Privacy Policy of Pelvic Wellness
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 physiotherapists and any 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 about you?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
information about relatives and family
medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
Medicare number (if applicable) for identification and claiming purposes
healthcare identifiers
health fund details for identification and claiming purposes
other health information about you such as: a record of your symptoms, your relevant medical history, the diagnosis made and the treatment we give you
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways including:
When you make your first appointment you will be required to provide your email address, date of birth, address and phone number.
When you attend 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.
We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
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 general practitioners, specialists,
other 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).
Why do we collect and use information about you?
We primarily collect and use personal information about you to provide our physiotherapy services to you and to communicate with you and others involved in your care in relation to those services.
We also sometimes use that information for other purposes, including:
to help us manage our accounts and administrative services, including billing, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts, management of our IT systems and
to conduct accreditation, quality assurance or internal audits.
When and why do we share your information with others?
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 the Australian Privacy Principles (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
for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
to claim on insurance
to communicate with your health fund, with government and other regulatory
bodies such as Medicareto help us manage our accounts and administrative services (eg. billing or debt recovery, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts etc.)
when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
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.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information will be managed confidentially at our practice in electronic format. Any paper records are digitised and securely destroyed. Our practice stores all personal information securely in protected information systems.
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. However, our practice may occasionally need to deny access to information in accordance with the exemptions contained in the Privacy Act.
To access your health records we require you put this request in writing to info@pelvicwellness.com.au. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
You may request access to your health records for the purposes of transferring to a physiotherapist at another practice. Our practice will retain the original record and provide the new physiotherapist with a copy. Our practice will obtain your express consent to transfer your personal information via email to the new physiotherapist. If this consent isn’t provided, or the new physiotherapist declines to receive the record electronically, a physical copy will be provided.
If you think that the information we hold about you is not correct, let us know in writing. We will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time to time, we may also ask you to verify that the information we hold about you is correct and current. Please notify us if and when your contact details change
(see ‘how to contact us’).
Your right to receive treatment from us anonymously
(or by using a pseudonym)
Where it is lawful and practicable for us to do so, you can be treated anonymously or through use of a pseudonym (a name other than yours).
Disclosing information about you overseas
We do not propose to disclose information about you to anyone overseas. If we want to transfer your personal information overseas, we will first seek your consent, unless we are required by law to do the transfer.
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 with you.
You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (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.
Updating this policy
We will update this policy from time to time, to reflect any changes in our information-handling practices or the law or both. We will notify you of changes to the policy by updating our website and/or displaying updates at the reception desk on arrival.
How to contact us
To contact us about any privacy related issues, please email info@pelvicwellness.com.au