Is my private information secure?

PROMENADE MEDICAL CENTRE PRIVACY POLICY AND STATEMENT

PURPOSE

To explain the procedures relating to privacy and the circumstances under which personal and health information is collected, stored, used, disclosed and destroyed by Promenade Medical Centre. Our procedures comply with the Federal Privacy Act incorporating the Australian Privacy Principles and professional obligations. The Australian Privacy Principles set out the way organisations and government agencies can collect, use, disclose and provide access to personal and sensitive information.

INTRODUCTION

Promenade Medical Centre recognises and respects the importance of your privacy. This policy and related procedures ensure that all personal and health related information we hold is handled appropriately and kept confidential.

Personal information is any information that identifies or could identify you, whether it is true or not. It includes, for example, your name, age, gender and contact details. Personal information can also include sensitive information, which is information about your health and health services provided to you.

This Privacy Policy describes the ways and circumstances, under which we collect, store, use, disclose and destroy personal information.

To deliver our commitment to privacy, we are obligated to:

• comply with the Federal Privacy Act in relation to personal information
• convey this  Privacy  Policy  to anyone who asks for it and to all  employees and contractors  to  ensure awareness of their requirement to uphold our privacy standards
• ensure that lawful, fair means are used to collect personal information necessary for our business purposes
• take reasonable steps to ensure that only authorised personnel who have agreed to keep personal information confidential have access to this information
• take reasonable steps to keep personal information up to date, accurate and complete and on request provide individuals access to their personal information
• review and revise this Privacy Policy and related procedures periodically to maintain their relevance

How we collect personal information

We collect personal information orally, in writing, by telephone, via email and via our website.

What we collect and why

We collect, store and use your personal information in order to provide healthcare and treatment to you. This includes administrative and billing purposes, quality improvement, teaching and learning activities. You are not obliged to provide us with information and you can request to remain anonymous or to use a pseudonym. However, anonymity can affect the level of care and treatment we provide to you, and we may have to decline your request if it is impractical for us to agree.

Prior to collection of your personal information for healthcare purposes, we will seek and obtain your consent or that of your carer/next of kin. We will inform you of your rights and responsibilities relating to privacy. You may alter or withdraw your consent at any time.  However, you must let us know if you wish to change or limit your consent.

What information does Promenade Medical Centre collect via its website?

Cookies

Our website uses software known as ‘cookies’ to record your visit to the website and collect some statistical information. We use this information to help administer and improve our website. We do not use this information to personally identify you. Information we may collect includes:

• your server address
• your domain name
• the date and time of access to the website
• pages accessed and documents downloaded
• the previous site visited
• if you have visited the website before
• the type of browser software in use

You can set your web browser to disable cookies when visiting our website. However, some website functions may be unavailable if you choose to do so.

Links to other websites

Clicking on links may result in your transfer to another website, where privacy practices may be different to ours. We are not responsible for third party privacy policies. It is your responsibility to ensure the security of the website you are entering.

Sharing your information

We will not disclose your information without your permission unless the law requires it to be given to a designated person or authority.  Your consent is obtained when you first use our services and will be confirmed with you from time to time. You can change or limit your consent, but you must discuss this with us.

Keeping your information safe

We are committed to protecting your personal information. We  only keep information we need for the purpose for which it was collected. We take all reasonable steps to dispose of information when there is no further need for it, or we are required by law to do so.

We store your information securely and protect it from unauthorised access.  We keep a confidential record of your health issues and your treatment and care, with access limited to professionals involved in your treatment and care. We do not keep your personal information any longer than necessary and it will be disposed of securely.  We ensure that your personal and health information is relevant, accurate and up to date. We collect information directly from you, unless we are unable to so, e.g. in an emergency.  We make every effort to confirm the accuracy of information collected from others  with you, as soon as practicable.

Email Security

Any emails you send or receive from us will be automatically checked for viruses and copied for our email archives. Our IT administrators may have access to emails to manage email security. You should be aware that the Internet is not a secure environment. However, we use all reasonable efforts to ensure any personal information collected, in whatever form, is held securely.

Requesting access to information

You can request access to your information in writing. We will respond to your request within a week. You will need to discuss all requests for health information with your doctor or other health professional.  We may offer you a copy of your record or the opportunity to review your record with your doctor or other health professional.  If access is denied or needs to be limited due to concerns about your health and wellbeing or that of another person, we will discuss this with you. We do not charge you a fee to make a request for access to information. However we may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information e.g. for photocopying or postage.

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

Updating Information

We take reasonable steps to ensure your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date whenever we collect or use it. If personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete, please let us know and we shall make every effort to correct it. We may take steps to verify your identity before providing access to personal data.

Feedback

If you have a question or a complaint regarding our handling of your personal information please email us.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

It may be necessary from time to time to review and revise this Privacy Policy and Statement. We will post any updated versions on our website.