Dubbo Health Hub

24/10/2026

Now this was more than surprising 😳😳😳
There is no Helen without Heather when it comes to Dubbo Health Hub, so not quite sure how this happened.

We have such an amazing team at Dubbo Health Hub and it’s such a privilege to both be part of it, and to represent you all!

Outstanding Business Leader - sponsored by Dubbo Regional Council

⭐️The Finalists are ⭐️
Patricia Carney- Marsh Carney Saddlery
Grace Walker -Flying with Grace
Helen Barnett - Dubbo Health Hub
Luke Robinson - Chill-Rite Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
Graham Anderson - Peter Milling & Company

Dubbo Regional Council

24/10/2026

Thank you to our amazing team at Dubbo Health Hub! We are so proud of your hardwork and so grateful of everything you do everyday for our patients!

Excellence in Small Business - sponsored by Next Gen Civil

The Finalists are:-
Marsh Carney Saddlery
Martel Wheatley
Specialized Electrical Pty Ltd
Dubbo Health Hub
Robertson's Motorcycles and Machinery

NextGen Civil Dubbo .civil

23/10/2026

Having some fun at a practice conference! It’s great to get away as a team - celebrate our achievements, plan for the year ahead, and come back with new and exciting ideas shared by other generous practice owners and teams around the country.

18/10/2026

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Like so many people, I was touched by Breast Cancer at a young age when my gorgeous mum was diagnosed, and died from Breast Cancer. She was 49. This photo was taken 3 years before she died and is one of the few photos I have of us together.

My mum was an Animal (Sheep) geneticist, graduating from Sydney University in the 60's as one of the 1st women to graduate from Agricultural Science. She moved to Trangie in the mid-60's to take up a job at the Trangie Research station. While working out here, she met my dad, a local farmer - and went on to have 4 children.

She was both incredibly intelligent, but also kind, wise, funny and full of insight. She understood and knew us kids better than anyone else.

My mum had a wicked sense of humour, a love of the arts and music (hence my 1st career in Opera), and brilliant mathematical and scientific mind. I see both my kids in her - and she would have adored them.

My mum had a weakness for chocolate and liquorice (I love chocolate, but can't stand Licorice). She was renowned for being able to eat a full Cadbury family size block of chocolate from Narromine to the 7 mile (which was 7 miles out of town). And one year ate our Easter eggs, so had to ask our Neighbours to buy us some more when they went in to Narromine for Church on Easter Sunday.

My childhood was simple - growing up on a farm, the Poll Hereford Stud, dogs, poddy lambs and calves - and always lots of music. I was introduced to the world of music theatre when Les Miserables came to Australia in 1988 - the year mum had her mastectomy.

Mum had noticed many lumps through the years, but the cancerous one was one she left for too long - about 12 months. She was only 42, so was reassured, back in the 80's, that it wouldn't be cancer. The next 5 years saw her battle lymphadoema, metastases, a colostomy, severe cancer induced malnutrition (cachexia) - until she passed away in 1993 aged 49.
I remember her starting to plan her 50th - it was a goal she desperately wanted to reach. And she'd already started to make clothes for her grandkids - although she knew she'd never meet them.

Mum had much of her treatment out here in Dubbo in the late 80's and early 90's when Professor Alan Coates used to fly out to provide oncology services to the people of Western NSW. It is incredible just how much this service has changed - and I am so grateful to the incredible team here at the Western Cancer Centre in Dubbo who now service the people of the western region.

My mum's name was Narelle. My dad often called her Nell. Today I keep her alive in little ways - maybe crazily by calling my dog Nell (but if you know me, I adore my dogs, and I most certainly adore Nell!), and through Dubbo Health Hub. One of the big drivers for me in coming back to Dubbo was to support medical services in the region where I am from - to honour the incredible woman my mum was.

We all have our "why". I only had my mum for 15 years - but I was lucky that she gave me so much in those few years.

15/10/2026

25/09/2026

Here's a piece of menopause science that doesn't get nearly enough air time: your gut bacteria help decide how much of your own oestrogen you actually get to use.
Oestrogen leaves the liver in a packaged-up form your body can't use. Certain gut bugs unwrap it, and only then can it go back into circulation and do its job. As oestrogen falls through perimenopause, the mix of bugs shifts too — and a less diverse gut means more inflammation, flatter energy, poorer sleep and a tougher time holding onto bone.
The good news is that this part is genuinely in your hands. Those bugs are fed by fibre, and by variety more than by any one superfood. Different colours, different plants, different fibres across the week — veg, fruit, legumes, whole and ancient grains, nuts and seeds. Aiming for range rather than perfection.
If your gut has been unhappy as well as your hormones, that's very much my area. Come and have a chat.

Helen Barnett, Dietitian and Nutritionist · Orange, Dubbo & Telehealth · Ph 6884 1804

21/09/2026

You can look up your own safety net tally any time, and it takes about two minutes.
Sign in to your Medicare online account through myGov, or open the Express Plus Medicare app on your phone.

2. Find Medicare Safety Net. You will see how much has been counted so far this calendar year and how far you are from each threshold.

3. If you are part of a couple or a family, register as a family with Services Australia. This is the one step that is not automatic. Even if you are all on the same Medicare card, your costs are not combined until you register. Individuals do not need to do anything.

That third step is the one most people miss, and it matters most. A registered couple or family pools everyone's out-of-pocket costs into one tally, so you reach the threshold far sooner than any one person would alone. Once you are there, the higher rebates apply to everyone registered.

It is worth checking early in the year and again around the middle, so you know where you stand before a run of appointments.

If you would like help reading your account, or you are not sure whether your costs with us have been counted, talk to our reception team. We are very happy to walk through it with you.

20/09/2026

Professional titles matter more than most people realise. "Nutritionist" is not a protected term in Australia — anyone can use it. Accredited Practising Dietitian is a recognised credential with required training and ongoing professional standards, and it is the one Medicare will pay a rebate for.

The difference in your pocket is real. See an Accredited Practising Dietitian on a valid referral and the service has a Medicare item number: you get a rebate on the day, and the gap you pay joins the same annual tally as your GP, specialist, pathology and imaging costs. It all pools into one safety net.

See a nutritionist, naturopath, wellness or health-coaching service with no Medicare item number and you pay the full amount, get no rebate, and not one dollar counts towards your safety net.

The same logic applies across allied health: physiotherapy, psychology, podiatry, exercise physiology, speech pathology. Before you book, ask one question — is this service claimable through Medicare?

Most allied health rebates need a referral from us first, usually as part of a chronic disease management plan if you are managing an ongoing condition. If that might apply to you, raise it at your next appointment.

Choosing a Medicare-eligible practitioner is not just about the rebate on the day. It moves you closer to the point where Medicare gives you more back on everything else.

19/09/2026

We are a private billing practice and we know our fees are a real consideration. So here is something genuinely useful: the amount you pay out of your own pocket is exactly what builds your safety net.

What counts: out-of-hospital services with a Medicare item number — GP consultations, specialist appointments, pathology, imaging, and eligible allied health such as an Accredited Practising Dietitian, physiotherapist or psychologist on a referral. Only the portion you paid yourself counts, and it is counted once you have paid the account in full and claimed.

What does not count: bulk-billed appointments contribute nothing, not because they are worth less, but because you paid nothing out of pocket, so there is nothing to count. Services with no Medicare item number never count, however much you spend. Neither does treatment as a hospital inpatient.

This is the part that surprises people. A patient who is always bulk billed may never reach a threshold, while a patient paying private fees for the same number of visits can reach one partway through the year and receive higher rebates on everything eligible after that.

A practical tip: pay your account in full and then claim, so the amount is verified and counted correctly.

Not sure whether a service counts? Ask us, or check your Medicare online account.

18/09/2026

Three numbers sit behind every account you pay: the schedule fee (the amount the Government sets for that service), the Medicare benefit (what Medicare pays back, usually 85% of the schedule fee for referred out-of-hospital services), and what the practice actually charged.

The Original Safety Net counts only the gap: schedule fee minus benefit. That is the Government's own shortfall, and it is a small number.

The Extended Safety Net counts your full out-of-pocket: what you were charged minus the benefit. That is the number you actually feel.

An example. Specialist visit, schedule fee $100, benefit $85, the practice charges $160, so you pay $75. The Original net counts $15. The Extended net counts $75. Same appointment, very different amounts — hence very different thresholds.

$594.40 in gaps for the Original net; $2,699.10 in out-of-pocket costs for the Extended net, or $861.20 with a concession card or Family Tax Benefit Part A.

Pass the Original threshold and Medicare pays 100% of the schedule fee instead of 85%. Pass the Extended threshold and Medicare pays 80% of further out-of-pocket costs for the rest of the year, capped on some services.

One note for our patients: GP attendances are already paid at 100% of the schedule fee, so they leave no gap for the Original net. Here it is the Extended net that does the real work.

2026 figures — both reset 1 January.