Privacy Policy
The privacy of your personal information is important to us and our practice is committed to handling your personal information securely and carefully from the time you share it with us. In particular, we are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles 2014.
Why we collect information
We collect information from you for a number of reasons:
- to enable us to provide quality services to you
- to communicate with your referring medical practitioner(s)
- for administrative purposes including billing
Any information you give us will be retained and used solely for providing nutrition and diabetes education services and for the purpose of conducting our business.
How we collect this information
The personal information we collect is supplied to us by you:
- when you ring or email to make an appointment with us
- in the paperwork you provide to to us prior to your first consultation
- during your consultations with Dr Kate Marsh
Your referring medical practitioner or other health professionals may also provide us with information about you, via a referral letter, phone call or email.
What we collect
Our practice only collects information which is necessary to provide you with the services you request. The information we collect allows us to properly assess your situation, provide appropriate information and advice, and assist you in achieving your goals.
The information we collect will include your personal and contact details, medical, weight and diet histories, daily activities and exercise habits, goals and expectations from our service and progress towards you goals (at subsequent consultations).
We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information we hold about you is accurate when we use it or disclose it. You should contact us if you think that your personal information may be incorrect. It is also important that you inform us if any of your details have changed so that we can update your file. This includes contact details and details about your health conditions and medication use.
Who we may share your information with
We recognise the trust you place in us when you provide personal information. We will not share or disclose any information about you to any third parties, other than your referring medical practitioner and other health professionals involved in your care.
If you are referred to us by a medical practitioner or other health professional a letter will be sent back to them summarising our consultation including our assessment and plan of management. Follow-up letters will be sent on a regular basis to update your practitioner of our progress towards your goals. If there are other health professionals involved in your care we will also send a copy of this correspondence to them, with your permission. If, for any reason you do not wish this to occur please let us know at your initial consultation. There are some circumstances under which we are legally required to report back to your referring practitioner – for example if you are referred under a Team Care Arrangement enabling you to claim a rebate from Medicare or with a referral through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).
Security
We will take all reasonable steps to store your personal information securely. We use a secure online practice management software program which complies with the relevant legislative and regulatory requirements for privacy and security within Australia. Files are password protected and have regular, secure offsite backup. Your files are only accessed by Dr Kate Marsh and her administrative staff, and we have different levels of access. This means that administrative staff can only access your contact and billing details and referral information, but not your personal history and consultation notes. Our reception staff respect the confidentiality of any information you provide when booking an appointment.
Under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) Scheme, which came into effect on February 22nd 2018, we are required to notify you if your personal information is involved in a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm. We are also required to notify the Australian Information Commissioner of any eligible data breaches.
Access to personal information
You can request access to the personal information we hold about you by contacting us using the contact details below. The Privacy Act provides for circumstances where our practice cannot meet requests for information held. We will provide you with an explanation if we refuse your request for information.
How to contact us
If you have any queries or complaints regarding our collection, use or management of your personal information, please contact us in one of the following ways:
In writing: Dr Kate Marsh, Dietitian & Diabetes Educator
Suite 74 Chatswood Village, 47 Neridah Street, Chatswood NSW 2067
By Phone: 0416 747 747
By Fax: 02 9167 7190
By Email: reception@drkatemarsh.com.au
If we cannot satisfactorily resolve any concerns you have regarding privacy, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), either in writing (to GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 1042) or online at https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/how-do-i-make-a-privacy-complaint. For more information about privacy you can refer to the Privacy Commissioners website at www.oaic.gov.au