Bunbury Family Doctors’ Privacy Policy

Introduction

Current as of: 17/07/24

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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 will be asked to complete our patient registration form that includes a section for you to 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. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

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 deal only with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.

  1. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
  2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information, as explained in the patient registration form. For example, information can also be collected through electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP), My Health Record, eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary.
  3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email, telephone us or make an online appointment.
  4. 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 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 including Worker’s Compensation claims and similar insurance claims
  • 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 not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may 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.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in different ways such as hard copy and/or electronic documents.

Our practice stores all personal information securely. Hard copies are kept in a locked cupboard overnight and are shredded when no longer required. Electronic copies are stored in our practice management software (Best Practice) which is password protected. Passwords are changed frequently and our cyber security systems are regularly reviewed by an independent and experienced IT advisor. All staff and contractors who have access to personal information in the course of their usual duties are required to sign a confidentiality agreement at their induction.

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 via email to admin@bunburyfamilydoctors.com.au and our practice will respond within 30 days.

There is no cost associated with such a request if it is made by the patient. There may, however, be fees associated with providing medical records on your behalf to third parties such as solicitors or insurance companies.

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 can make such requests in person or via email to admin@bunburyfamilydoctors.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. Ideally, complaints should be made via email to admin@bunburyfamilydoctors.com.au. You may also send complaints by mail to: PO Box 6097, South Bunbury 6230 or by phone on 08 9778 5800. Complaints may also be made anonymously via the feedback box at reception.

You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. 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.

In Western Australia, you may also approach the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office:

Free call from landlines: 1800 813 583

Phone: (08) 6551 7620 (Administration)

Email: mail@hadsco.wa.gov.au

Website: www.hadsco.wa.gov.au

Postal address: GPO Box B61, Perth WA 6838

Privacy and our website

Our website allows you to manage your medical appointments without the need to speak to our receptionists. All personal information that is collected via the website is also protected by our privacy policy. The website uses cookies, small text files generated by our servers and saved on your computer. These cookies help us recognize you on return visits and remember your preferences. Without any notification, a cookie is automatically sent from our server and placed on your computer. It may store personal preferences or information, which are then returned to the server at the end of your session. While you can disable cookies in your browser settings, doing so might make some websites unusable. We use scripts from Google Analytics and social media platforms on some pages, which is invisible to you as it employs a hidden image at the bottom of the web page. This software stores a cookie with a unique identifier in your browser and sends data to Google Analytics. This allows us to track the number of unique visitors to our site, but this identifier does not reveal your personal identity.

Bunbury Family Doctors’ Facebook page is a public platform for sharing clinic news and general public health information only. Personal health information will never be uploaded or shared on our website.

Policy review statement

This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur in state and federal legislation. Any amendments to this policy will be provided to patients via SMS, via our website and via leaflets available from the clinic.