Privacy Policy – Dr P Loxley & Dr R Hurst.

Policy Current as of October 2024

(Our privacy policy is revised on a regular basis in line with the Agpal guidelines –  RACGP 5^th Edition Guidelines)

Dr Phillip Loxley & Dr Richard Hurst surgery is committed to ensuring your personal information is professionally managed in accordance with all Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

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 share it with third parties.

What personal information we collect and why.

When you register as a patient of our practice, your doctor and/or their support team will need to collect your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare services. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits, accreditation and normal business processes.

The personal information we collect and hold generally includes:

• Your name, address, date of birth, contact details
• Information about your health condition, medical history, social and family history, risk factors, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations and treatment you may have already received.
• Medicare number or DVA number for identification and claiming purposes.
• Private health fund details. Only practice staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it.

All practice staff have signed a Confidentiality Agreement as part of their Employment Contract with us.

How we collect your personal information.

Our practice will collect your personal information:

• Directly and in person, over the phone, by email, SMS, social media, through our website or by completing our online or hard copy forms.
• When you make your first appointment, our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration. If it is not possible to collect it from you directly, we may also collect this 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 Private Health Fund, Medicare or DVA.

Who we share your personal information with and when

Other healthcare providers

• Third parties who work with our practice for business purposes (such as IT providers and accreditation agencies)
• Statutory requirement to lawfully share certain personal information, such as mandatory notification of certain diseases
• Court subpoenas required or authorised by law
• When 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
• During the course of providing medical services through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), or My Health Record system. NB: Specify other eHealth services your practice may participate in and any other disclosures specific to your practice

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.

Only those people that need to access your personal 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.

How we store and protect your personal information

Your personal information may be stored at our practice as electronic records, audio recordings, x-rays, CT scans, videos and photos. Our practice stores all personal information securely, and has strict protocols and policies to ensure your personal information is protected from misuse, loss, interference or unauthorised access:

Electronic format is encrypted and password protected.

All staff and contractors must sign confidentiality agreements prior to commencing work with and for our practice.

How you can access and correct your personal information at our practice.

Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. We will ask you at different times, to verify your information held by our practice is correct and up to date. You have the right to access and correct personal information that we hold about you, in electronic or hard copy format. If you wish to access or correct your personal information we request that you put it in writing and contact the Practice Manager (insert name, phone number and email address). Your request for access and/or correction will be processed within 30 days. While we do not charge an application or processing fee, you may be charged administration, photocopying or other fees to reasonably cover our costs in fulfilling your request.

How you can lodge a privacy related complaint and how it will be handled at our practice.

If you have any concerns about your privacy or wish to make a complaint about a privacy breach, contact our Practice Manager (Sue Loxley – 0415923660 or email prloxley@pip.com.au).

You should provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint together with any supporting information. We will take steps to investigate the issue and will notify you in writing of the outcome within 30 days from the receipt date of original written complaint.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact us directly to discuss your further concerns, or lodge a complaint with the Australian Information Commissioner  or by calling 1300 363 992.

Privacy and our website

NB: If you collect personal information via your practice website or interact with your patients digitally through social media or email, you need to include a statement about the collection of personal information that occurs through the website or social media and the use of website analytics, cookies, etc.

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 requested or authorized by law to only deal with identified individuals.

NOTE: The Privacy Act requires you to provide patients with the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with you (APP2) unless it is impracticable for you to do so. This information should be included in your practice privacy policy or collection notice.

Policy review statement

This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. We will notify our patients of these changes via our website and our handout hard copy Privacy Policy available at our practice premises.

NOTE: This policy must be made freely available to your patients and take reasonable steps to provide the privacy policy in the form requested. They must know it is available and how they can access it:

Display at your reception desk and waiting area. Make reference to it in your registration (and other) forms, notices and on your website. This policy should be reviewed regularly to ensure it remains applicable to current practice procedures and legal requirements.

This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. We will notify our patients of these changes via our website and our handout hard copy Privacy Policy available at our practice premises.