Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy provides information to you on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.

Why and when your consent is necessary

When you register as a patient, you provide consent for us to access and use your personal information so that we can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Whilst we use a shared medical record, only doctors and staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

We need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, audits and accreditation, and business processes (e.g. staff training).

Your health information may be used for secondary purposes such as research, trials and audits. No information that personally identifies you will be disclosed for these secondary purposes, without your express permission.

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect about you includes, but is not limited to, your:

• - Full name, date of birth, address, contact details, next of kin
• - Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, and family history
• - Medicare/DVA number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
• - Health fund and third party insurer details

Contact details for other healthcare providers involved in your care (e.g. GP, Optometrist, other specialists).

Dealing with us anonymously

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.

In the medical context this is not likely to be practicable or possible for Medicare and insurance rebate purposes. It could also be dangerous to your health.

How do we collect personal information?

We may collect your personal information in several different ways.

1. When you make your first appointment our staff will collect your personal and demographic information over the phone and/or via your registration form.
2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
3. We may also collect your personal information when you send us an email, telephone us, make an online enquiry or communicate with us using social media.
4. In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:

• - your guardian or responsible person
• - other involved healthcare providers, such as general practitioners, optometrists, specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
• - your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).

5. We may receive unsolicited personal information about you. In a reasonable period after receiving the information, we will determine whether or not we could have collected the information from you in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. For example, we often receive unsolicited personal information in the form of a referral from your medical practitioner or optometrist.

We may use or disclose the unsolicited personal information for the purposes of making a determination. If we determine that we could not have collected the personal information from you, i.e. the referral is addressed to the wrong practice/medical practitioner, as soon as practicable, and lawful and reasonable to do so, we will advise the sender and destroy the information or ensure that the information is de-identified.

When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?

We sometimes share your personal information:

• - with third parties who work with us for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and this policy
• - with other healthcare providers (e.g. referring doctor/optometrist/specialist, hospital, anaesthetist)
• - when it is required or authorised by law (e.g. court subpoenas)
• - when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
• - to assist in locating a missing person
• - to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
• - for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
• when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. some diseases require mandatory notification)

Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, we will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that is permitted by law) without your consent.

Your health information may be used for research, trials and audits. This research and statistical data may be presented at conferences overseas and/or published in international journals.  No information that personally identifies you will be disclosed. Should information that may identify you be presented at a conference or in a journal, your express consent will be sort for this purpose.

We will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying us in writing.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored in various forms, e.g. paper records, electronic records, visual records (X-rays, CT scans, videos and photos), audio recordings (e.g. doctor dicta-typing).

We store all personal information securely. All electronic records are password protected, securely protected by electronic firewalls and monitored.  Access is by authorised personnel only, who are bound by confidentiality agreements.  Paper and visual records are securely stored.

Your privacy is important to us.  Whilst we take every appropriate measure to store and protect your personal information, in compliance with the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017, we will notify you and the Australian Information Commissioner when there is a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm to you.

A data breach occurs when personal information held by an organisation is lost or subjected to unauthorised access or disclosure.  Examples of a data breach include when:

• - a device containing patient/customer’s personal information is lost or stolen
• - a database containing personal information is hacked
• - personal information is mistakenly provided to the wrong person.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

Patients may request access to their medical records. You will not be charged for making a request for access to your information; however, reasonable fees may be charged for providing the information to you (e.g. administration time in preparing the information and photocopying records).

If you are requesting access to the information of another patient, we may not grant access without that person’s consent. This can include access to a family member’s health information. We recognise that children over the age of 15 can request that information about their health care is kept confidential. This will be managed on a case by case basis as assessed by the treating doctor.

We will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by us is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information.

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled?

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your complaint.

You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OIAC). Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.

 

Privacy and our website

We collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide this information to us. However, certain information about site visitors is automatically collected and stored. When you interact with our sites, certain information about your use of our sites is automatically collected. This information includes computer and connection information, such as statistics on your page views, traffic to and from our sites, referral URL, ad data, your IP address, and device identifiers. This information also may include your transaction history, and your web log information, how you search for our sites, the websites you click on from our sites or emails, whether and when you open our emails, and your browsing activities across other websites. This information is collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies.

 

Policy review statement

This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any legislative changes that may occur.  We will let you know via our website when our policy has been updated.