your GP), it usually does not interfere with being able to receive treatment from us.

If you are currently taking any medications or supplements, please tell your Ping Ming Health practitioner during your appointment. We will arrange your treatment plan accordingly.

Please contact us to make an appointment and enquire about our consulting fees. Our team will be happy to answer any other specific questions regarding your appointment or health condition when you call our clinic.

We accept payment by cash, EFTPOS and credit card on the day of your appointment. If you have private health insurance, bring your membership card and we can help you claim your rebate at the time of payment with HICAPS.

Our Chinese medicine practitioners are registered with over 40 private health funds including HBF, Medibank Private and more. The rebated amount will depend on your health insurance and the level of cover you have. See our Private Health Insurance page for more information.

We understand that you should feel comfortable discussing all aspects of your health with your Chinese medicine practitioner. You can request any practitioner of your choice.

If you have a preference for a female or a male practitioner, or any language or cultural preferences please let us know so we can book you with the most suitable practitioner.

If for any reason you don’t feel completely comfortable after your visit, you are free to request and change to another practitioner in our clinic.

Your health and happiness is very important to us and we aim to provide the best possible service to our clients.

All Ping Ming Health clinics do not use any animal products in the herbal medicines that we dispense to our clients. In Australia, it is prohibited to import or sell illegally traded animal products, and our clinic is firmly against activities such as rhino and tiger poaching, and bear bile farming.