Privacy Policy
Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd (ACN 666 393 782) Privacy Policy 27 August 2023
1. Introduction:
Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd (ACN 666 393 782) is committed to best practices in relation to the management of the information we collect. This practice has developed a policy to protect patient privacy in compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘the Privacy Act’). Our policy is to inform you of:
The kind of information that we collect and hold, which, as a medical practice, is likely to be ‘health information’ for the purposes of the Privacy Act;
How we collect and hold personal information;
The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information;
How you may access your personal information and seek the correction of that information;
How you may complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with such a complaint;
Whether we are likely to disclose personal information to overseas recipients;
2. What kinds of personal information do we collect?
The type of information Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd may collect and hold includes:
Your name, address, date of birth, email and contact details
Medicare number, DVA number and other government identifiers, although we will not use these for the purposes of identifying you in our practice
Other health information about you, including:
Notes of your symptoms or diagnosis and the treatment given to you
Your specialist reports and test results
Your appointment and billing details
Your prescriptions and other pharmaceuticals
Your healthcare identifier
Any other information about your race, sexuality or religion when collected by a health service provider.
3. How do we collect and hold personal information?
Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information we may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. We will generally collect personal information:
From you directly when you provide your details to us. This might be via a face-to-face discussion, telephone conversation, registration form or online form
From a person responsible for you
From third parties where the Privacy Act or other law allows it - this may include, but is not limited to: other members of your treating team, diagnostic centres, specialists, hospitals, the My Health Record system, electronic prescription services, Medicare, your health insurer, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
4. Why do we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information?
In general, Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information for the following purposes:
To provide health services to you
To communicate with you in relation to the health service being provided to you
To comply with our legal obligations, including, but not limited to, mandatory notification of communicable diseases or mandatory reporting under applicable child protection legislation.
To help us manage our accounts and administrative services, including billing, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts, and management of our ITC systems
For consultations with other doctors and allied health professionals involved in your healthcare;
To obtain, analyse and discuss test results from diagnostic and pathology laboratories
For identification and insurance, claiming To liaise with your health fund, government and regulatory bodies such as Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) (if you make a privacy complaint to the OAIC), as necessary.
5. How can you access and correct your personal information?
You have a right to seek access to, and correction of the personal information which Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd holds about you.
For details on how to access and correct your health record, please contact our practice as noted below under ‘Contact Details’:
We will normally respond to your request within 30 days.
6. How do we hold your personal information?
Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd takes all reasonable steps to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and security of personal information shared with us. Our staff are trained and required to respect and protect your privacy. We take reasonable steps to protect information held from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
This includes:
Holding your information on an encrypted database
Holding your information in secure cloud storage (you can explain whether this information is encrypted or what other security measures are taken with third-party storage)
Our staff sign confidentiality agreements
Access to personal information is restricted to a ‘need to know’ basis
Important Notice: No personal information transmitted over web-based software applications can be guaranteed to be secure. The transmission and exchange of Personal Information is carried out at your own risk. Although we take all reasonable steps to safeguard against unauthorised disclosures of personal information, we cannot assure you that the personal information that we collect will not be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this privacy policy
7. Privacy-related questions and complaints:
If you have any questions about privacy-related issues or wish to complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles or the handling of your personal information by us, you may lodge your complaint in writing to (see below for details). We will normally respond to your request within 30 days.
If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may refer the matter to the OAIC:
Phone: 1300 363 992
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
Post: GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 2001
Website: https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/how-do-i-make-a-privacy-complaint
8. Anonymity and pseudonyms:
The Privacy Act provides that individuals must have the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym, when dealing with our practice, except in certain circumstances, such as where it is impracticable for us to deal with you if you have not identified yourself.
9. Updates to this policy:
Armadale Anaesthesia PTY LTD reserves the right to update the privacy policy. This Policy will be reviewed from time to time to take account of new laws and technology, changes to our operations and other necessary developments. Updates will be publicised on www.armadaleanaesthesia.com.au.
10. Privacy and websites:
Armadale Anaesthesia PTY Ltd may collect personal information through it’s website www.armadaleanaesthesia.com.au. This includes and is not limited to names, contact details and relevant medical information. While interacting online, Armadale Anaesthesia PTY Ltd may collect personal information via email, website and other digital channels. The purpose of collecting personal information via our website and online interactions is for appointment scheduling, providing medical information, responding to inquiries, invoicing and billing.
11. Contact details for privacy-related issues:
Contact our Privacy Officer
For any questions or notice, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at:
Armadale Anaesthesia Pty Ltd (ACN 666 393 782)
PO BOX 8448
Armadale, VIC 3143