IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY CALL 000
5/3 Angophora Drive, Warabrook 2304
02 4968 9932
Our Privacy Policy
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, 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 of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only 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?
Our practice will 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, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (e.g. staff training).
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
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Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
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Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
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Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
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Healthcare identifiers • Health fund details.
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 individual.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
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When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
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During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. E.g. Information can also be collected through electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP), My Health Record, e.g. via Shared Health Summary and/or Event Summary
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We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
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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;
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Your guardian or responsible person
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Other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
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Your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).
When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?
We sometimes share your personal information:
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With third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
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With other healthcare providers
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When it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
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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
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To assist in locating a missing person
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To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
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For the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
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When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
During the course of providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary) 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, our practice 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 are permitted by law) without your consent. Our practice 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 our practice in writing.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored in various forms e.g. as paper records, as electronic records, as visual (X-rays, CT scans, videos and photos), or as audio recordings.
We store all personal information securely
Your records are maintained within Best Practice which is password protected and protected by firewalls and security software managed by Hunter Primary Health Network (Hunter PHN) as per RACGP requirements. Paper records from before transition to Best Practice are securely stored offsite. Hard copies of records that are no longer required are shredded by an accredited secure document destruction company.All staff have signed a confidentiality agreement that prohibits them from divulging any information about you that they may have learnt through working with us to provide you with quality health care.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. Our practice acknowledges that patients may request access to their medical records. In order to comply with privacy legislation it is necessary to adhere to the following procedure: We require you to put this request in writing and addressed to your GP. We can provide you with a standard request form for this purpose. We will respond within 30 days or sooner, which by industry standards is considered to be a reasonable time. We will always act as quickly as possible. If it is not possible for access to be granted, you will be notified in writing. If access is refused to your medical file, you will be advised of the reasons in writing. You may contact us if you wish to discuss this further. You will not be permitted to remove any of the contents of your medical file from the practice, nor will you be permitted to alter or erase information contained in that medical record. Where practicable, a GP will be present when access is granted to your file, to address any concerns you may have. There is a fee of $1 per page for copies of your file. Alternatively you may request copies be securely emailed for a standard fee of $25.When collecting records, patients are requested to do so in person; however, in some limited circumstances (Illness or incapacity) patients may request another person to collect same. Photo identity is required to collect medical records and a letter of authority is required to collect on another’s behalf.
Correction of Information
Our practice 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 our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to:
The Practice Manager Warabrook Doctors,
PO Box 185, HRMC NSW 2310
Or by email to: PracticeManager@warabrookdoctors.com.au
How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will it be handled?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. Please express any privacy concerns you may have in writing to:
The Practice Manager,
Warabrook Doctors,
PO Box 185, HRMC NSW 2310
or by email to: PracticeManager@warabrookdoctors.com.au
We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. You will receive a response within 30 days; however, we will make every effort to respond as quickly as possible. In our response we will endeavour to explain our view of the incident and any remedies we may offer. We will also explain any improvements in our processes that may have occurred due to the incident. You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require time to respond, before they will investigate. For further information, visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002.
You may also contact the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) on:1800 043 159 or by going to their websitehttp://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/Complaints/How-to-make-a-complaint/Default
Privacy, our Website and Social Media
Our website collects your private information for three purposes:
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To enable us to respond to you if you use our contact form which requires your name and email and requests your phone number
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To allow you to make an appointment via our appointment plugin Health Engine. Their privacy policy can be found at: https://healthengine.com.au/privacy.php.
Generally, it states that the use of their system is completely voluntary and collects only enough information to verify your identity so that you can make an appointment in BP. The information that health engine may collect is your name, email address, date of birth, address, mobile phone number and if available, your Medicare number. •
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For Google Analytics to enhance the effectiveness of our website. More information about Googles privacy policy can be found here: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6004245?hl=en. The information Google takes is: The city you are visiting from (taken from your IP address), what kind of device you are using, what pages you visit and how long you spend on each page. Google Analytics does use first-party cookies to do this but all information is non-personally identifiable.
We may utilise Facebook varying degrees to share health information and tips and to connect with our community. We do not collect data from our social media.
Our social media pages are public forums therefore anything added to them are available to the public. Like any social media page, ours are subject to the data collection as standard to the specific social media provider. Their policies including what, why and how they collect your data is available by visiting:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation
Policy Review Statement
Our privacy policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. New versions will be posted on our website and available in hard copy onsite. When we make changes we will announce these changes online, in our newsletter and in our waiting room.