About the Privacy Policy
Nepean Health Care and the Practitioners it provides services for are committed to providing patients with the highest quality care and service. This includes protecting your privacy by treating all patient information, including health and financial details, as private and confidential. Nepean Health Care and the Practitioners it provides services for have developed the following privacy policy in compliance with Australian privacy legislation, to provide information to you on how your personal information is collected and used within the facility and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
Why and when your consent is necessary
When you register as one of the Practitioner's patients, you provide consent for Practitioners 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 the need arises to use your information for anything else, additional consent will be sought from you to do this.
Why is personal information collected, used, held and shared?
Doctors, nurses, reception staff, and allied health care practitioners will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. The main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. This information assists to provide an accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and ongoing care. It is also used 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 collected about you includes:
- 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 Nepean Health Care anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for Nepean Health Care to do so or unless required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice will collect your personal information:
- When you make your first appointment reception staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
- During the course of providing medical services, the doctors or other medical staff may collect further personal information.
- Information may be collected through eHealth services, including, Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eRX), My Health Record, e.g., via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary.
- Nepean Health Care reception staff 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 Veteran's Affairs (as necessary).
Who do we share your personal information with?
Personal information is sometimes shared:
- 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 (e.g., 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 (e.g. some diseases require mandatory notification)
- during the course of providing medical services, through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eRX), My Health Record system (e.g., via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
Only people that 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, Nepean Health Care and Practitioners who utilise it's services will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
No personal information will be shared with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Your personal information will not be used for marketing any 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 Nepean Health Care or relevant practitioners in writing.
Your personal information may be used to improve the quality of the services we offer to patients through research and analysis of patient data.
Nepean Health Care and the practitioners utilising its services 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. Please let the reception team know if you do not want your information included
How do we store and protect your personal information?
It is the policy of Nepean Health Care and practitioners who utilise its services to maintain accurate, up-to-date and complete records. Your personal information may be stored on site at Nepean Health Care in various forms, including paper records and electronic formats.
It is recognised that the information collected is often of a highly sensitive nature and have the highest privacy compliance standards have been adopted to ensure your information is protected. Personal information is stored securely by using protected information systems, passwords and secured environment for paper records. Nepean Health Care staff and the practitioners who utilise its services have signed confidentiality agreements and only access your information as required. All paper work containing identifying information is shredded and disposed of securely by a specialist service.
How can you access and correct your personal information at Nepean Health Care?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Nepean Health Care and the practitioners who utilise its services acknowledge patients may request access to their medical records. You are required to put this request in writing and you will receive a response within a 30 day time frame.
Nepean Health Care and the practitioners utilising it's services takes reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time-to-time, you will be asked to verify your personal information held on premises is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that your information correct and kept up to date and you should make such requests in writing to the Practice Manager.
How can you lodge a privacy related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at Nepean Health Care?
Complaints and concerns regarding privacy are taken very seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing, addressed to:
The Practice Manager
Nepean Health Care
1104 Nepean Highway
Highett 3190
Phone: 03 9555 1000
Nepean Health Care and/or the practitioners utilising its services will then attempt to resolve it within 30 days, in accordance with the resolution procedure.
You may also choose to 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 336 002.
Policy review statement
This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes in legislation or practice procedures. You will be notified of any changes by updating the policy on this website and advertising the changes via a poster in the waiting room.
Last Reviewed 2023