Introduction
At Unanderra Family Doctors, we dedicate our services to protecting your privacy as an individual and/or our patient. In accordance with the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and Australian Privacy Principles and relevant State and Territory Privacy Legislation (“privacy legislation), we are responsible for handling any information you provide to us in a responsible manner.
In this section, Unanderra Family Doctors (“we,” “our,” “us”) will explain how we disclose, collect, and use your personal information, including your access to information, your part in getting the credible information, and making a complaint when you found clear evidence of a breach of your privacy.
This Privacy Policy will take effect from May 2015. We are rightful to make change to this Privacy Policy including systems and processes in relation to handling your personal information, without prior notification to you. We will update this Privacy Policy for any change we made.
Collection
We collect information we believe relevant and necessary for our doctor, our service, and us in providing the best medical treatment and care for you, including our medical practice management. This information may include, but not limited to your name, date of birth, address, health information, gender, credit card, family history, contact details, and direct debit details. While we will use our system to store this information, we will always ask for your permission to use sensitive information, including but not limited to your financial information (credit and debit card). Under any circumstance, we may also create written records of this information.
Our best approach is to collect this information personally. However, whenever we believe it is necessary, we may also collect any information about you from other sources, including, but not limited to your radiologists, relatives, General Practitioner Doctor, treating specialists, friends, hospitals, health care providers, and pathologists. You also hereby grant us permission to use any known method to collect this information, including, but not limited to phone conversation, writing, and online transaction at our website. Both our non-medical and medical staffs may get assignment to collect this information.
Whenever the law requires us to do, we are eligible to retain your medical records and any of your personal information for certain periods.
Use and Disclosure
Your personal information are highly confidential and we will always keep it that way. We will disclose or use this information for your medical purposes, including, but not limited to care, treatment, and your General Practitioner Doctor.
Whenever the law requires us to do, we are also eligible to disclose personal information we gathered from you to other third parties, including, but not limited to police, Medicare, government regulatory bodies, solicitors, tribunals, insurers, hospitals, and court of law.
We are also eligible to disclose any information we gathered from you to outside contractors for limited purposes, mostly to carry out certain activities on our behalf, including, but not limited to debt collection agent, solicitor, or IT service provider. The confidentiality and security of your information are our highest priorities under this circumstance. We strictly prohibit outside contractors to use any information about you for any purpose that has no connection with activities we assigned to them.
Data Quality and Security
We will take all necessary steps to ensure the credibility of your information. For this purpose, we may require you to confirm and update your latest details when you meet with our doctor for consultation.
We protect your personal information by using the latest security measures and applying strict level-based access to keep unauthorized access from interfering, modifying, accessing, and disclosing your information.
Correction
If you believe your personal information we hold is no longer accurate and credible, we humbly ask you to contact our customer care representative in writing (please see our contact details below).
Access
All patients hold their right to access their medical records. However, our policy requires you to send us a letter of your request. We will try as soon as possible to respond to your letter.
We may charge you for a service and/or administrative fee of providing and retrieving copies of your medical records.
For any reason, we may deny your request to your medical records as long as the law permits us or your General Practitioner allows us. In any case, we will give you the reason for the denial and alternative options you have.
Transfer Of Medical Record
Where you authorize us to transfer your complete medical records to another medical practice/clinic and pay our fee for transfer, we will first to attempt to transfer the complete medical records to the medical practice/clinic electronically using no less than AES128 encryption. If the receiving medical practice/clinic is unable to facilitate the transfer this way, we will use post/courier to deliver the medical records for you.
Overseas Transfer of Data
Unless the law requires us to do so or we have your permission, we will never knowingly transfer personal information we gathered from you to an overseas recipient, including, but not limited to a doctor.
Complaints
If you have any complaint about how Unanderra Family Doctors collect, disclose, and use your personal information, we humbly ask you to reach us in writing. Once we received your complaint, we will check the details of your complaint and solve the subjects of your request in accordance with our internal procedures in handling complaints.
Under any circumstance, you feel our solutions are not good enough, we humbly ask you to contact the Australian Information Commissioner or your state Privacy Commissioner.
Contact
For any request for access to your medical records, complaints, and queries, please send a writing to:
The Practice Manager
Unanderra Family Doctors
21 Farmborough Road,
Unanderra, NSW
2526
