Finesse Cosmetic Surgery respects and upholds your rights to privacy protection under the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988. The National Privacy Principles apply to us from their introduction 21 December 2001. The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 established the NDB scheme in Australia (to be Part IIIC of the Privacy Action 1988 on commencement)
This policy describes how we manage any personal information we have about you.
What personal information about me does Finesse Cosmetic Surgery hold?
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery may hold the following information about you:
- name, street, telephone number(s)
- date of birth
- email address
- occupation
- health information
- Referring Doctor
- religious beliefs or affiliations
- transaction details associated with the services we have provided to you
- any additional information provided to us by you
- any information you provided to us through patient surveys
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery will destroy or de-identify personal information due to redundancy after its legal obligations to retain the information have expired.
What does Finesse Cosmetic Surgery do with my personal information?
We use personal information about you:
- to provide medical treatment and care to you;
- to assist your treating doctors, nursing staff and other allied health
- providing medical treatment and care to you at our practice;
- to assist with any calls you make to us;
- for our internal administrative requirements;
- to process private health fund claims;
- to provide information to Medical Practitioners, Registered Nurses and other Allied Health Professionals who provide necessary follow up treatment and ongoing care;
- for benchmarking and clinical indicator reporting in a de-identified form;
- to provide data in both an identified and de-identified form to State
- Government agencies in compliance with numerous legislative requirements;
and with your consent:
- Service Planning;
- Research & Development
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery will not disclose personal information about you to any person except on a confidential basis to agents that we use in the ordinary operation of our business, such as for data processing, printing or mailing.
You may at any time opt out of receiving any communications from us (other than as required for the operation of our business, eg regarding the payment of your account).
Storage
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery stores personal information:
- contained in paper-based and other hard copy documents in a dedicated storage facility located in the practice; and
- contained in electronic records in a secure environment, and
- such records are only accessible by those persons who require access to the personal information for the purpose of carrying out their employment.
Openness
You may request access to personal information we hold about you by writing to the Privacy Officer at Finesse Cosmetic Surgery. You do not have to provide a reason for requesting access. Where we hold information that you are entitled to access, we will endeavour to provide you with a suitable range of choices as to how you may access it (eg post or collection).
If you believe that personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request amendment of it. We will consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we will add a note to the personal information stating that you disagree with it.
Any questions about this policy, or any complaint regarding treatment of your privacy by the Finesse Cosmetic Surgery, should also be made in writing to the address below.
Our contact details are as follows:
Data breach preparation and response
The Privacy Act contains 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that set out entities’ obligations for the management of personal information. The APPs are principles-based and technologically neutral; they outline principles for how personal information is handled and these principles may be applied across different technologies and uses of personal information over time.
Entities are required to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information they hold from misuse, interference, and loss, and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure.
Entities are also required to take reasonable steps to establish and maintain procedures and systems to ensure compliance with the APPs.
Compliance with the requirement to secure personal information is key to minimizing the risk of data breach
Open Disclosure
All Visiting Medical Officers agree that open disclosure is good professional practice.
The Medical Board of Australia’s Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia states that: When adverse events occur, you have a responsibility to be open and honest in your communication with your patient, to review what has occurred and to report appropriately.
All Visiting Medical Officers agree to participate in Open Disclosure activities from time to time.
Patient Rights & Responsibilities
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery has adopted the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights
Charter
Everyone who is seeking or receiving care in the Australian health system has certain rights regarding the nature of that care. These are described in the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights. The rights included in the Charter relate to access, safety, respect, communication, participation, privacy and comment.
The Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights is available to everyone in the healthcare system. It allows patients, consumers, families, carers and providers to share an understanding of the rights of people receiving health care.
Patients, consumers, health care providers, and health service organizations all have an important part to play in achieving healthcare rights and contributing to a safe and high-quality healthcare system.
A genuine partnership between patients, consumers and healthcare providers is important so that everyone achieved the best possible outcomes.
Healthcare providers are aware that in some circumstances, your ability to interact with the health care system may be restricted. Where possible they will alert family or support services about your circumstances if they consider that you need assistance.
Access
A right to health care.
You have a fundamental right to adequate and timely health care. Sometimes this may not be at the healthcare facility you first attend as not all services are necessarily available everywhere.
You can contribute to the right of access by trying to meet your appointments and telling the facility when you cannot.
Safety
A right to safe and high-quality care.
If you are unsure about what is happening to you or if you think something has been missed in your care, alert your healthcare provider. Let your provider know any circumstances that might make your health care riskier.
Respect
A right to be shown respect, dignity, and consideration.
You are entitled to receive care in a way that is respectful of your culture, beliefs, values, and characteristics like age and gender. It is important to tell your healthcare provider of any changes in your circumstances.
Respect also includes being mindful of healthcare staff and other patients.
Communication
A right to be informed about services, treatment, options and costs in a clear and open way.
Healthcare providers will tell you about the care you are receiving and help you understand what is happening to you.
You can contribute to communication by being as open and honest as you can be. To understand the instructions given to you, you can ask questions if you could like more information.
You can use interpreters if English is not your first language. Interpreter services are free and can be provided in person or by phone.
Participation
A right to be included in decisions and choices about care.
You are encouraged to participate in decisions about your care. Ask questions if you are unsure about what is happening to you. Involve your family or carer if this makes you more comfortable and sure.
Privacy
A right to privacy and confidentiality of provided information.
You are able to see your records and ask for information to be corrected if it is wrong. In some situations, your health information will need to be shared between healthcare providers.
You can also contribute by respecting the privacy and confidentiality of others. It is the policy of this surgery:
- to maintain the security of personal health information at all times.
- to ensure that this practice maintains the security of all personal health information, and
- to ensure this information is only available to authorized members of staff.
Information and Privacy Commission New South Wales»
Comment
A right to comment on care and having concerns addressed.
Healthcare providers want to solve problems quickly, but they need to be told about the problem first. If you have any suggestions about how services could be improved, please let staff know.
The procedures used by the health service organization to comment about your care should be made available to you. You can provide verbal or written comments about the procedures and your experiences.
To commend health workers, to complain about your health care and/or to be advised of the procedure of expressing concern about your care please contact your health service provider’s patient liaison representative.
Contacts
If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, please contact us.
Finesse Cosmetic Surgery
Suite 2 & 3, 19 Honeysuckle Drive, Newcastle NSW 2300
Australia
www.finessecosmeticsurgery.com.au
info@finessecosmeticsurgery.com.au
ph: 0240010511
fax: 0240010513
In the event you are unable to resolve any concerns, then you should contact
The Health Care Complaints Commission
Locked Mail Bag 18
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
Telephone: 1800 043 159
Website: www.hccc.nsw.gov.au