Calling programmes that reach GPs, specialists and practice managers

Getting through

Handling practice reception properly

In general practice, reception and the practice manager decide whether a call reaches the doctor. Treating them as a gatekeeper to get around fails. Treating them as the people who run the day works.

• Callers say who they are, who the programme is for and why in the first sentence
• We ask reception for the best time to reach the doctor instead of pushing for a transfer
• Practice managers are often the right first contact for practice-level consent or data checks
• Every reception conversation is logged, so the next call starts where the last one ended
• Callers accept longer holds when a doctor is finishing a consult, rather than hanging up and redialling

Timing

Callbacks built around clinic hours

GPs spend most of the day in consults, so programmes are scheduled around the gaps and booked callbacks do much of the work.

• Calls are timed to the windows each practice tells us work best
• Booked callbacks are logged against the record and kept
• A call outside standard calling hours only happens when that specific time was expressly agreed in advance, and the agreement is recorded
• Hold time and callback handling are flexible for hard-to-reach professionals
• Attempts per record are agreed at scoping, so effort goes where an outcome is likely

Consent

Consent capture and logging

Under the Spam Act 2003 you need consent before sending commercial emails, and you cannot send an email to ask for it. ACMA lists a phone call as one way to give express consent, which is why consent programmes run by phone.

• Consent wording is agreed with your compliance team and read as approved
• We record who gave consent, the wording used, the date, the time and the caller
• Declines and not-now outcomes are recorded as clearly as consents
• The collection notice your team approves is given at the start of the call
• Consent is captured for the sender and purpose you define, nothing broader

Data accuracy

Practitioner data you can load straight into your systems

A consent is only useful if it is attached to the right person and the right address. TGA guidance says the public must not be able to access advertising meant for health professionals, which is one more reason to confirm that an address belongs to the practitioner and not a shared inbox.

• Email addresses are read back and confirmed on the call
• Personal work addresses are separated from shared practice inboxes
• Practitioners who have moved, retired or left the practice are flagged, with new details where offered
• Every record ends with one final outcome and a timestamp
• Data is delivered in your format, or loaded into your CRM, using a field map agreed at scoping

Compliance

Compliance specific to calling healthcare professionals

• Telecommunications (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2017: consent and data verification calls are run as telemarketing calls, so we call 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays in the recipient's local time, never on Sundays or national public holidays, unless a specific call time was expressly agreed in advance.
• At the start of each call, callers give their name, Nousu's name, the name of the organisation the programme is for and the purpose of the call. Caller ID stays on and calls end immediately when asked.
• Do Not Call Register Act 2006: business numbers such as practice lines cannot be registered, but a practitioner's private mobile can be, so any list containing mobiles is washed against the Register within 30 days before calling.
• Spam Act 2003: consent to emails is recorded with who, when and how, because the sender must be able to prove consent. Your later emails must still identify you and include a working unsubscribe.
• Privacy Act 1988: a GP's work email and practice details are personal information, because the OAIC treats work contact details as personal information. They are not health information, which is information about an individual's health or disability. We collect only the fields you define.
• Medicines Australia Code of Conduct, Edition 20 (effective 30 March 2025): Medicines Australia says the Code applies to all prescription pharmaceutical companies in Australia, and anyone acting on a company's behalf must be trained on it. Callers are briefed on your Code obligations, and consent calls do not promote or discuss products.

This summarises our operating rules, not legal advice. Your compliance team signs off every script before calling starts. Regulatory summary checked October 2026.

Reporting

What you get in reporting