Current as of: 22/01/2020
Definition
In this Privacy Policy, we use the terms:
“Personal information” as defined in the Privacy Act. This means:
“information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:
• whether the information or opinion is true or not;
• and whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not “;
“Health information” as defined in the Privacy Act. This is a subset of “personal information” and means
information or an opinion about:
• the health or a disability (at any time) of an individual; an individual’s expressed wishes about the future provision of health services to him or her; or a health service provided or to be provided to an individual.
Personal information also includes “sensitive information” which is information such as your race, religion, political opinions, sexual preferences and/or “health information”. Information which is “sensitive information” attracts a higher privacy standard under the Privacy Act and is subject to additional mechanisms for your protection
“We”, “Us”, “Our”, “My Rehab Team” shall mean:
My Rehab Team, and those employed, contracted and independent medical and healthcare practitioners who practice from our rooms
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 collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health and deliver the best quality health care to you. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes.
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 impracticable for us 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 personal information. This further information may be obtained by gaining your consent to use My Health Record. (You can find the My Health Record Privacy Policy via https://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/about/privacy-policy)
- We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us or make an online appointment.
- 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). - My Rehab Team operates at Medsana Medical Clinic and at patient’s preferred address. Medsana Medical has CCTV systems operating at our premises for the purposes of maintaining safety and
security for our patients, visitors, staff and other attendees. Our CCTV system may collect and store personal information and the use of our CCTV will be in accordance with the Privacy Act
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
- 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
- for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
- when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. mandatory disease notification to QLD Public Health)
- during the course of providing medical services, through 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 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.
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.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
We strive to maintain the reliability, accuracy, completeness and currency of the personal information we hold and to protect its privacy and security. Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. These forms include, but are not limited to, electronic records, paper records, and visual records (x-rays, CT scans and photos).
Our practice stores all personal information securely. All employed and contracted staff are required to sign and abide by confidentiality agreements and we all understand and the respect the importance of confidentiality. All information is secured with numerous passwords and with various levels of access to patient information according to the role of staff members. All staff members are trained and continually updated on privacy and confidentiality guidelines, legislation and regulations. Our systems are highly protected by anti-virus and anti-malware software. All paper records will be uploaded to your medical file as an electronic copy to ensure the security of your privacy. The original copy will be destroyed.
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 and our practice will respond within a reasonable time.
Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. To ensure that all details are correct and current, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests by either speaking to the reception staff, your GP or in writing to info@myrehabteam.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 forward your complaint to:
Sharon Lin (Practice Manager) or Dr Linh Cheung (Medical Director)
Postal: My Rehab Team
GF 103, BLDG 10, Freeway Office Park
2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains
QLD, 4113 Australia
Email: info@myrehabteam.com.au
Phone: 07 3852 4878
If a satisfactory outcome is not achieved then complaints can be directed to the Office of the Health Ombudsman on 133 646 or by visiting the website www.oho.qld.gov.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 the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
Privacy and our website
You are able to contact My Rehab Team via our website, however, this method of contact is not secure. All messages from the My Rehab Team website will be diverted to the office email and actioned accordingly. While every effort will be made to keep your information secure, electronic communications can potentially be compromised, so this will be done at your own risk.
Policy review statement
This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur.