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For Referring CliniciansRefer a patient
to Cadence.
How we work with the patients you send us.
Cadence is a physician-only Sport & Exercise Medicine practice. Here's what that means in practice for a patient you refer to us.
When it's worth sending a patient our way.
A few common starting points — not an exhaustive list, and grouped by what's going on rather than by sport or age.
Persistent painPersistent joint pain
Shoulder, hip, elbow, wrist or ankle pain that hasn't settled with a course of rest or an allied health management plan is often worth a specialist opinion.
DegenerativeOsteoarthritis
Not just for patients approaching joint replacement — active people of any age can benefit from an exercise-first plan, with injection therapy considered where it's genuinely appropriate.
UndiagnosedAn unclear diagnosis
When history, examination and imaging don't quite add up — hip and shoulder pain in particular are often under-investigated before referral.
OveruseA tendon problem that won't resolve
Recurrent or resistant tendinopathy often needs the load management and diagnostic clarity a single course of treatment hasn't given.
Bone healthSuspected or confirmed bone stress injury
Early referral is recommended for diagnosis confirmation, a detailed reload plan, and investigation of underlying causes.
PerformancePlanning a return to sport
Staged, criteria-based return-to-sport planning — useful after injury, after surgery, or simply after time out of activity.
Bone healthLow energy availability
Fatigue, recurrent injury, menstrual changes or slow healing in an athlete training hard and under-fuelling is a pattern worth investigating holistically, not managing symptom by symptom.
Life stageExercise prescription & active ageing
For patients managing a chronic condition, or simply wanting to stay active and capable as they get older — exercise as medicine, prescribed properly.
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Our physiciansTwo physicians, same ethos with specific areas of interest.
Dr Hasenkam and Dr Chamberlain both see and manage the full range of presentations treated at Cadence — there's nothing either of us doesn't see. We share the same clinical approach and standard of care, which is exactly why we set up Cadence together. The areas below reflect where each of us has a particular interest, not a dividing line — if your patient has been referred to one of us, they're in the right hands.
Dr Chris Hasenkam
Areas of particular interest: bone stress injuries, athletic low back pain (particularly adolescent athletes and pars stress fractures), running and load-related injuries, exercise medicine and injury prevention, RED-S and energy availability, and cricket, golf or AFL-specific presentations.
Dr Matt Chamberlain
Areas of particular interest: bone stress injuries and stress fractures (with investigation of the underlying cause), degenerative joint and tendon conditions including injection-appropriate osteoarthritis, persistent anterior knee pain, swimming and aquatic sports medicine, and AFL and team-sport injuries.
Simple to start, and you'll stay in the loop.
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How to referA referral from a GP or medical specialist is required before your patient is seen, and it's also what gives them the higher Medicare rebate and helps us triage appropriately. A letter from allied health is valued just as much for the clinical picture it gives us — and it's often what starts the GP referral in the first place.
A referral letter, relevant history, and any imaging or reports you already have. The more context, the sharper the triage.
Send what you have
History and imaging are reviewed ahead of the appointment, so your patient's first visit builds on what you've already sent.
We review before we see them
A clear, detailed report — usually within 2 business days, sooner if a review with you is coming up. Copies go to you, your patient, and their allied health team.
You hear back
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Referral methodsHealthLinkcadences
Medical-ObjectsSecure referral
EmailFax03 9124 0650
Phone03 9962 3448
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Referral type & Medicare rebateGP or medical specialist referral
Required before your patient is seen; also gives access to the higher Medicare rebate
Welcomed as valuable supporting clinical information — doesn't replace the required GP or specialist referral
Allied health referral letter
010203
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Allied healthYour care and management is valued and maintained.
If you're a physiotherapist, podiatrist, osteopath, exercise physiologist, dietitian, chiropractor, myotherapist or psychologist, your patient comes back to you — for ongoing physio, movement work and the day-to-day of their recovery. We add what sits outside your scope: diagnosis, imaging, injections and medication where appropriate, then hand the plan back to the team already looking after them.
We welcome your referral letters and clinical summaries just as much as a GP's — they add critical clinical information and context, and it's frequently allied health that spots the need for a specialist review before a GP referral is written. A GP or specialist referral is still required before your patient is seen and is what unlocks the higher Medicare rebate, but your own letter is always useful in the meantime — it's what we triage on, and often what gets the process started in the first place.
And we want to hear from you afterwards, too. Questions about a shared patient, feedback on a plan, or a call to compare notes — that's a normal part of how we work, not an imposition.
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FAQQuestions referrers actually ask.
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Send us a referral letter with the relevant history and any imaging or reports you have. We review everything before your patient's appointment, so nothing needs to be repeated in the room.
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You can send your own referral letter directly, and we welcome it — it's often the most useful clinical information we receive, and it's frequently what prompts the GP referral in the first place. A referral from a GP or medical specialist is still required before your patient is seen, and it's also what gives them access to the higher Medicare rebate.
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Usually within 2 business days of the appointment. If your patient has a review with you coming up sooner, we make a specific effort to get the report to you before that — the same or next day, if needed.
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Yes. We're a physician-only practice with no in-house allied health — your patient's ongoing care stays with the practitioner already managing it, whether that's physiotherapy, podiatry, exercise physiology, dietetics, chiropractic, myotherapy or psychology. We add the diagnosis, imaging, injections or medication that sit outside your scope, then hand the plan back to the team already looking after them.
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Call the clinic directly — we're glad to discuss a case over the phone and help with triage, whether you're a GP, specialist or allied health practitioner. Flagging urgency when you refer helps us prioritise appropriately.
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Not necessarily. Send through whatever you already have, and we'll review it before the appointment. Where further imaging helps, we can order it ourselves — many scans may be rebatable, depending on the indication and the radiology provider.
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Both. We read the images ourselves and draw on the radiology report too, so your patient gets the scan, the specialist opinion and the management plan, with both sets of eyes making sure nothing is missed.
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Yes — where injection therapy is appropriate, it's ultrasound-guided.
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Telehealth is available, though an in-person appointment is often recommended — examination findings genuinely inform the assessment, particularly at a first visit.
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Yes — a referral from a GP or medical specialist gives your patient the higher rebate. Either way, a GP or specialist referral is required before they're seen; if what you've sent is an allied health letter alone, let us know and we'll talk you and your patient through what's needed.