This privacy policy is to provide you the 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 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 (eg 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 including 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 to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
- When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
- During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further information. Information may also be collected through electronic transfer of prescriptions, My Health Record, eg via Shared Health Summary.
- In some circumstances personal information may 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
- Others involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services, pathology and diagnostic imaging services.
When, why and with who do we share your personal information?
We sometimes share your personal information:
- with other healthcare providers
- when it is required or authorised by law
- 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 information (eg diseases that 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 describes in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party 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.
Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data.
Our practice may use your personal 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 organisations to improve population health outcomes. The information is secure, patients cannot be identified and the information is stored with Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.
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 patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing, by completing request for medical information form, the practice will respond within 30 days.
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.
How can you lodge a complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any concerns you have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure.
A complaints form is also available via HotDoc.
The practice can be contacted via email: info@nisamedical.com.au
Mailing Address: 50 Arena Ave
Roxburgh Park, 3064
8339 2797
If the complaint cannot be resolved, patients may contact the Health Complaints Commissioner, 1300 582 113, 9:30am – 3pm Monday – Friday