Privacy Policy

Sydney Eye Surgeons (SES) is committed to providing quality health care for its patients. As a fundamental part of this commitment, principals and staff of this practice recognise the importance of ensuring that our patients are fully informed and involved in their health care.

Sydney Eye Surgeons, as a NSW health provider is bound by the 15 Health Privacy Principles (HPPs) from the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) the and the thirteen Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and other privacy provisions from the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). These principles set the standards by which we handle personal information collected about our patients.
A summary of both sets of principles is available for inspection at the reception desk.
As a part of our commitment to providing quality healthcare it is necessary for us to maintain files pertaining to your health. These files contain the following information:

• Personal details (your name, address, telephone numbers, date of birth, Medicare number)
  
• Your medical history
  
• Notes made during the course of medical consultations and treatment
  
• Referrals from and to other health service providers
  
• Results and reports received from other health service providers

The information about you, is provided by you, or arises as a consequence of information provided to you.

SES does not collect personal information about you unless reasonably necessary for patient care or if authorised for research purposes, and then only with your express consent. You must consent to the collection of sensitive information. If information is received which SES did not solicit, SES will determine whether this information was collected under the guidelines of patient consent. If not, and where lawful and reasonable to do so, the information will be de-identified or destroyed as soon as practicable.

When you register as a patient of SES, you provide consent for our doctors 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.

SES can collect information, with patient consent from third party sources such as relatives or other health service providers if deemed reasonably necessary for the provision of quality care. This would also include collection of information without patient consent during medical emergencies.

Your medical file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy. This file will be accessed by your medical practitioner, and when necessary, for example in the absence of your usual medical practitioner, by other medical practitioners in the practice. It may also be necessary for our staff to handle your file from time to time to address the administrative requirements of running a medical practice. Our staff members are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment and these requirements must be observed if it is necessary for them to access a patient file.

At times, to ensure the function of our practice, it may also be necessary to allow external organisations to access our practice and possibly, to view medical records. Any external organisation that provides service or advice to this practice will be aware of the need to preserve the requirement of state and federal privacy legislation and will be bound by a confidentiality agreement.

SES may participate in research to improve individual and community care and there will be times when you may be asked to be a part of that research or trial. Your details and other identifying features will be removed for publishing or reference purposes. You will be given the opportunity to opt –out of any involvement.

SES does not intend to disclose your personal information to overseas recipients unless it is to your healthcare provider and then with your consent, or unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law.

SES will not release the contents of your medical file without consent. However, we advise that there may be occasions when we might be required by law to disclose the details of your file irrespective of whether your consent to the disclosure of information is given. For example:

• Information may be used to comply with all applicable laws such as responding to a subpoena or compulsory reporting to State and Federal authorities.
  
• Information may be provided to prevent or lessen a serious or imminent threat to your or somebody’s life or health.

On occasion, we may upload a de-identified case study to our “Case Study of the Month” web page or we may use de-identified patient information for education and training purposes. In both instances, patients cannot be identified and no personal information is disclosed.

As a patient of this practice, you have rights to seek access to or correct any information we hold about you. Should you wish to access this information, please submit a written request using our “Accessing your Medical Records” form, a copy of which is available from our reception team. We will respond to all requests for access to medical records in writing and access will be granted within 30 days, where a lawful exception does not apply. Access to patient records will be in the presence of your medical practitioner and will be charged a consultation fee that will not be rebated by Medicare.

SES 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 the personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information. Please contact reception to initiate any requests to corrections and amendments to your personal information.

Every reasonable security safeguard is put in place to protect the personal information that we hold from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.

As part of our commitment to preserving the confidentiality of the information contained in your medical record, we advise that strict secure storage policies are observed in this practice. All reasonable steps are taken to prevent any unlawful interference with your electronic records, which are accessible only by staff of this practice and are protected by a security password. Your records are stored securely and are only accessible by the practice staff and service providers where there is a need for them to access the records. Each member of staff is well versed in the principles and importance of doctor-patient confidentiality.

Should a data breach occur and there is a risk of serious harm as a result of the data breach, the affected individuals and the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commission) will be notified. Serious harm could include serious physical, psychological, emotional, economic, and financial harm, and serious harm to reputation.

Should you at any time have a query or complaint in relation to the privacy policies or practices that we have implemented at SES, please contact the Practice Manager who would be happy to address any concerns you may have. We advise that it is the practice’s policy that any complaint is required to be made in writing and addressed to the Practice Manager marked “Private and Confidential.” We advise that we will make our best endeavours to address the complaint within 30 days.

Should you be dissatisfied with our response to your privacy complaint, you may lodge a written complaint with the NSW Privacy Commissioner or the Australian Information Commissioner.