Melton South Family Practice - Clinic Policies
Privacy Policy
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 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 only deal with identified individuals.
Examples of where it would be impractical to provide care are:
A service that requires follow up (patient identification is required to get in touch with them)
When a multi-disciplinary team is needed to provide care
When medical history is needed in order to provide safe and appropriate care
When a patient requires access to a Medicare (MBS) or Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) rebate
Services provided to staff who are also patients of the health service
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
When you make 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
Information can also be collected through electronic transfer of prescriptions (eTP), My Health Record, eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary.
We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, 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 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
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 various forms.
The most common way of storing information is electronically: hard copies of reports, records, etc received by us is scanned into electronic form into the patients file.
Our practice stores all personal information securely, it is accessible only by authorised staff covered by a confidentiality agreement.
They are either stored in Electronic format or Hardcopy
All electronic information is password protected, and backed up daily. Archived hard copy records are stored securely in secure cabinets.
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 and either post, email or delivered to Manager, Melton South Family Practice, 12 Exford Road, Melton South, VIC 3338. Email: manager@meltonsouthfp.com.au
The request must contain patients full name, address, date of birth, medicare number and phone number
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 should make such requests in writing to manager@meltonsouthfp.com.au or Manager, Melton South Family Practice, 12 Exford Road, Melton South, VIC 3338.
Time spent preparing and producing records incur a cost that can be passed on to the requesting patient.
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. Please forward your complaints to: Manager, Melton South Family Practice, 12 Exford Road, Melton South, VIC 3338 or email: manager@meltonsouthfp.com.au or Ph: 03 9123 4141
Please include all aspects of your complaint including: Your name, Address, Phone Number and Date of birth, Full details of incident, Date incident occurred, Names of persons involved and anything further you deem relevant or helpful. Your complaint will be investigated and we endeavour to get back to you with an outcome within 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 www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
Health Complaints Commissioner 26th Floor 570 Bourke St Melbourne Vic 3000 Ph: 1300 582 113
Policy review statement
This policy will be reviewed annually, or more regularly if required, to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur.
Practice Communication Policy
Our aim is to facilitate optimal communication opportunities with our patients. We also encourage and support the use of digital technology to enable our patient with 24-hour access to our appointment system. Our practice allows patients to book their healthcare appointment with their preferred healthcare provider online via the booking page or direct with HealthEngine.
Our practice endeavours to provide patients with access to timely advice or information about their clinical care. This communication can occur through the following channels:
Face to face – this can be via consultation with your doctor or nurse or interactions with other staff members. i.e: Practice Manager or reception staff.
Telephone – Patients are able to contact the practice via telephone between the hours of 8.30am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am – 1.00pm Sunday.
Phone number: 03 9123 4141
As the first point of contact, receptionists must review the triage support guide to ensure they are correctly addressing patient’s needs and concerns. Receptionists will often need to ask questions to determine that the patient receives the most appropriate care, at the most appropriate time. At times you may also be referred to speak to one of our practice nurses to determine the urgency or best course of action for your issue or concern.
Phone calls from patients requesting to speak to the doctor will not generally be put through at the time of the call. This is to minimise disruption to the doctor as they are usually in consultation with another patient and respectfully not wanting to interrupt their consultation. Doctors may take phone calls if time permits.
Reception staff will ask the patient to briefly explain the reason for the call and will determine if the doctor should be interrupted or if a message can be given to the doctor to return the call at a later time. This may be throughout the day or after the doctor has finished consulting for the day. Where clinically significant information is discussed, a note will be made in the patients file.
Fax – Faxes received that are patient related are imported directly into the patient’s file. These are then reviewed and actioned by the doctor. Any urgent patient related faxes are immediately handed to the doctor or if that doctor is not available another doctor in the practice will review the fax. All non-patient related faxes are given to the relevant staff member.
All outgoing faxes will be accompanied with a practice cover sheet advising details of who the fax is addressed to, fax number, number of pages and confidentiality and privacy notice.
Email – Email is not a secure form of communication and we do not use this to communicate personal information to patients without their consent. Whilst we make every effort to keep your information secure it is important for patients to be aware of the risks associated with electronic communication, in that the information could potentially be compromised and accessed by someone other than the intended recipient. Patients must be aware that any communication they direct to the surgery via email is also NOT secure and confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Patients communicating through email do so at their own risk.
If you do choose to contact the surgery via email this will be considered as patient consent to reply via email. We endeavour to reply to all emails within 1 business day. Our emails are checked on a regular basis, however they are not constantly monitored. If you have an issue that requires urgent attention we request that you contact the practice via telephone.
SMS – SMS messages are sent for a variety of health management purposes.
These may include:
Appointment reminders – a reminder message will be sent the day prior to your appointment.
Health reminders (e.g. cervical screening/care plans etc).
Health recalls (e.g. follow up of test results) We need to ensure that your mobile number is up to date at each visit to ensure that this information is sent to the correct number. Patients must be aware that if another person can access their mobile phone then the confidentiality of these communications cannot be protected by the practice.
Post – Letters may be sent offering services available to eligible patients and for health reminders and recalls for patients who do not have a mobile number or who have opted out of our electronic messaging system.
Incoming mail is collected and opened each day. Letters received that are patient related are directly imported in the patient’s medical record. These are then reviewed and actioned by the doctor. All remaining letters are provided to the addressee.
Website – The practice’s website is updated regularly with new information. You can also locate our opening hours, history of the practice, frequently asked questions, information regarding our fees and services, book appointments online, view our doctors profiles and see our contact information.