Privacy Policy

Family Home Doctor Website Privacy Policy

Family Home Doctors regards patient privacy with the utmost importance. The following privacy policy applies to all Family Home Doctors website users and is in line with Internet privacy standards. All medical records are kept confidential, and the management of all personal health information is regulated by the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988. This information is never given to a third party unless explicitly authorised. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this privacy policy or any information which is collected, please contact Family Home Doctors directly on 08 7231 1610 or fhd@familyhomedoctor.com.au

Bookings, Call-back & Contact Forms – Collection of Information

If you wish to use our online booking, call-back or contact forms, we request certain personally identifiable information from you. You are required to provide this information so that we can contact you during Call Centre or Support Office hours depending on the nature of the request.

In sending your form, you have consented to Family Home Doctors collecting any health information provided with the form as well as any dealings with Medicare, including billings.

By filling out a form on our website or calling for a booking, you consent for Family Home Doctors to claim Medicare benefits on your behalf. Once you provide your details, you accept Family Home Doctors using them for booking purposes. Family Home Doctors may need to provide relevant personal health information to other services, including but not limited to:

  • Pharmacists
  • Pathologists
  • HealthDirect
  • Mental health organisations
  • other relevant health providers

Access to Collected Information

If your personal identifiable information changes, you may correct or update it by contacting Family Home Doctors directly on 08 7231 1610.

Request for access to personal health information

Patients of this practice have the right to access their personal (and health) information under legislation. The Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) govern health service providers’ and other organisations’ obligations to give patients access to their personal health information on request, subject to certain exceptions and the payment of fees (if any).

This practice complies with the Privacy Act 1988 and APPs adopted therein. These regulations give patients the right to know what information a private sector organisation holds about them, the right to access this information, and to also make corrections if they consider any data is incorrect.

We have a privacy policy in place that sets out how to manage personal health information and the steps an individual must take to obtain access to this information. This includes the different forms of access and the applicable time frames and fees.

Where our practice holds reports or other health information from another organisation, such as a medical specialist, we are required to provide access to this information in the same manner as for the records we create. We are also required to provide access to records which have been transferred to us from another health service provider.

Doctor Recruitment Forms – Collection of Information

If you wish to register your interest to work with us as a doctor, we request certain personally identifiable information from you. You are required to provide this information so that we can begin the recruitment process.

In sending your form, you provide consent to Family Home Doctors in collecting any personal or health information provided with the form.

Storage of Collected Information

We ensure that your personal information is kept protected, and our website is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL). If you have any questions about security on our website, you can email us at fhd@familyhomedoctor.com.au

Legal & Third Parties

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our website.

This organisation will work closely with other agencies to coordinate the best support for you and your family. Your informed consent for the sharing of information will be sought and respected in all situations unless:

  • we are obliged by law to disclose your information regardless of consent or otherwise
  • it is unsafe or impossible to gain consent or consent has been refused, and,
  • without information being shared, it is anticipated a child, young person or adult will be at risk of serious harm, abuse or neglect, or pose a risk to their own or public health or safety.

Requests for third party access to personal patient health information are initiated through receipt of correspondence from a solicitor or government agency or by the patient completing a Request for Personal Health Information form. Where a patient request form or signed authorisation is not obtained the practice is not legally obliged to release information.

Where our practice holds reports or other health information from another organisation, such as a medical specialist, we are required to provide access to this information in the same manner as for the records we create. We are also required to provide access to records which have been transferred to us from another health service provider.

General practice has a fundamental role in ensuring the privacy of personal patient health information. Our practice has access to and uses the RACGP’s Privacy and managing health information in general practice handbook which aligns with current best practice and includes commentary on the Privacy Act 1988. It provides guidance to our practice on the management of health information in a general practice setting and includes examples of compliance with the various Health Records Acts and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which regulate the handling of personal information by both Australian government agencies and businesses.

Requests for access to patient health records and associated financial details may be received from various third parties including:

  • Subpoena/court order/coroner/search warrant
  • Relatives/friends/carers
  • External practitioners and healthcare institutions
  • Police/solicitors
  • Health insurance companies/workers compensation/social welfare agencies
  • Employers
  • Government agencies
  • Accounts/debt collection
  • Students (medical and nursing)
  • Research/quality assurance programs
  • Media outlets
  • International parties, and
  • Disease registers.

We only transfer or release patient information to a third party once the consent to share information has been signed and, in specific cases, informed consent has been sought from the patient.

If we want to conduct any research for quality improvement of our service or to provide statistics, we will obtain further patient consent.

Links

Links on the Family Home Doctors website to external entities are not covered within this policy. The terms and conditions set out in this privacy statement only cover the domain name of familyhomedoctor.com.au

Advertisements

As our website may contain advertisements from time to time, we ensure any advertising complies with the Medical Board of Australia’s Good medical practice: A code of conduct for doctors in Australia, as well as the AMDS Guidelines, and includes a disclaimer on any advertising which states that the practice does not endorse the advertised services or products.

Changes to Privacy Policy

If there are changes to our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, or by means of a notice on our homepage.

Further information on privacy legislation is available from:

Privacy Committee of South Australia

08 8204 8786

www.archives.sa.gov.au 

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