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.
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 members 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.
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).
The information we will collect about you includes:
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impractical for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
Our practice will collect your personal information:
We sometimes share your personal information:
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 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 not consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. Some records may still be stored in hard copy including some radiological/pathology data. Most data is now electronic (post 2008).
Our practice stores all personal information securely. Our hard copy records are stored according to legislature, away from public access and locked securely after hours. Our electronic records are protected by passwords. These passwords are individual and changed regularly. Our electronic data is virus protected and secured with appropriate firewall protection.
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 display a signature that can be matched to our records. Our practice will respond within a reasonable time (usually 30 days). There is a fee for compliance but this applies directly to the cost to the practice of supplying the requested data. As such the fee may include postage.
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 your personal data held by our practice is correct and up to date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to the practice manager.
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. The complaint should be sent to:
The Practice Manager
Edgewater Medical Centre
Suite 3, 4 Wisteria Parade
Edgewater WA 6027
Phone :(08) 9306 1899
Fax :(08) 9306 2886
Email :info@edgewatermedical.com.au
You may also contact OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commission). 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 366 002. Alternatively, you can also contact:
Health and Disability Service and Complaints Office
GPO Box B61
Perth WA 6838
Phone (08) 9323 0600
Fax (08) 9221 3675
Country call – 1800 813 583
Website: www.hadsco.wa.gov.au
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This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is compliant with any current legislature.