Privacy policy

Current as of: March 2023

This privacy policy is to provide information to you, the patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within the practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties. 

Background to Privacy Principles

The Australian Privacy Principles (APP) provide a protective framework which supports the rights and obligations of collecting, holding, using and correcting personal information. The APP consists of 13 principle-based laws which apply equally to digital and paper-based environments.  It is Woollahra General Practices’ obligation to you, to make sure its principles align with the APP, maintaining a transparent and open policy.

Why and when your consent is necessary?

When you register as a patient of the practice, you provide consent for the 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.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

The 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 (e.g. staff training).

Occasionally the Woollahra General Practice is involved with providers from non-marketing backgrounds to assess the clinical data we hold. The data is de-identified and can only be re-identified by the Practice. The purpose of this is to provide better health outcomes for the patients and/or continuous quality improvement activities.

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect 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 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 only deal with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

The practice will collect your personal information:

• When you make your first appointment the practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration, or you will submit this information online via the booking application Hotdoc.
• During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information via methods such as electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP), “Myhealth record” which collects electronic downloads from hospitals or pathology laboratories, etc.
• The practice may also collect your personal information when you send us an email, telephone us, make an appointment, or communicate with us in writing.

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?

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 (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 (eTP), MyHealth Record (e.g. via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary). Sending referrals on your behalf.

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, 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.

Woollahra General 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.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

• Your personal information may be stored at the practice in various forms.
• Electronic records and paper files are archived, and visual x-rays, and scans.
• Woollahra General Practice stores all personal information securely.
• Access is by a password.  Doctors, staff, and contractors have confidentiality agreements in place.  State of the art IT security and software.

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.

The practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing and our practice will respond within a reasonable time. We will then contact you to make an appointment for access to records in consultation with your doctor.  There will be a fee applicable to the time spent.

Woollahra General 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 information held by the 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.

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.  Complaints can be addressed to Practice Manager, 16 Oxford Street, Woollahra, 2025.  Your complaint will be addressed and you will receive follow up communication by phone call or in writing.  This process can take 30 days.

You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond, before they will investigate. For further information visit the OAIC website or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002

Privacy and our website

We do not collect personal information from our website.  Email correspondence received from you will be kept on our database