Introduction
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
collection, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage
your health. We also use it directly for
related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice
audits, accreditation, and business processes (e.g. staff training).
What personal information do we
collect?
The
information we will collect about you includes your:
·
Names,
date of birth, addresses, contact details
·
Medical
information which includes medical history, medications, allergies, adverse
events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors.
·
Medicare
number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes.
·
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 impractical
for us to do so, or unless we are required or authorized by law to only deal
with identified individuals.
[note: The privacy Act requires us to provide patients with
the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing
with us, unless it is impractical for us as Yeppoon Medical Care to do so.]
How do we collect your personal
information?
Our
practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
1. When you make your first appointment
our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via
your registration.
2. During the course of providing
medical services, we may collect further personal information, e.g. electronic
transfer of prescriptions, my heath record, a shared health summary.
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.
3. 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 specialists, allied health
professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnosis
imaging services.
·
Your
health fund, Medicare or the department of veteran’s affairs (as necessary).
When why and with whom do we share
your personal information?
We
sometimes share your personal information:
·
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 Australian Privacy Principles (APP) and this policy.
·
With
other healthcare providers.
·
When
it is required or authorized 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 processes.
·
When
there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g.
some diseases require mandatory notification).
·
During
the course of providing medical services, through e-prescriptions, my health
record (e.g. 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 the 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 does not send your information outside of Australia unless this is in
accordance with your consent of international law.
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 the practice in writing.
Our
practice may use your information to improve the quality of the services we
offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data.
We may
provide de-identified data to other organizations to improve population health
outcomes. The information is secure,
patients cannot be identified, and the information is stored within
Australia. You can let our reception
staff know if you do not want your information included and your information
will be extracted from our data.
How do we store and protect your
personal information?
Your
personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms.
We use
electronic data and electronic photograph storage along with secure paper
versions of data.
This paper
data is destroyed using secure bins and destroyed by shredding and fire.
Our practice stores all personal information
securely.
We have
personal information secured on computers and use password protection. All staff and contractors sign
confidentiality agreements. If your
records are in hard copy, they are stored securely until shredding and
destruction by fire.
How can you access and correct your
personal information at our practice?
You have
the right to request corrections of your personal information.
Our
practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical
records. We require you to put this
request in writing. Paperwork is
available at reception for these requests to be made and our practice will
respond within a reasonable time period of no more than 30 days. There are no fees associated with the
request, only the cost of complying with the request e.g. medico legal fees and
charges could apply.
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 you information and you should make such request in writing to the
Manager at the practice, Yeppoon Medical Care, 19 Hill Street, Yeppoon, QLD,
4703 or via email medicals@ymc.net.au.
How
can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be
handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns
regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may
have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our
resolution procedure. Please allow 14 days for us to process your complaint.
Please address this to the Manager.
Our contact details are as
follows:
Yeppoon Medical Care
19 Hill Street,
Yeppoon, QLD, 4703
Phone: 07 49394355
Email: medicals@ymc.net.au
You may
also contact the OACI. You can visit www.oaic.gov.au or call them on 1300 363 992
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Policy review statement
Our privacy
policy is reviewed regularly in line with changes or amendments to the privacy
Act, our practice policy and procedures.