Communication

We aim to explain clearly how personal information about you and your health is recorded and managed in this practice. Your practitioner will be happy to discuss this with you the ways in which this practice complies with the Australian Privacy Principles are set out below.

Privacy Act Australia

In compliance with the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, we have developed a Practice Privacy Policy that governs the handling of your personal information. Personal Information means information or an opinion (including information or an opinion forming part of a database), whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an individual whose identity is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information or opinion (P57 Guidelines on Privacy in the Private Health Sector, Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner – October 2001). The Federal Privacy Act incorporates the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that set out the rules for the handling of personal information in the private health sector. In the interests of providing quality health care this practice has implemented a privacy policy that complies with the Privacy Act (1988) and the APPs (2014).

Collection

It is necessary for Altona Acupuncture to collect personal information from clients/patients and sometimes others associated with their health care in order to attend to their health needs and for associated administrative purposes. We ask clients/patients their consent for information collection on our intake form on, or prior to, their first visit.

Use & Disclosure

A client’s/patient’s personal health information is used or disclosed for purposes directly related to their health care and in ways that are consistent with a client’s/patient’s expectations. In the interests of the highest quality and continuity of health care this may include sharing information with other health care providers who comprise a client’s/patient’s health care team from time to time, this includes GP’s, practice nurses, registrars and students, allied health professionals, support staff. The use of this data is determined by what is required for client/patient care. In general, a client’s/patient’s health information will not be used for any other purposes without their consent. There are circumstances when information has to be disclosed without client/patient consent, such as:

• Emergency situations
• By law it may be necessary to disclose information about a client/patient to fulfil a medical indemnity insurance obligation – e.g. mandatory reporting of some communicable diseases
• Provision of information to private health funds if relevant for billing and medical rebate purposes
• There are also necessary purposes of collection for which information will be used beyond providing health care, such as professional accreditation, quality assessments, clinical auditing, billing, service monitoring activities, improving the administration of the practice and disclosure to a clinical supervisor.
• The individual’s privacy is protected by federal privacy legislation and State privacy legislation. This practice does not send data / information to locations outside of Australia.

Storage

The storage, use, and where necessary, transfer of personal health information will be undertaken in a secure manner that protects client/patient privacy. It is necessary for the practice to keep client/patient information after a client’s/patient’s last attendance for as long as is required by law (7 years or until a minor turns 25 years) or is prudent having regard to administrative requirements. Data will only be accessible to authorised personnel involved in client/patient care or administration of that care. Any data to go to a third party will be discussed with the client/patient involved and the client’s/patient’s consent will be obtained and documented.

Access & Correction

Clients/patients may request access to their personal health information held by this practice or its transfer to another health provider. All requests for access to personal health information will need to be made in writing. Altona Acupuncture will review and manage the request.
This practice acknowledges the right of children and young people to privacy of their health information. Based on the professional judgement of the practitioner and consistent with the law, it might be necessary at times to restrict access to personal health information by parents or guardians.
Altona Acupuncture encourages clients/patients to ensure that information held is accurate and up to date and to amend any information that is inaccurate. A charge may be payable where the practice incurs a cost in providing access. This is for administrative costs such as photocopying, etc. Where access is restricted or denied, the reason for this will be explained to the client/patient by their regular Altona Acupuncture practitioner.

Identifiers

These are numbers or symbols that are used to identify clients/patients with or without using a name e.g. Medicare or DVA numbers. Altona Acupuncture will limit the use of identifiers assigned by other agencies to those uses necessary to fulfil our obligations to those agencies e.g. Medicare claims.

Anonymity

A client/patient has the right to be dealt with anonymously, provided that this is lawful and practical. However in the health context this is unlikely to be practical and may in some circumstances impact of the quality of care and treatment. All requests of this nature will be referred to the Altona Acupuncture's director/s.

Concerns

Altona Acupuncture recognises the right of client’s/patient’s to raise their concerns about privacy and confidentiality. Clients/patients are asked to contact Altona Acupuncture if they have any concerns regarding the collection, use or disclosure of the personal health information. The best way to deal effectively with concerns and complaints is to communicate openly and respectfully. We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within two working days of receiving it. Where possible, a response to your complaint will be provided to you within 14 days of the date we acknowledge your complaint. Where this is not possible, due to the complexity of your complaint or other factors, we will endeavour to keep you informed.

Website Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how Altona Acupuncture uses and protects any information that you give Altona Acupuncture when you use this website.  Altona Acupuncture is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Altona Acupuncture may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 2016.

What We Collect

• name and job title
• contact information including email address
• demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
• health information such as interest with treatment
• other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers

What We Do With The Information We Gather

We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:

Internal record keeping
We may use the information to improve our products and services.
We may periodically send promotional emails about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone or mail. We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

How We Use Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. 

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website. 

Links To Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question. We seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

Controlling Your Personal Information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

• whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes
• if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at aleisha@altonaacupuncture.com
• We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. A small fee will be payable. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to aleisha@altonaacupuncture.com. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

Contact Information
Trading Name: Altona Acupuncture
ABN:81  705 730 973
Country: Australia
Telephone Number (03) 93159196
Email: aleisha@altonaacupuncture.com