Privacy policy

24-7Healthcare is committed to ensuring that the privacy of your personal information is respected and maintained at all times. We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) and any relevant Health Privacy Principles under State legislation.

This Privacy Policy outlines how personal information about you and your health is recorded and managed by 24-7Healthcare.

The ‘personal information’ we collect includes your name, date of birth, address/es, contact details, Medicare number, healthcare identifiers and health fund details. Medical information may include medical history and any care you may need. Doctors need information about your past and present health in order to provide you with high-quality care. 24-7Healthcare follows the guidelines of the RACGP's Handbook for the management of health information in general practice, 4th edition (the Handbook). The Handbook incorporates federal and state privacy legislation, and the Australian Privacy Principles, which requires that your personal information is kept private and secure.

24-7Healthcare 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, company audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).

We may also collect your personal information for the purpose of telling you about our services or products that might better service your healthcare or lifestyle requirements or other opportunities in which you may be interested. You may opt out of receiving marketing communications from us at any time by following opt out instructions provided in such marketing communications.

When you register, or on your initial booking with 24-7Healthcare or one of its companies, you provide consent for staff and doctors to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff that needs 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 so.

24-7Healthcare will collect your personal information:
• When you register with our service i.e. pre-registration
• When you make your first booking or attempt at booking with our service
• During the course of providing clinical services, we may collect further personal information
• 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).

24-7Healthcare takes steps to ensure that your medical records:
• are accurate, complete, well-organised and legible
• are up-to-date
• contain enough information to allow another GP to care for you

If you are uncertain why information is being requested, please ask our Privacy Officer. If you wish to remain anonymous while accessing healthcare services, please speak to one of our staff.

Subject to the particular restrictions on sensitive information (see below) we may disclose your personal information to:
• any person you request or consent to receiving the information
• in the case of a minor, to the parent with parental responsibility
• to any other authorised representative such as a legal guardian or Power of Attorney
• your treating doctor or regular general practitioner
• health professionals that are or will be involved in your case such as emergency departments and ambulance services
• anyone we are required or authorised by law to disclose the personal information
• Medicare or other health insurance companies where it is necessary for you to obtain Medicare payments or other health insurance rebates, or
• our contractors assisting us to facilitate the provision of healthcare services or other services to you;
• anyone included in a transfer of all or part of our assets or businesses
• there is an overriding public health and safety interest in the release of the information.

In the above cases, only information necessary to meet the requirements will be provided. Your health information will not ordinarily be sent overseas unless:
• you are informed and provide consent for this to occur, and
• the overseas country receiving the information has privacy laws that are very similar to the Australian Privacy Principles.

Sensitive information will only be used for the purposes for which it was provided or for a purpose directly related to such purpose, unless you agree otherwise or the use or disclosure of the sensitive information is required or authorised by law.
By providing your personal information, you are consenting to provisions outlined previously and to the collection, use and disclosure provisions described.

24-7Healthcare requires that organisations to which it discloses your personal information have in place reasonable safeguards for protecting personal information. These organisations are only permitted to use the information for services or functions for which they have been engaged.

24-7Healthcare respects your right to decide how your personal information is used or shared. Personal information that identifies you will be sent to other health professionals that are or will be involved in your care, such as Emergency Departments and Ambulance Services. Your personal information will only be sent to other people with your consent, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Gaining your consent is the guiding principle used by 24-7Healthcare in using and sharing your information. For patients accessing 13SICK, 24-7Healthcare routinely sends your patient report to your GP or General Practice in ensuring continuity of care the following business day after your consultation.

24-7Healthcare may use your health information to assist in improving the quality of care we give to all our patients, by reviewing the treatments used in the service.

Your information held by 24-7Healthcare may be used in research projects to improve healthcare in the community; however, this information will not include data that can identify you.

The information used for research, including the publication of research results, will not be in a form that would allow you to be identified, unless the research serves an important public interest. In such cases, identifiable medical records can be used for medical research without your consent under guidelines issued by the Australian Government. Before providing such identified information, 24-7Healthcare will discuss with you the information that she or he is obliged to disclose.

Sharing information is important for good communication between 24-7Healthcare and yourself. You can request access to your medical record and any other information 24-7Healthcare records about you. You may also ask our staff about any aspect of your healthcare, including information contained in your record.

If you request access to your medical record, 24-7Healthcare will need to consider if there may be a risk of physical or mental harm to you or any other person that may result from disclosure of your health information. 24-7Healthcare may need to remove any information that will affect the privacy of other individuals.

Depending on what is involved, you may be asked to contribute to the cost of providing the information.

Australian privacy legislation applies to all personal health information recorded in electronic and paper records. All records must be kept secure to protect against unauthorised access. 24-7Healthcare complies with these requirements to protect your information. Unauthorised use of confidential information is grounds for litigation in Australia. 24-7Healthcare does not tolerate any misuse of confidential information.

24-7Healthcare measures traffic to its website and uses cookies to monitor return visits. A 'cookie' is a small file that is sent to your computer when you visit our website. Cookies may store user preferences and other information. The cookies we use do not store any personal data or otherwise collect personally-identifiable information. You can set your browser to refuse cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.

We reserve the right to change this policy at any time.

If you have any concerns regarding the privacy of your personal health information or the accuracy of the information held by 24-7Healthcare, you should discuss these with our Privacy Officer. Inaccurate information can be corrected or your concerns noted in your record. For legal reasons, the original notes will be retained.

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