Privacy Policy

 

Specialist Orthopaedics are committed to protecting the privacy of patient information and to handling your personal information in a responsible manner in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, the Australian Privacy Principles and relevant State and Territory privacy legislation (referred to as privacy legislation). This Privacy Policy explains how Specialist Orthopaedics collect, use and disclose your personal information, whether we are likely to disclose personal information to overseas recipients, how you may access that information and how you may seek the correction of any information. It also explains how you may make a complaint about a breach of privacy legislation.

 

Collection

 

Specialist Orthopaedics collect information that is necessary and relevant to provide you with medical care and treatment, and manage our medical practice. This information may include your name, address, date of birth, gender, health information, family history and contact details. This information may be stored on our computer medical records system and/or in handwritten medical records.

 

Wherever practicable, Specialist Orthopaedics will only collect information from you personally. However, we may also need to collect information from other sources such as treating specialists, radiologists, pathologists, hospitals, other health care providers, and the My Health Record system.

 

Specialist Orthopaedics collects information in various ways, such as over the phone, or in writing, in person in our rooms or over the internet via e-mail if you transact with us online. This information may be collected by medical and non-medical staff. In emergency situations Specialist Orthopaedics may also need to collect information from your relatives or friends.

 

Specialist Orthopaedics may be required by law to retain medical records for certain periods of time depending on your age at the time we provide services.

 

Use and Disclosure

 

Specialist Orthopaedics will treat your personal information as strictly private and confidential. We will only use or disclose it for purposes directly related to your care and treatment, or in ways that you would reasonably expect that we may use it for your ongoing care and treatment. For example, the disclosure of blood test results to your doctor or requests for x-rays.  Specialist Orthopaedics disclose information in various ways, such as over the phone, or in writing, in person in our rooms or via e-mail.

 

There are circumstances where Specialist Orthopaedics may be permitted or required by law to disclose your personal information to third parties. For example, to Medicare, police, insurers, solicitors, government regulatory bodies, tribunals, courts of law, hospitals, debt collection agents, or the electronic transfer of prescriptions service or to the My Health Record system.  

 

Specialist Orthopaedics may disclose information about you to outside contractors to carry out activities on our behalf such as an IT service provider, transcription provider, solicitor or debt collection agent. Specialist Orthopaedics impose security and confidentiality requirements on how they handle your personal information. Outside contractors are required not to use information about you for any purpose except for those activities we have asked them to perform.

 

Data Quality and Security

 

Specialist Orthopaedics will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant.

 

Personal information that we hold is protected by:

• securing our premises;

• placing passwords and varying access levels on encrypted databases to limit access and protect electronic information from unauthorised interference, access, modification and disclosure

• secure document shredding of all physical records; and

• staff confidentiality agreements

 

Corrections

 

If you believe that the information Specialist Orthopaedics have about you is not accurate, complete or up to date, we ask that you contact us in writing (see details below).

 

Access

 

You are entitled to request access to your medical records. We request that you put your request in writing and we will respond to it within a reasonable time.

 

Specialist Orthopaedics may deny access to your medical records in certain circumstances permitted by law, for example, if disclosure may cause a serious threat to your health or safety. We will always tell you why access is denied and the options you have to respond to our decision.

 

Complaints

 

If you have a complaint about the privacy of your personal information we request that you contact us in writing. Upon receipt of a complaint we will consider the details and attempt to resolve it in accordance with our complaints handling procedures.

 

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of a complaint or the outcome you may make an application to the Australian Information Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner in WA.

 

Overseas Transfer of Data

 

Specialist Orthopaedics will not disclose or transfer your personal information to an overseas recipient unless we have your consent or we are required to do so by law. We may engage service providers located overseas such as medical transcriptionists. If we do disclose information overseas, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your information is provided with the same level of protection as it is within Australia. We do this by only engaging with third parties located in a country which we believe has similar privacy laws to Australia, or by ensuring the third party can provide the same level of protection consistent with the Privacy Laws. We also have agreements in place which set out the terms we expect them to comply with, which include compliance with Privacy Laws and other Australian laws. Before, and during the agreement, we may ask for information to satisfy ourselves that they can and are complying with the terms of the agreement.

 

Contact

 

Please direct any queries, complaints, or requests for access to medical records to:

 

Jennifer Szijarto
Practice Manager

Specialist Orthopaedics

419/91 Monash Avenue

NEDLANDS  WA  6009
PH:  (08)  6150 8379

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