Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Privacy Policy tells you, our patient, how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.

Advanced Chiropractic is a trading name of Chiropractic Art Pty Ltd, which operates the practice at 869 Springvale Road, Mulgrave VIC 3170. We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Why and when your consent is necessary

When you register as a patient of our practice, you give consent for the practitioner and practice staff at Advanced Chiropractic to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with care. Only staff who need to see your personal information have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will ask for your consent first.

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

Our practice needs to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes such as staff training.

What personal information do we collect?

The information we collect about you includes your:

• name, date of birth, address and contact details
• health information, including health history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
• Medicare number, where available, for identification and claiming purposes
• healthcare identifiers
• health fund details

Dealing with us anonymously

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for us to do so or we are required or authorised by law to deal only with identified individuals.

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 collect your personal and demographic information through your registration. Appointments are booked through our online booking system, PracSuite, or by phone.
• During the course of providing care we may collect further personal information, including a patient intake form and a patient consent form, both of which are sent to you before your first consultation.
• We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, book online, or contact us through social media.

In some circumstances, personal information may be collected from other sources, usually because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:

• your guardian or responsible person
• other healthcare providers involved in your care, such as specialists, allied health practitioners, hospitals, community health services, and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
• your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, as necessary

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

We sometimes share your personal information:

• with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers. These third parties are required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and with this policy.
• with other healthcare providers
• when it is required or authorised by law, for example a court subpoena
• when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety, or to public health or safety, and it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
• to assist in locating a missing person
• to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
• for the purpose of a confidential dispute resolution process
• when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information

Only people who need to access your information are able to do so. Other than in the course of providing care 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 without your consent, unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law.

Our practice will not use your personal information to market our services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by telling us in writing.

Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer, through research and analysis of our patient data. We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. That information is secure, patients cannot be identified from it, and it is stored within Australia. You can tell our reception staff or email us at info@advancedchiropractic.com.au if you do not want your information included.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be held at our practice in several forms. These include:

• electronic patient records
• paper patient records
• visual records, including X-rays, CT scans, MRI, ultrasound and photographs

As part of our commitment to the confidentiality of the information in your record, strict storage policies are observed in this practice. All reasonable steps are taken to prevent unlawful interference with your electronic records, which are accessible only to staff of this practice and are protected by a password.

Paper and visual records are uploaded to your digital record, and the physical copies are stored in locked cabinets inside the clinic that only registered practitioners in the practice can open. In every form of record storage, each member of staff understands the principles and the importance of practitioner and patient confidentiality.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. Our practice acknowledges that patients may request access to their records.

All requests should be made in writing, either by:

• email to info@advancedchiropractic.com.au; or
• letter addressed to Advanced Chiropractic, 869 Springvale Road, Mulgrave VIC 3170, Australia, marked PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL.

On receipt, our practice will respond within 30 days by your chosen method.

Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where it is not accurate or up to date. From time to time we will ask you to confirm that the personal information our practice holds is correct and current.

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint?

We take complaints and concerns about privacy seriously. Please put any privacy concern in writing, by email to info@advancedchiropractic.com.au or by letter addressed to Advanced Chiropractic, 869 Springvale Road, Mulgrave VIC 3170, Australia, marked PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL. We will then attempt to resolve it in line with our resolution procedure, and will respond within 30 days.

You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Generally, the OAIC will require you to give us time to respond before it will investigate. For more information visit oaic.gov.au or call 1300 363 992. If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy complaint, you may lodge a written complaint with the OAIC.

Privacy and our website

For each visitor to the site we collect, through cookies and through our contact and booking forms, information that does not identify you personally. This includes browser type, version and language, operating system, pages viewed while browsing the site, page access times, and the referring website address. We use this information internally to understand visitor traffic and trends, and to improve the site.

The third-party services that support the website are:

• our web host, which stores the website files and serves the pages you request
• Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics, which measure how the site is used. You can opt out of Google Analytics using Google’s browser add-on.
• PracSuite, our practice management and online booking system, which holds the appointment and patient records described above and stores them in Australia

From time to time we may use information for new purposes not described in this policy. If our information practices change, the new purposes will apply only to data collected from the date of the change forward.

Policy review statement

Advanced Chiropractic may amend this Privacy Policy at any time. If you object to this Privacy Policy, you should not use the site or engage the services of Advanced Chiropractic.

This Privacy Policy is reviewed regularly so that it stays in line with any changes that occur, both internally and with external providers, government agencies and the law. Where this policy changes, the date at the top of this page is updated.

Contact us

Advanced Chiropractic
Dr Arthur Kaganovitch, Chiropractor
869 Springvale Road, Mulgrave VIC 3170
Email: info@advancedchiropractic.com.au
Phone: (03) 9548 5050