Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health Full Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Your privacy is important. Please feel free to discuss any of the following information with us with regards to the privacy of the information you provide.

Any information provided by you is used to ensure that the best possible and appropriate health care is delivered and we aim to ensure all records are accurate, complete and up-to-date. No-one other than staff within the clinic has access to your records and they are kept in a secure location. Records that are no longer needed are destroyed or permanently de-identified.

Occasionally we may be involved in research on health issues. If any data is used in research, it will not include information which identifies clients, unless special circumstances apply.

The delivery of best possible physiotherapy may require liaison with other medical or health professionals or coaches or your requested contacts, as appropriate. If we need to disclose information about you to people other than those associated with your treatment, we will seek your permission first.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information and please discuss any concerns you may have with any of Our Team at Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health.

Full Privacy Policy of Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health

We are committed to handling personal information about you, including health information about you, in accordance with the requirements of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988.

In this Policy, we explain:

• what kind of information we collect and hold about you
• how and why we collect it
• what we do with that information and who we share it with (and when)
• your right to seek access to, and if required correction of, the records we hold about you
• your right to make a privacy complaint, to us and others
• whether we are likely to disclose information about you to overseas recipients.

What kind of personal information do we collect about you?

We collect and hold the following kind of information about you:
• your name, address, date of birth, email and contact details
• information about your family or relatives
• information about other health professionals involved in your care
• any government identifiers such as Medicare number, DVA number. However, we do not use these for the purposes of identifying you in our practice
• other health information about you such as: a record of your symptoms, your relevant medical history, the diagnosis made and the treatment we give you: specialist reports; test results ;your appointment and billing details; your prescriptions; your healthcare identifier; your help fund details; other information about you collected for the purposes of providing care to you.

and your Covid19 Vaccination Status (should you volunteer this information).

How do we collect and hold your personal information?

We will generally collect personal information about you in these ways:
• directly from you when you give us your details (eg, face-to-face, over the phone,
via registration form or an online form)
• from a person responsible for you
• from a third party where we are permitted by law to do that (eg. other health care professionals involved in your care, from your health insurer, from the My Health Record system etc.).

Why do we collect and use information about you?

We primarily collect and use personal information about you to provide our physiotherapy services to you and to communicate with you and others involved in your care in relation to those services.
We also sometimes use that information for other purposes, including:
• to help us manage our accounts and administrative services, including billing, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts, management of our IT systems and to conduct accreditation, quality assurance or internal audits; or to complete a Covid19 Risk assessment should a positive case present to clinic

When and why might we share information about you with others?

We may disclose information about you to others outside of our practice as permitted or required
under law. This will include situations where we disclose information about you in order:
• to comply with our legal obligations (eg. mandatory reporting under legislation, responding to a court order or subpoena)
• to consult with other health professionals involved in your healthcare
• to get test results from diagnostic and pathology services
• to claim on insurance
• to communicate with your health fund, with government and other regulatory bodies such as Medicare
• to help us manage our accounts and administrative services (eg. billing or debt recovery, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts etc.).
• to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or a serious threat to public health or safety
• to help in locating a missing person
• to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim through the My Health Record
• to prepare the defence of anticipated or existing legal proceedings
• to discharge notification obligations to liability insurers.

Your right to seek access to and to seek correction of the information we hold about you

You have the right to seek access to and correction of the personal information we hold about you. You may be required to pay a small fee for our administration in relation to requesting a copy of your information. We will normally respond to your request within 30 days. To make the request, you should contact our Frontdesk Team Leader, Attention: Christie Winmill on info@mygcphysio.com.au

If you think that the information we hold about you is not correct, let us know in writing. We will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time to time, we may also ask you to verify that the information we hold about you is correct and current. And please notify us if and when your contact details change (see ‘how to contact us’).

Security: how we hold your personal information

We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold about you. These are designed to prevent unauthorised access, modification or disclosure and to prevent misuse and loss.
This includes:
• holding information on an encrypted database
• providing staff with training or induction etc. about confidentiality and (in particular) security issues
• access to information restricted on a ‘need to know’ basis and
• strong password protections when accessing the information on a computer.

Disclosing information about you overseas

We do not propose to disclose information about you to anyone overseas. If we want to transfer your personal information overseas, we will first seek your consent, unless we are required by law to do the transfer.

Information Specific to Covid19 Vaccination Status

We will be storing your vaccination status in our practice management software which meets all privacy and security guidelines as discussed above. Your vaccination status does not affect the treatment you will receive and your status will not be shared. Your vaccination status information will only be used for the purpose of completing an internal risk assessment should a positive case present, and to determine the level of PPE (protective personal equipment) both you and your Therapist may be required to wear during your consult.

Information Specific to the Use of AI

To streamline our clinical documentation process, we may use a combination of practitioner hand-recorded notes, voice transcriptions, or even a voice recording of your consultation. If voice transcription is used, our AI tool transcribes these recordings into written notes, allowing your practitioner to focus more on your care during consultations.

After transcription, the AI system helps format the information into formal clinical documents. These documents are always reviewed and finalised by your practitioner to ensure accuracy and completeness before they are included in your medical records.

Once your clinical notes or letters are finalised, the audio recordings are permanently deleted. Our AI system is hosted within Australia, and it does not store your data or use it for any external purposes, including training or development.

By receiving care at our practice, you are consenting to the use of AI to assist with creating your clinical notes and letters. If you have any questions or concerns about this process, or if you prefer alternative documentation methods, please speak to your Therapist as they will be happy to accommodate your personal preferences.

If you have a privacy-related concern about us

If you have concerns about the way we’ve handled your privacy, let us know. You should do that in writing. We will then try to respond to you within 30 days.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer your complaint to the Office of the
Australian Information Commission, whose contact details are:
Phone: 1300 363 992: Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au; Post: GPO Box 5218 Sydney New South Wales 2001