Read Our Privacy Policy

What happens if you do not provide health information?

If you do not provide us with accurate or complete information when we request it, we may not be able to provide you with a proper level of service.

Anonymity and Pseudonymity

You have the right to be dealt with anonymously or through use of a pseudonym, provided that this is lawful and practicable. However, in the medical context, this is not likely to be practical or possible for Medicare and insurance rebate purposes.

How we obtain your information

We collect information which is:

• Provided directly by you;
  
• Provided on your behalf with your consent;
  
• Received from a health service provider who refers you to Dr Glastonbury.

The kinds of information collected and held

• The types of information collected and held by staff and our doctor generally include;
• Your name, date of birth, address, email address, telephone number;
• Medicare, DVA and/or Health Fund details (as applicable);
  

Reason for attendance/symptoms;

• Medical history;
  
• Examination and test results;
  
• Diagnosis;
  
• Treatment and care information; and
  
• Admission and registration information.

How we use and disclose your information 

As a provider of specialty services, Dr Glastonbury will usually send correspondence to your referring practitioner and/or nominated practitioner following any care or treatment received in our facility. This is in accordance with the generally accepted health industry practice and intended to inform your referrer of information that may be relevant to any ongoing care or treatment provided by them. If at any time your nominated or referring practitioners’ details have changed, please notify our staff so that your records can be updated.

If you do not wish us to provide your information to your referrer, please advise one of our staff so we can make the necessary arrangements.

In addition, we use and disclose your health information for the following purposes: 

• To assist your treating team (doctors, nursing staff and other professionals) in providing health care to you;
  
• To process private health fund, Medicare and/or DVA claims;
  
• To provide necessary follow-up treatment and ongoing care;
  
• To provide you with standard reminders, for example, appointments and follow-up care. These may be made by text message, email, letter or phone to the number or address which you have provided;
  
• For our internal administrative requirements, including billing. This may include provision to external debt collection agencies for outstanding accounts;
• Accreditation activities;
• To address liability indemnity arrangements with insurers, medical defence organisations and lawyers;
• For the defence of anticipated or existing legal proceedings;
• We may use de-identified patient information in our database or document review as part of the process of measuring outcomes and quality improvement;
• For a directly-related secondary purpose that would have been within the reasonable expectations of the patient.

Trans border data transfer

• These rooms will take steps to protect patient privacy if information is to be sent interstate or outside Australia and will only transfer your personal information overseas when:
  
• You have given consent;
  
• The transfer is necessary for the fulfilment of a contract between you and Dr Glastonbury;
  
• The transfer is for your benefit, but it is impractical to obtain consent;
  
• It is believed that the information will be protected by a privacy scheme or legal provisions comparable to those in Australia.

When information can be disclosed without your consent

• We will only disclose your health information to a third party with your consent unless:
  
• The disclosure is directly related to the primary purpose for collection;
  
• In an emergency situation where release of information is necessary to aid medical treatment; or
  
• We are required by law to disclose the information (e.g., reporting of communicable diseases).

How Dr Glastonbury’s rooms hold your personal information

We take all necessary and reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete, up-to-date and secure.

We may store your health information in both hard copies and on computer. The storage, use and, where necessary, transfer of personal health information will be undertaken in a secure manner that protects patient privacy. Hard copy information is kept on our premises under lock and key when the practice is not attended. Information stored on computer is password protected. We will keep your health record for a minimum of 7 years after your visit. After that time, if the record is no longer necessary, it will be disposed of securely as required by law.

Updating your personal information

If at any time you believe that any of your personal information that we store is not accurate or is out of date, please let us know by contacting the Practice Manager at our clinic

Access to and correction of your personal information

You may request access to your personal information held by Dr Glastonbury. Requests for access should be made in writing. We need to be satisfied that a request for personal information is made by you or by another person who is authorised to make a request on your behalf. An identity document will need to be sighted to verify your identity or, if you are authorising another to access on your behalf, then a letter of authority and confirmation of your identity will be required prior to release of your personal information.

Where necessary, you can also request an amendment to any personal information in your record should you believe that it contains inaccurate information. Such requests should be made in writing. If the practice does not agree to change your personal information in accordance with your request, you will be notified, and we will permit you to make a statement of the requested changes, and we will keep the request with your record.

There are some circumstances in which access is restricted, and in these cases, reasons for denying access will be explained.

The clinic acknowledges the right of children to privacy of their health information. Based on the professional judgement of the Doctor and consistent with the law, it might, at times, be necessary to restrict access to personal health information by parents or guardians.

A fee may be payable where the clinic incurs costs in providing access. If applicable, you will be advised of the fee upon receipt of your request, and access will be provided following receipt of payment.

Our rooms will use our best efforts to take less than 30 days to respond to your request.

Other types of information held 

Other information collected and held by this practice includes job applications, personnel files and referrer information. All data collected is considered personal information and will only be used for the purpose for which it was collected or with prior consent from the individual and will be managed in accordance with the APP’s.

Contact Details 

You should feel free to discuss any concerns, questions or complaints about issues related to the privacy of personal information with your Doctor or the Practice Manager.

Under the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), you can make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) about the handling of your personal information. For details, please visit https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy