When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

The information we will collect about you includes:

•        names, date of birth, addresses, contact details

•        medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors

•        Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes

•        healthcare identifiers

•        health fund details.

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

Our practice will collect your personal information:

•        When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.

•        During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. Information can also be collected through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), MyHealth Record/PCEHR system, eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary. You will need to specify if your practice participates in any of these eHealth services.

•        We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.

•        In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include 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 health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veteran's Affairs (as necessary).

A Patient Health Record (PHR) refers to the collection of an individual's medical documentation maintained by the individual themselves, or a caregiver, in cases where patients are unable to do so themselves. This personal information includes details such as:

• The patient's medical history

• Applicable diagnoses

• Historical and ongoing medications, including over-the-counter and alternative treatments

• Past medical and surgical interventions

• Immunization status

• Allergies and other relevant medical conditions that can impact the delivery of emergency care (e.g., Type 1 diabetes, etc.)

• Blood type

• Whom to contact in the event of an emergency

• Insurance information

• Contact information for the patient's regular health providers

Any other information the patient feels is pertinent may also be included. This contrasts with Electronic Medical records and Electronic Health Records (EMR and EHR), which are usually maintained by the treating physician or hospital to provide medical care and for billing purposes.

A PHR may be either physical or, as has become increasingly common moving forward, electronic. It includes all self-reported and self-recorded health data, including health issues and treatments, records of vital signs and activity recorded with personal devices including smartphones and smartwatches, nutritional data such as diet composition and calorie intake, etc.

The goal of a PHR is to allow the patient to keep their health data on hand for ready access for both themselves and anyone involved in their care while maintaining the privacy and security of this data. A PHR can hence assist in providing tailored medical care

We sometimes share your personal information:

•        with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy

•        with other healthcare providers

•        when it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)

•        when it is 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

•        to assist in locating a missing person

•        to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim

•        for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process

•        when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)

•        during the course of providing medical services, through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), MyHealth Record/PCEHR system (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).

•        Only people that need to access your 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.

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.

In Now Medical Centre it is stored as electronic records .Our practice stores all personal information securely in protected information systems or in hard copy format in a secured environment. We use passwords to log in the system and we have confidentiality agreements for staff and contractors.

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing and our practice will respond within 30 days. There may be fees that may be associated with providing this information. Please ask our medical receptionist for further details.

Our practice will takes reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to Now Medical Centre, 3a 79-81 Rowe St Eastwood NSW 2122.

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Please contact our practice via mail

Now Medical Centre

6 East Pde, Eastwood NSW 2122

Or by email: reception@nowmedicalcentre.com.au

We will respond within 30 days.

You may also contact the OAIC. Generally the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond, before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002.