The Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre has continued to provide support to its patients and the community during the uncertainty resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic by remaining open, and providing a safe and caring environment for patients, doctors and staff.
Our experienced and dedicated health professionals have been able to plan and adapt quickly to the pandemic following the guidelines of leading medical organisations and the Australian Government. We have implemented COVID SAFE procedures in our practice e.g. best possible hygiene practices, screening patients at the front door, social distancing protocols, all allowing the practice to continue with face to face consultations safely. Improved and targeted communication has ensured all health professionals have accurate and up to date information on COVIDSAFE procedures. The rapid introduction of Telehealth has allowed our GPs to consult via phone and video to meet patient needs.
See how we are keeping our Doctors, Staff and Patients safe during these unprecedented times.
To ensure patients who receive care from the Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre are comfortable entrusting their health information to the Practice, this Privacy Policy provides information as to how their personal information (which includes their health information) is collected and used within the Practice, and the circumstances in which we may disclose it to third parties.
The Practice will:
The Practice’s staff will take reasonable steps to ensure patients understand:
Patient Consent:
The Practice will only interpret and apply a patient’s consent for the primary purpose for which it was provided. The Practice staff must seek additional consent from the patient if the personal information collected may be used for any other purpose.
When you register as a Patient of our Practice, you provide consent for our GPs and Practice Staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible Healthcare. Only Staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.
The information we will collect about you includes:
In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
The Practice holds all personal information securely, in electronic format using a password protected information systems or in hard copy format in an access controlled environment.
If you do not provide us with the personal information described above, some or all of the following may happen:
Our Practice will need to collect your personal information to provide Healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your Health and to provide the best possible quality of service to you. . We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, Practice audits and Accreditation, and business processes (e.g. – Staff training).
Personal information will only be used for the purpose of providing medical services and for claims and payments, unless otherwise consented to. Transfer of personal information for the provision of medical services is done using an encrypted messaging system, fax or letter.
The Practice will inform the patient where there is a statutory requirement to disclose certain personal information (for example, some diseases require mandatory notification).
The Practice will not disclose personal information to any third party other than in the course of providing medical services, without full disclosure to the patient or the recipient, the reason for the information transfer and full consent from the patient.
We sometimes share your personal information:
Only people that need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing Medical services or as otherwise described in this Policy, our Practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Our Practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt-out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our Practice in writing.
The Practice evaluates all unsolicited information it receives to decide if it should be kept, acted on or destroyed.
Our Practice stores all personal information securely e.g. electronic format, either in protected information systems or in hard copy format in a secured environment, as well as the use of a combination of the following including passwords, secure cabinets, confidentiality agreements for Staff and Contractors. A patient’s personal information may be held at the Practice in various forms.
“Cookies” (small text files placed on your computer when you first visit our website) are used on some parts of our website. Most browsers now recognise when a cookie is offered and permit you to refuse or accept it. If you are not sure whether your browser has this capability, you should check with the software manufacturer, your company’s technology help desk or your internet service provider.
Cookies are primarily used to enhance your online experience and are not used to track the navigational habits of identified visitors, unless we obtain your permission to do so. If you visit our website to read or download information, much of the information we do collect is statistical only and is not personally identifiable.
Our website is hosted by an external service provider and we may also use the services of other online service providers from time to time. Our service provider’s use of cookies is not covered by our Privacy Policy.
Our website may include hyperlinks which enable access to third party websites. These third party websites are also not subject to this Privacy Policy.
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
You have the right to request access and correction of your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges Patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing whether that be in person at the Practice’s front counter, directly to their GP, by email (must be signed), or in the regular mail. Our practice will respond within a reasonable time e.g. usually within 30 days. Please note, there may be fee/s associated with providing this information which will not be excessive. In saying this, Patients are not charged for making the request, only for the costs of complying with the request.
Our Practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our Practice is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing addressed to the Practice Manager, Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre, PO Box 5924, Cairns, Qld 4870, or by email: pm@cairns24hour.com.au
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve the issue in accordance with our resolution procedure. Contact details of our Practice are as follows –
Cairns 24 Hour Medical Centre
PO Box 5924
Cairns Qld 4870
Phone – 07 4052 1119 Email: pm@cairns24hour.com.au
We endeavour to turn around requests within 30 days.
Should the practice become aware of a data breach, we will notify the individual whose personal information has been breached. This will provide a reasonable step in the protection of this information against misuse, loss or unauthorised access.
As a practice we will explain what has gone wrong and what has been done to try to avoid a repeat situation, as well as what has been done to remedy any potential harm. We will help patients regain control of information e.g., change passwords and request re-issue of identifiers.
We will endeavour to regain public trust. We take the protection of your personal information seriously. Our data breach response includes notifying the patient. Serious breaches will involve notifying the OAIC and relevant 3rd parties.
If a patient believes there has been a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) in the first instance they should make the practice aware. If the patient is not satisfied with the Practice response they can lodge a complaint with the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner).
Phone: 1300 363 992
GPO Box 5218, SYDNEY NSW 2001
This privacy policy is reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with OAIC legislation and any changes that may occur. Notification to our patients, when we amend this policy will be by display at our Practice reception, highlighting the changes.