Our Privacy Policy

Why does Integro Health need to collect, record, and disclose personal information?

To provide a service to you we need to collect, record, and disclose personal information about you. This information is essential for the assessment and treatment provided and allows routine practice administration.

We take all reasonable steps to keep personal information secure and private. This includes physical security, computer security, communications security, and personnel security.

What information will Integro Health collect?

We will collect, record, and disclose information that is necessary to advise and treat you properly. Such necessary information may include:

• Medical and family medical history;
• Information gathered during consultations;
• Treatment plans;
• Ethnicity;
• Contact details;
• Medicare/private health fund details;
• Genetic information; and
• Billing/account details.

How will Integro Health collect this information?

Our practice staff will normally collect information directly from you. There may be occasions when we need to obtain information from other sources, for example:

• Other medical practitioners or health care providers, such as doctors or allied health; and
• Hospitals and Day Surgery Units.

Both our practice staff and clinical practitioners may participate in the collection of this information.

In emergencies, we may need to collect personal information from relatives or other sources where we are unable to obtain your prior express consent.

How will Integro Health staff use and disclose my information?

We will only ever use and disclose information necessary to provide health care and manage the practice. Practice staff will use and disclose your information for routine purposes such as:

• Account keeping and billing purposes;
• Referral to another medical practitioner or health care provider;
• Sending of specimens, such as blood samples or pap smears, for analysis;
• Referral to a hospital for treatment and/or advice;
• Advice on treatment options;
• The management of our practice;
• Quality assurance, practice accreditation and complaint handling;
• To meet our obligations of notification to our medical defence organisations or insurers;
• To fulfil our requirements of reporting progress to the referring GP for treatment under a Mental Health Treatment Plan;
• Provision of recall or reminder letters;
• To meet our obligations for government incentive payments;
• To fulfil obligations for mandated peer supervision.

Practice staff may be required to disclose your information without your express consent:

• To prevent or lessen a serious threat to an individual’s life, health or safety;
• Where legally required to do so, such as producing records to court, mandatory reporting of child abuse or the notification of diagnosis of certain communicable diseases.

Who has access to my information?

Personal information is electronically stored with layers of password protection and advanced firewalls to protect against internal and external data breaches.

A limited amount of your personal information is accessible to administration staff to use and disclose for routine purposes such as scheduling appointments, account keeping and billing purposes.

Clinical information (including clinical correspondence and test results) is only accessible by clinical staff and the practice manager. Clinical notes written during your consultation are only accessible by your treating clinician.

If you present to our clinic for treatment and your provider is unavailable, it may be necessary for the consulting clinical staff to access your medical record including any clinical notes from previous visits. This will only occur if the notes are relevant to your presenting concern.

What if I do not wish to provide personal information?

If you do not wish for your personal information to be collected as outlined Integro Health may not be able to provide services to you. If you are concerned about providing personal information, please speak with the practice manager.

Can I access my health records?

You are entitled to access your own health records at any time convenient to both yourself and the practice.

Access can be denied where:

• To provide access would create a serious threat to life or health;
• There is a legal impediment to access;
• The access would unreasonably impact on the privacy of another;
• Your request is frivolous;
• The information relates to anticipated or actual legal proceedings, and you would not be entitled to access the information in those proceedings; and
• In the interests of national security

We ask that, where possible, your request be in writing. We may impose a charge for photocopying or for staff time involved in processing your request.

Where you dispute the accuracy of your information, you are entitled to correct that information.