Colour City Medical Practice
Privacy Statement
Introduction
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information is collected and used within our practice and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties. This includes your health information.
Why and when your consent is necessary
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for health professionals and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only those 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.
Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare service 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 (Medicare related/Insurance company claims and payments), practice audits and accreditation, and business processes such as staff training.
What personal information do we collect?
The information we collect about you includes your:
Name, date of birth, address, and contact details
Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
Medicare number for identification and claiming purposes
Healthcare identifiers
Health fund details
Dealing with us anonymously
You have the right, under The Privacy Act, 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 this case you will be privately charged for any visits to the health professionals in this practice. Without identification we cannot charge under Medicare. As a rule, we deem this to be impracticable for the purpose of safe and appropriate healthcare in this practice.
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 administering medical services, we may collect further personal information. We use electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP) and My Health Record; the upload of Shared Health summaries and Event Summaries where consent is given.
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.
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 diagnostic imaging services
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:
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 our policy of confidentiality, APP’s and this policy
With other healthcare providers
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
ForConfidential dispute resolution process
When there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information, e.g., some diseases require mandatory notification
During providing medical services, through eTP, 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 while 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 our 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 goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may optout of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
What trans-border disclosures do we make?
We operate and communicate with organisations throughout Australia, we may therefore disclose personal information outside the State or Territory in which the individual resides.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms.
We are a “paperless” practice, meaning that the bulk of your health records are stored electronically, our computers are secured by passwords and timed screen savers. We use software programs that are specifically encrypted for use in a healthcare setting where confidentiality and security of medical information is paramount.
We do still receive many reports and information from third parties regarding your medical information via post and fax services and in this case, we keep those in a secure location until scanned into your electronic file. After scanning, this information is securely disposed of through a trusted shredding service that is contracted to us and upholds the same strict confidentiality and privacy laws as we do.
All staff and health professionals are trained in the confidentiality of patient information and sign a confidentiality agreement on employment or entry to the practice.
Our practice stores all personal information securely.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correct 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 either post or by email, (practice@colourcitymedicalpractice.com.au) and our practice will respond within a reasonable timeframe, within 30 days. A transfer of medical information form will need to be signed and verified to allow records to be transferred between practices. There may be a cost to the provision of paper records depending on the size of the file.
Our practice will take all reasonable steps to make sure that your personal information that we collect is accurate and up to date. We also take reasonable steps to correct the information we hold if we are satisfied that it is incorrect, out of date or incomplete, or if an individual asks us to update information because of these reasons.
A request to correct or update your personal details can be made at any time by contacting us on details listed below. You should make such requests in a timely manner after any changes. There may be circumstances in which we may have to refuse a request for correction. If this happens, we will notify the individual in writing of our reasons for refusal and explain how the individual can complain if not satisfied.
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 in a timely manner, within 30 days. Our contact details are:
Attention: Practice Manager
Colour City Medical Practice
71 Dalton Street, Orange NSW 2800
T: 02 6360 2388
E: practice@colourcitymedicalpractice.com.au
You may also contact the OAIC. 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 OAIC on 1300 363 992
Privacy and our website
Colour City Medical Practice Website is not used to collect any patient information. Appointments can be made through the website by clicking the “Book Appointment” tab. This will take you to HotDocs, which is a website developed exclusively for the use of Healthcare Providers for online appointments, recalls and reminders and follows strict privacy and confidentiality guidelines and legislation. Any information provided to them will be used for the practice only and not for third parties or advertising of any kind. When you receive any reminders or information regarding your appointments you will have the opportunity to unsubscribe or confirm the use of the service.
Policy review statement
This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. Patients will be made aware of any changes through the website or by notice posted in the practice from time to time.