At PracMinders Pty Ltd (ACN 682 248 353) (‘PRACMINDERS’) safeguarding sensitive data is a cornerstone of our commitment to providing secure and reliable contingency support services to the health sector, especially during times of crisis. Our approach to data privacy and security ensures compliance with all applicable laws and prioritises the trust and confidence of our clients. We understand that the security and privacy of patient health records and practitioner personal information is paramount in today’s digital climate.
This Privacy Policy (‘Policy’) outlines the way in which PRACMINDERS collects, holds, uses and discloses Personal Information and/or Health Information.
In this Policy, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ means PRACMINDERS.
In this Policy Health Information has the meaning expressed within section 6FA of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (‘the Privacy Act’) and includes details about a patient’s mental health, medical history, disabilities, expressed wishes about future provision of health services, and any other Personal Information collected in connection with the provision of health services to the patient. In the Privacy Act, it is referred to as ‘sensitive information’. Other legislation in Australia which protects the use of health information refers to it as ‘health information’. This policy uses the term ‘Health Information’ for consistency.
In this Policy, Personal Information has the meaning given to it in section 6 of the Privacy Act and includes information or an opinion, whether true or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is capable of identification.
An individual’s Personal Information in their healthcare record is referred to as Health Information, because its information obtained in the provision of a health service.
In this Policy, where we refer to Personal Information separately, it is intended to refer to information which is not contained in a patient’s healthcare record, and may relate to suppliers, employees etc. See “What Personal Information do we collect” in paragraph 5.
We offer practice contingency administrative support services (“Services”). When a healthcare practitioner or their Authorised Notifier (a representative formally appointed by your healthcare practitioner) requests us to provide those Services we will need to collect your Health Information in order to provide those Services, for example:
Please note that we will only collect your Health Information with your consent, which has been co-ordinated by your healthcare practitioner or their Authorised Notifier, and only for the purposes of providing the Services to your healthcare practitioner’s practice. As we do not have a direct contractual relationship with you, we are not allowed or obliged to provide the Services other than as directed by your healthcare practitioner or their Authorised Notifier.
Your Health Information will be collected from your healthcare practitioner or their Authorised Notifier in the form of access to your medical record held by your healthcare practitioner.
Personal Information is collected and used on the basis that it is necessary for us to provide and/or market our Services to healthcare practitioners.
We collect Personal Information about:
The type of information we collect hold and use will depend on your relationship with us but may include name, date of birth, contact details, email addresses, occupation, company name, professional skills and work history.
For employees and prospective employees only: username and password, personal preferences, payment details, employment history, education and qualifications. In some cases we may also collect other ‘sensitive information’, such as information about an individual’s membership of a professional association.
We may also collect and process non-personal information provided to us by your browser when you visit our websites, for example; the website you came from, your location information, IP address, web browser and/or device type and the time and date of access. Generally speaking, we do not use non-personal information unless required to do so for legal or law enforcement reasons or if our website provider provides us with broad geolocation data of website users.
We will take reasonable steps to protect the security of Health and Personal Information through restricted access to electronic records and through requiring our personnel to respect the confidentiality of Health and Personal information and the privacy of individuals.
Where we no longer require your Health or Personal Information we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify it. We will only hold your Health or Personal Information for the time period necessary to meet our legal obligations and this will depend on the purpose for which your information was collected.
Through carefully selected technology partnerships, we implement comprehensive security measures that meet and exceed industry standards. Our technology partnerships are specifically selected for the ability of their security frameworks to implement multiple layers of protection, ensuring data safety at every level of our operations.
We may disclose your Health or Personal Information for the purposes for which it was collected and to entities who assist us in providing our Services (including hosting and data storage providers and debt collectors).
We may also use and/or disclose your Health or Personal Information for other purposes which you consent to or which are required or permitted by law. This may include for a secondary purpose that is related to a purpose for which we collected it (in the case of Health Information, it must be directly related to the primary purpose of providing the Services).
In the event we provide links to other websites operated by third parties, we make no representations or warranties in relation to the safety of those websites or the privacy practices of those websites and we are not responsible for any loss or harm which may be caused by access. If you visit these websites, they will be governed by their own terms of use (including privacy policies) and access and use is at your own risk.
Subject to the exceptions set out in the Privacy Act, you may seek access to and correction of the Health or Personal Information which we hold about you by contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@pracminders.com.au. We will require you to verify your identity and to specify what information you require. If a fee is charged for providing access, you will be advised of the likely cost in advance.
If you have any questions about privacy-related issues or wish to complain about a breach of your privacy or the handling of your Health or Personal information by us, please lodge your complaint in writing to contact our Privacy Officer at privacy@pracminders.com.au. Your complaint will be acknowledged within 48 business hours and investigated by the Privacy Officer. You will be notified of the making of a decision in relation to your complaint as soon as is practicable after it has been made, usually within 30 days.
If we can’t resolve your concerns about our handling of your Health or Personal information, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
Tel: 1300 363 992
Updates to this Policy will take place in accordance with law.
By using our website and services, or by otherwise providing us with your information, you consent to us collecting, holding, using and disclosing your Health or Personal information as described in this Policy.
