Privacy Policy
Perth Bariatric Surgery (“PBS”) found at www.perthbariatricsurgery.com.au, takes the privacy of patients seriously. Privacy protection and confidentiality of health information is essential for quality health care and PBS is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of all information concerning patients.
Your access to and use of our website indicates that you have had sufficient opportunity to access the privacy policy and that you have read, accepted and will comply with the terms. If you do not agree to the Terms, you must not use the Website.
The contents of this website and other material are intended for informational and educational purposes only and not for the purpose of rendering medical advice. Professional medical advice and consultation should be carried out to form a thorough medical opinion. Every effort is taken to ensure the medical information on this website is up to date, but with the fast pace of medical advancement we cannot guarantee that this information is current or accurate. If you have any medical concerns or questions in regard to content on this website, seek medical advice from your doctor or medical professional. If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition, you should seek immediate medical attention.
This policy explains:
how personal information is collected, stored, used and disclosed.
how patients may access their personal information
how PBS protects the quality and security of personal information
how patients may seek correction of any personal information
how patients may make a complaint about the handling of personal information by PBS
Collection of information:
PBS handles patient’s personal information in accordance with federal and state privacy law. This includes complying with the federal Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) forming part of the Privacy Act 1998. More information about the APPs can be found at www.oaic.gov.au
The type of personal information collected by PBS may include:
personal details (name, address, email, date of birth, medicare and insurance details, emergency contacts)
medical history
notes made during the course of a medical consultation
referral to other health services providers
results and reports received from other health service providers
credit card or direct debit information for billing purposes
Wherever possible, PBS will collect this information directly from the patient – either in person, over the phone, via written correspondence or via internet if patients transact with PBS online.
In some instances, PBS may need to collect information about patients from other sources such as referring doctors, treating specialists, pathology, radiology, hospital or other health care providers. In an emergency, PBS may collect information from immediate family members, friends or carers.
Use and Disclosure.
Patient’s personal information will only be used or disclosed for purposes directly related to providing quality health care, or in ways in which the patient would reasonably expect PBS to use it in order to provide them with this service.
This includes use or disclosure:
to the professional team directly involved in the patient’s health care, including treating doctors, pathology, allied health, radiology services and other specialists outside this medical practice. For example, this may occur through referral to other doctors when requesting medical tests or in the report or result returned to PBS.
to PBS administrative staff for billing and other administrative tasks necessary to operate the practice. PBS staff are trained in the handling of personal information in accordance with the Practice Privacy Policy
to patient’s health insurance fund, Medicare or other agencies responsible for the financial aspects of patient care and where required by law, for example, pursuant to a subpoena
to insurers or lawyers for the defence of a medical claim
to assist with training and/or education of other health care professionals
Our practice may contact you in regard to appointments and your medical care by a variety of measures including, but not limited to telephone, email, sms or mail.
We may also use your personal information to protect the copyright, trademarks, legal rights, property or safety of Perth Bariatric Surgery, https://www.perthbariatricsurgery.com.au, its patients or third parties.
Information Quality
PBS aims to ensure the information held about patients is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant. To this end PBS staff may ask patients to confirm the accuracy of their personal details at the time of consultation. PBS requests that patients notify administrative staff if information held by PBS is incorrect or out of date.
Storage
PBS takes all reasonable steps to protect the security of the personal information held by:
securing PBS premises
using passwords on all electronic systems and databases and varying access levels to protect electronic information from unauthorised interference, access, modification or disclosure
storing hard copy records in secure filing cabinets or rooms that are accessible only to authorised PBS staff.
Access to personal information
Under law patients have a right to access their personal information held by PBS. Please contact our Practice Manager for more information on PBS Access to Medical Records Policy. We ask that patients put their request in writing. A fee for the retrieval and copying of medical records will apply, charged in accordance with the schedule of fees specified in the Health Records Regulations 2008, plus GST. This fee is not redeemable through Medicare.
Amendment of personal information
If patients consider the information held by PBS is not correct, they are asked to contact the Practice in writing. Patients have the right to have any incorrect information amended.
What happens if patients choose to withhold their personal information?
Patients are not obliged to provide their personal information. However, if they choose to withhold personal details requested by PBS, it may limit the capacity of PBS to provide a full service. Patients are encouraged to discuss ant concerns with PBS staff.
The use of personal information for direct marketing
Australian privacy laws limit the use of personal information for direct marketing of goods and services. PBS does not use patient personal information for direct marketing for unrelated services.
What should patients do if they have a privacy complaint?
If patients have a complaint regarding the way their personal information has been handled by PBS, they are requested to put that complaint in writing via the contact us webpage https://perthbariatricsurgery.com.au/contact/ or direct email. PBS will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 14 days, and endeavour to provide a full response within 30 days of receipt.
Should patients be dissatisfied with the response from PBS, patients may lodge a written complaint with the WA Privacy Commissioner at https://www.oic.wa.gov.au/en-au/
If patients have any queries regarding PBS privacy policy, the practice manager at PBS is available to respond to those queries.
Changes to Privacy Policy
Please be aware that we may change this Privacy Policy in the future. We may modify this Policy at any time, in our sole discretion and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on our website or notice board. Please check back from time to time to review our Privacy Policy.
Website
Our website https://www.perthbariatricsurgery.com.au uses Google Analytics, which collects certain information such as browser type, operating system, website visited immediately before coming to our site, etc. This information is used in an aggregated manner to analyse how people use our site, so we can improve our website experience. Cookies are used by Google Analytics and are very small files we use to identify you when you come back to the site and to store details about your use of the site. Cookies are not malicious programs that access or damage your computer. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to reject cookies by changing your browser settings. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of our website.
Our site may from time to time have links to other websites not owned or controlled by us. These links are meant for your convenience only. Links to third party websites do not constitute sponsorship or endorsement or approval of these websites. Please be aware that Perth Bariatric Surgery is not responsible for the privacy practises of other such websites. We encourage our users to be aware, when they leave our website, to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personal identifiable information.
Copyright
Our Website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by Australian and international laws, including but not limited to the trademarks, trade names, software, content, design, images, graphics, layout, appearance, layout and look of our Website. We own the copyright which subsists in all creative and literary works that are displayed on the Website.