Privacy Policy.
At Vera Wellness, we build caring relationships based on trust and confidentiality. In providing care to you, we may need access to your personal health information. We handle your personal health information appropriately and we respect your privacy.
We do this in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) as laid out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 (Cth), forming part of the Privacy Act 1988 (‘the Act’).
You are entitled to know what personal information we hold about you, how you can access it, why it is held, to whom we may disclose it, and when we need your consent to do this. This Policy explains all these details. You can discuss any aspect of this Policy with any member of our team, at any time.
Collecting information
We collect information that helps us provide the level of advice, care and management you need, or where there is a statutory requirement for collection.
This information may include:
• contact details and date of birth
• relationship status
• medical history
• family medical history
• symptoms, diagnosis and recommended treatment
• ethnicity
• Medicare/private health fund details, and
• billing or account details.
We normally collect this information directly from you, but we may need to get it from other sources – for example, from other medical practitioners, health funds or health providers and; with your consent; from family members.
Purposes for handling your information
To ensure we provide you with the most appropriate care and treatment, we may collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for any of the following purposes:
• sharing your information within the treatment team;
• communicating with the referring medical practitioners;
• referrals to other medical practitioners, hospitals or health providers;
• referring specimens to external laboratories for analysis;
• accounts and billing, including Medicare and private health insurance claims;
• managing our practice – including quality assurance, practice accreditation, market analysis and keeping our records up to date;
• complaints and incident handling, and notifications to our insurers;
• disclosure, where legally required, to third parties – for example, in response to a court subpoena or for mandatory reporting of specific diseases.
If you wish to be treated by additional medical practitioners or health care services that require access to the personal health information we hold for you, we will require:
• your written authorisation to transfer your information; and
• the consent of the receiving practitioner or service.
If you request us to send your information to another country we will be required to disclose your personal information to people in that country.
Vera may provide your personal health information to additional third parties, including:
• parent(s);
• child/ren;
• other relatives;
• close personal friends;
• guardians; or
• a person exercising a patient’s power of attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney.
To do this, we require your written consent, and it must be relevant or reasonable for your information to be provided to these third parties. You can also specifically request us not to disclose your information to third parties.
From time-to-time, we may send you information regarding our events and services or operational updates that may be of interest to you. You can opt out of receiving these communications when you receive them or you can contact our practice manager.
Storing information
We store and share your personal information securely and protect it from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We take all reasonable steps to ensure the personal information we collect, use, hold or disclose is accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant to the and services we provide. You can help us achieve this by providing correct and up-to-date information when you first come to Vera and over time as details change.
If you ask us to exchange your personal information with an external party, we may send your personal information by unencrypted (ie, normal) email to ensure that the external recipient can access this information.
Retention of records
To ensure we comply with regulatory requirements, it is our policy to keep your medical records for at least seven years.
Concerns or Complaints
If you have any concerns about your privacy protection, please discuss them with your Vera health practitioner or our practice manager.
If your concerns are not satisfied by us, you may complain to:
Privacy Commissioner
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Level 8, Piccadilly Tower, 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042
Privacy hotline 1300 363 992 Website www.privacy.gov.au
or
The Office of the Health Ombudsman
Call: 133 OHO (133 646)
Email: Health service complaints: complaints@oho.qld.gov.au
General enquiries or questions: info@oho.qld.gov.au
Write: PO Box 13281 George Street Brisbane Qld 4003
Our website
Our website uses "cookies", which are pieces of data that are stored on your hard drive or browser containing details about your use of our website. Cookies do not provide us with information about you that can be used to identify you, rather, they anonymously track usage of our website, so that we can enhance users' experience of our website. You may elect to reject cookies and still use our website, however in doing so, you may be unable to access certain pages.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may make changes to this Privacy Policy without notice to you. At any time, our current Privacy Policy is available on our website.