Part of Ariva Health
Specialist geriatric medicine,across the Territory.
Consultant geriatrician assessment in Darwin, in residential aged care, and by telehealth for patients anywhere in the Northern Territory. Comprehensive assessment, a clear written plan, and a medication list that finally makes sense.
Rooms:(08) 7918 1918
The core appointment
A full hour, and a plan in writing
- One hourNot fifteen minutes. Time to take a proper history and talk to the family.
- The whole pictureMedical, cognitive, functional and social — assessed together, not in pieces.
- A written plan in a weekSent to the referring GP: diagnoses, medications to stop, follow-up.
What we do
The comprehensive geriatric assessment
A full hour with a consultant geriatrician. One appointment that looks at the whole picture — medical, cognitive, functional and social — and ends with a written plan your GP can act on.
Before the appointment
We read the referral, the medication list and any recent hospital discharge summaries. Families are welcome to send a written history in advance.
The hour itself
History, examination, cognitive and functional assessment, a full medication review, and time to talk through what matters to the patient and the people who care for them.
The written plan
A letter to the referring GP within one week: diagnoses, a medication plan including anything to stop, investigations, referrals, and clear follow-up.
Conditions
What we assess and manage
Referrals are welcome for any of the following. If you are not sure whether a referral fits, call the rooms and ask.
- Memory and cognitionCognitive assessment, dementia diagnosis and ongoing management.
- DeliriumAssessment after a hospital admission, and prevention planning.
- Falls and balanceMultifactorial falls assessment, gait and mobility, fracture risk.
- FrailtyMeasuring frailty and planning around it, including before surgery.
- Polypharmacy and deprescribingStructured medication review, with a plan for what to stop and how.
- Parkinson’s and movement disordersDiagnosis, medication adjustment and long-term review.
- ContinenceAssessment and management of bladder and bowel problems.
- Osteoporosis and bone healthFracture risk assessment and treatment.
- Capacity assessmentDecision-specific capacity assessment, including financial and medical decisions.
- Driving assessmentMedical fitness to drive, assessed against the Austroads standard.
- Advance care planningGoals of care conversations, documented properly.
- Complex multimorbidityWhere several conditions and several specialists need one coordinating view.
Where we see you
Clinic, aged care, home, or by telehealth
Distance should not decide whether an older person sees a geriatrician. We work across the Territory with local primary care teams.
The main service. A full hour for a new assessment, with follow-up review appointments as needed.
On-site review in RACFs, for residents where transfer to a clinic is difficult or distressing.
For review appointments, and for patients and families outside Darwin. Medicare rebates apply where eligible.
Geriatric medicine reaching communities across the Territory, working with local primary care teams.
For referrers
Working with GPs
The same referral pathway and team model as NT Kidney Clinic, so referring to either practice works the same way.
How we support GPs
- A written plan back to you within one week of the appointment, not a discharge summary months later.
- An explicit deprescribing list — what to stop, in what order, and what to watch for.
- Direct specialist-to-GP contact for questions between appointments.
- Shared care: we assess and plan, you keep the relationship and the prescribing.
Ideal referrals
- Cognitive concern where the diagnosis is unclear, or the family needs a plan.
- Recurrent falls, or one fall with injury.
- A patient on ten or more medicines with no clear owner of the list.
- Frailty before planned surgery, where a risk assessment would change the decision.
- Capacity or fitness-to-drive questions needing a specialist opinion.
Why refer to NT Geriatrics
- Consultant geriatrician assessment without an interstate wait list.
- Part of Ariva Health — the same team model, physicians and referral pathway as NT Kidney Clinic.
- We see patients where they are: clinic, aged care, home, or by telehealth.
- Fees stated openly before the appointment, so nobody is surprised.
Secure messaging
Send referrals directly from your clinical software:TO SUPPLY: Argus / HealthLink / Medical Objects — confirm which
Fees
What it costs, before you book
This practice is privately billed with a Medicare rebate. We publish the figures because the out-of-pocket cost is the thing families most need to know, and the hardest to find.
| Appointment | Fee | Medicare rebate | Estimated out of pocket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial consultation (1 hour) | TO SUPPLY: initial fee | TO SUPPLY: initial rebate | TO SUPPLY: initial gap |
| Review consultation (30 min) | TO SUPPLY: review fee | TO SUPPLY: review rebate | TO SUPPLY: review gap |
| Residential aged care visit | TO SUPPLY: RACF fee | TO SUPPLY: RACF rebate | TO SUPPLY: RACF gap |
| Telehealth review | TO SUPPLY: telehealth fee | TO SUPPLY: telehealth rebate | TO SUPPLY: telehealth gap |
A valid referral is required for the Medicare rebate. If cost is a barrier to being seen, please say so when you book — talk to us rather than not coming.
Your specialist
Dr Tarun Kapil
- Title
- Consultant Geriatrician
- Qualifications
- TO SUPPLY: FRACP qualifications
- Ahpra registration
- TO SUPPLY: Ahpra registration number
- Hospital appointments
- TO SUPPLY: hospital appointments
Dr Tarun Kapil is a consultant geriatrician practising in Darwin and across the Northern Territory.
Areas of particular interest: TO SUPPLY: subspecialty interests
NT Geriatrics is part of Ariva Health, a Darwin specialist physician practice. Patients needing nephrology, general medicine or perioperative care can be referred within the same group without starting again.
Referrals
Refer a patient
Send a referral online in about a minute. No PDF, no fax. You’ll get an email confirmation within one working day.
For patients & families
Common questions
If your question isn’t here, please call the rooms. We would rather answer it than have you worry about it.
Contact
Get in touch
Phone
Fax
(08) 7918 1963
Referrals email
Consulting rooms
Suite 11, Darwin Private HospitalRocklands DrTiwi NT 0810Get directions (opens in a new tab)In an emergency, call 000. This practice does not provide urgent or after-hours care. For urgent concerns, contact your GP or attend an emergency department.