Privacy Policy

Our Healthcare Services

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. Our practice has an individual patient health record for each patient, which contains all health information held by our practice about that patient and any care you may need.This leaflet aims to explain clearly how personal information about you and your health is recorded and managed in this practice. Your doctor will be happy to discuss this with you.

Your Personal Health Information

Your doctor needs information about your past and present health in order to provide you with high quality care. This practice will make sure that you are able to discuss your health with your doctor in private. Information is called “personal health information” if it concerns your health, medical history or past or future medical care and if someone reading it would be able to identify you. This practice follows the “Code of Practice for the Management of Health Information in Medical Practices” developed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. This means that your personal health information is kept private and secure

Why and when your consent is necessary?

When you register and agree as a patient of our practiceon the Patient Registration form, you provide consent for our GP’s and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best 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. The practice will obtain informed consent by email prior to consult for real – time audio/visual recording, duplication and storage of a consultation, including those via Tele-health .The practice will upload the consent email into the patients file prior to a Tele-health consultations. Currently the practice does not do audio visual recording of consultations.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

What personal information do we collect?

The information we 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

Your Medical Records

Your Doctor will do his/her best to make sure that your Medical Records are:

are accurate, comprehensive, well-organised and legible;
are up to date;
have enough information to allow another doctor to care for you;
do not contain offensive or irrelevant comments about you;
contain a summary of your care;
Can you be used to remind you, with your permission, to return for follow up, check ups and reviews.
Your doctor will only collect information which is relevant to your medical care.
If you are uncertain as to why information is being requested, ask your doctor.

Dealing with us anonymously

How do we collect your personal information?

My GP Parkwood 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 Patient Registration Consent form registration (Privacy Collection statement is found on the bottom of the 2^nd page)
During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information By Signing a Patient Transfer of Records form at our reception desk at My GP Parkwood, Electronic Transfer of Prescription (eTP), My Health Record – Shared health summary or event summary. My Health Record is a secure digital record of your Patient health information. The GP,s and healthcare providers can check your My Health Record when they need to that helps to inform and improve clinical decision making. Both you and your healthcare providers can add information to your record.
We may also collect your personal information when you send us an email or telephone us.
In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect 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 Veteran 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 APPs and this policy
With other healthcare providers
When it is required or authorised by law (eg. 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 process
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 collect personal information in an ethical and fair manner (without being intrusive or using methods of intimidation).

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 not consent, you 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.

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 within Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.

Referrals

Our referral documents to other healthcare providers contain sufficient information to facilitate optimal patient care.

Our practice can demonstrate that referral letters are legible, contain at least three approved patient identifiers, state the purpose of the referral and where appropriate:

include relevant history, examination findings and current management
include a list of known allergies, adverse drug reactions and current medicines
the doctor making the referral is appropriately identified
the healthcare setting from which the referral has been made is identified
the healthcare setting to which the referral is being made is identified
if known, the healthcare provider to whom the referral is being made is identified
if the referral is transmitted electronically then it is done in a secure manner a copy of referral documents is retained in the patient health record.

Providing your information to other doctors

The doctor(s) in this practice respect your right to decide how your personal health information is used or disclosed (for example: to other doctors). In all but exceptional circumstances, personal information that identifies you will be sent to other people only with your consent. Gaining your consent is the guiding principle. It is important that other people involved in your care, such as other doctors, are informed of relevant parts of your medical history so they can best care for you. After discussion with you, your doctor will write a letter to the other doctor, which will be faxed, or given to you to take to them.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in electronic record format, including all investigation results. Our practice stores all personal information securely, all systems are password protected and only specified staffhave access.Only Clinic staff of this practice has access to our computers. Our computer will lock after five minutes (5) of not being used and you need a password to activate our system again.

All medical correspondence that comes into our clinic is all scanned into patients file and the documents are shredded in our shredding machine.

All health information is kept for a minimum of 7 years for adults from the last visit. If the patient is under 18 years, the records must be kept until that patient has reached 25 years of age.

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 put this request in writing and our practice will respond within a reasonable time and no later than 30days. This request may incur a fee which you will be advised of. We believe that sharing information is important for good communication between you and your doctor and for good health care.

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 your request in writing to the Reception via email and/or post, our details are below.

Address My GP Parkwood

2/180 Napper Road, Parkwood Qld 4214

Phone number 07 56130263

Email Address reception@mygpparkwood.com.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 find our contact details below and address to Dr Suman ,we will endeavour to process your complaint within 30 days.

Address My GP Parkwood

2/180 Napper Road, Parkwood Qld 4214

Phone number 07 56130263

Email Address reception@mygpparkwood.com.au

You may 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 the OAIC on 1300 363 992. Alternatively you can contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman, PO Box 13281, George Street, Brisbane Qld 4003 or on 133 646.

Privacy and our website

Our website is for your information only, this practice does not interact digitally through social media.

Policy review statement

This privacy policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. A notice will be put in our reception area if our policy changes and can be requested from our reception staff.