Privacy Policy

Adelaide & Hills Ent Privacy policy

The objective of this document is to provide you, our patient, with clear information on how your personal information is collected and used within the practice. Occasionally we also need to share your personal information to involve others in your healthcare and this policy outlines when, how, and why we share your information.

When & Why is your consent necessary?

When you register as a patient of this practice, you provide consent for the Doctors and practice staff to access and use your personal information to facilitate the delivery of healthcare. Access to your personal information is restricted to practice team members who require it for your care. If we ever use your personal information for purposes other than outlined in this document, we will obtain additional consent from you.

It is important to us that as our patient, you understand why we collect and use your personal information. By acknowledging this Privacy Policy you consent to us collecting, holding, using, retaining and disclosing your personal information in the manners described below.

Why do we collect, use, store, and share your personal information?

Our practice collects, uses, stores, and shares your personal information primarily to manage your health safely and effectively. This includes providing healthcare services, managing medical records, and ensuring accurate billing and payments. Additionally, we may utilise your information for internal quality and safety improvement processes such as practice audits with deidentified data, accreditation purposes, and staff training to maintain high-quality service standards.

The information we will collect about you includes your:

Your name, address, date of birth and contact details
Medicare, Department of Veterans Affairs, Private health fund details
Healthcare Identifier numbers
Emergency contact and next of kin details
Medical history, medications, allergies & family history
Clinical notes relating to your ENT assessment and treatment
Diagnostic imaging & pathology results
Surgical records & hospital correspondence
Information relating to workers compensation claims where applicable

How do we collect your personal information?

Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.

When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal anddemographic information via your registration.
During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS or telephone us to make an appointment.

While providing medical services, further personal information may be collected via:

electronic prescribing
My Health Record
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:

your guardian or responsible person
other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).

Photos and medical images:

Consent will be taken prior to any medical images being taken
We will only capture images required
If the image is taken from a personal device the image will be deleted immediately after uploading to patient’s file
Removal of metadata when de-identifying photos
This image will not be backed up to any third-party devices
Strict privacy settings on the device used to record the image
Capture only what is required

When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?

We sometimes share your personal information:

Your referring GP
Other specialists involved in your treatment
Hospitals where you receive care
Pathology and imaging providers
Audiologists and allied health practitioners involved in your care
Medicare, private health insurers and government agencies where authorised or required by law
Our contracted service providers, including secure IT providers and medical transcription services, who are required to maintain confidentiality

Only people who 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.

How are document automation technologies used?

Document automation is where systems use existing data to generate electronic documents relating to medical conditions and healthcare.

The practice uses document automation technologies to create documents such as referrals, which are sent to other healthcare providers. These documents contain only your relevant medical information.

These document automation technologies are used through secure medical software Gentu – Practice management software, Magentus.

All users of the medical software have their own unique user credentials and password and can only access information that is relevant to their role in the practice team.

The practice complies with the Australian privacy legislation and APPs to protect your information.

How are Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes used?

The practice uses an AI scribe tool to take notes during their consultations with you. The AI scribe uses an audio recording of your consultation to generate a clinical note for your health record. The practice AI scribe service is Heidi, fully integrated with our Gentu Practice management software

Heidi does not share information outside of Australia
Heidi destroys the audio file after 30 days once the transcription is complete.
Heidi removes sensitive, personal identifying information as part of the transcription
The practice will only use data from our digital scribe service to provide healthcare to you.
All letters are reviewed by your clinician prior to sending to third party or referring GP

Storage and Security

We take all reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

This includes:

Secure electronic medical record systems
Password-protected computer systems
Encryption where appropriate
Secure storage of paper records
Staff confidentiality obligations
Controlled access to patient information

We retain medical records for the period required by applicable laws and professional standards.

Electronic Communications

We may communicate with you by telephone, SMS, email or secure electronic messaging regarding appointments, results, recalls and other aspects of your care.

How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?

You have the right to request access to, 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 via a signed letter, addressed to the treating Specialist and our practice will respond within a reasonable time when the request has been reviewed by the relevant practitioners. There may be a fee associated with providing this information. The practice will inform you of any associated fees at the time of the application.

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 that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to;

Adelaide & Hills ENT

191 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Phone 8185 1661

Email: practicemanager@ahent.com.au

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint?

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 it in accordance with our resolution procedure.

Adelaide & Hills ENT

191 Wakefield Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Phone 8185 1661

Email: practicemanager@ahent.com.au

We strive to resolve all complaints within a 7-day timeframe or within a relevant time frame in association to the complaint.

You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.

Data Breach Response

Adelaide & Hills ENT has procedures in place to identify, contain, and respond to any data breach involving your personal information. If we become aware that personal information we hold has been lost, or accessed, used or disclosed without authorisation, and this is likely to result in serious harm, we will assess the breach and, where required under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, notify both the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and any affected individuals as soon as practicable. Notification will include a description of the breach, the type of information involved, and the steps we recommend you take to protect yourself. We will also take immediate steps to contain the breach and prevent further unauthorised access, and review our systems and processes to reduce the risk of future incidents.

Privacy and our website

IT protection systems and internal procedures are utilized to protect the personal information held by Adelaide & Hills ENT. This includes email content and the website where Adelaide & Hills ENT endeavors to ensure the website and email systems are secure through the use of firewalls.

Review of Privacy Policy

Adelaide & Hills ENT is committed to continuous improvement and this policy will be reviewed regularly (at least every six months) for effectiveness and updated.

This Privacy Policy is supported by management. We commit to providing this policy to all staff and displaying it in our business for customers.