When and why is your consent necessary?

 

When you register as a patient of this practice, you provide consent for the GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information to facilitate the delivery of healthcare. Access to your personal information to restricted to practice team members who require it for your care. If we ever use your personal information for purposes other than healthcare provision, 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.

 

 

Personal information

 

The ‘personal information’ we collect includes your name, date of birth, address/es, contact details, Medicare number, healthcare identifiers and health fund details. Medical information will include medical history, examination findings, results of investigations and treatment advised.  Your GP also needs information about your past and present health to provide you with high-quality care.

We also use this information for directly related business activities, such as Medicare claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (e.g. staff training)

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.

Our practice follows the guidelines of the RACGP’s Privacy and managing health information in general practice resource. The resource incorporates federal and state privacy legislation, and the Australian Privacy Principles, which requires that your personal information is kept private and secure.

 

 

Your medical records

 

The patient health record is a secure and confidential collation and representation of all the documentation, received, noted and produced in relation to your health and care as the patient. Each patient health record is unique and has only relevant documentation, files specific to each patient

 

This practice takes steps to ensure that your medical records:

• are accurate, complete, well-organised and legible.
• are up to date.
• contain enough information to allow another GP to care for you
• contain a summary of your care
• can be used to remind you, with your permission, to return for follow up, check-ups and reviews.

If you are uncertain why information is being requested, please ask your GP.

 

 

How can you correct or update your personal information at our practice?

 

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 admin@gasworksmedical.com.au. In some cases, we will require verbal confirmation of changes to ensure no privacy breach is made should the request for changes not be made by you.

 

 

Providing your medical records to you – Health Summary

 

Gasworks Medical Practice are happy to provide a patient ‘health summary’ to you at no cost. To ensure your medical records are safely secured these requests can only be made of clinical staff (nurses) or your regular GP.

 

 

Providing your medical records to you – Full Medical Record

 

A full medical record includes all doctor’s consultation notes, referral letters, medical certificates, specialist letters and investigations. If you are wishing to obtain your full medical records, the practice can provide this, a fee of $40 is charged for the administration time required to collate these records.

It is possible to access your health information directly via your MyGov account, My Health Record or through use of the new ‘My Health QLD’ app.

Our practice typically refers to Sullivan Nicolaides for pathology and can be accessed via https://www.snp.com.au/patients/patient-resources/patient-results/

We encourage all patients to book appointments to discuss their medical information in an appointment setting and our doctors are not able to respond to requests for information by email. Your doctor can provide you a copy during your consultation.

 

 

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 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.

1. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
2. While providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media
4. 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).

Various types of images may be collected and used, including:

• CCTV footage: Collected from the Gasworks Plaza premises for security and safety purpose.
• Photos and medical images: Your doctor will discuss the purpose of taking any photos and obtain your consent prior to taking them, e.g photos of skin rashes. Doctors using Total body photography in skin cancer checks will discuss this with you and obtain appropriate consent

 

 

Providing your information to other GPs

 

In this practice, it is normal for all GPs to have access to your medical records. If you have any concerns about this, please discuss them with your GP. If you are transferring to another medical practice, we will provide a medical summary to that practice when requested, if more detailed information is required your new treating doctor can request a copy of your file to be transferred for an administrative cost as detailed above.

It is important that other medical practitioners involved in your care, have access to your medical information, to prevent duplication of investigations, and to provide the best care for you. Your doctor will provide this information in the form of referral letters or on direct request from your treating professionals.

 

Providing your information to others

 

Our practice will not share your personal health information with anyone else or another organisation unless:

• you have consented to this sharing, or
• they are legally obliged to disclose the information (e.g. court-subpoenas). It is important to discuss any court proceedings and requests with your regular GP.
• the information is necessary for you to obtain Medicare payments or other health insurance rebates, or

 

• when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or 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 confidential dispute resolution process
• When it is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. some diseases require mandatory notification)
• When it is needed for provision of medical services, through electronic prescribing, My Health Record (e.g. via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).

In the above cases, only information necessary to meet the requirements will be provided.

 

Your health information will not ordinarily be sent overseas unless:

• you are informed and provide consent for this to occur, and
• the overseas country receiving the information has privacy laws that are very similar to the Australian Privacy Principles.

 

 

Using health information for quality improvement and research

 

This practice may use patient health information to assist in improving the quality of care we give to all our patients, by reviewing the treatments used in the practice.

Your information held by the practice may be used in research projects to improve healthcare in the community; however, this information will not include data that can identify you. In very rare instances where the medical practice is directed by the department of Health to provide identifying information, your GP will discuss this with you before disclosing the information.

De-identified data is collected through Primary Sense for public health and funding decisions

 

 

Security of information in the practice

 

Australian privacy legislation applies to all personal health information recorded. Our practice stores all personal information securely. We use password protected computer systems and utilise secure shredding bins for any printed confidential information to be destroyed once imported into our electronic records.

Only people who need to access your personal information will be able to do so. Other than providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, the practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent

 

 

Access to your health information

 

You can request access to your medical record and any other information the practice records about you. If you request access to your medical record, your GP will need to consider if there may be a risk of physical or mental harm to you or any other person that may result from disclosure of your health information. Your GP may need to remove any information that will affect the privacy of other individuals.

We require you to put this request in writing, in a signed consent form from your new practice.

Our practice will respond within a reasonable time frame. Records transfers are usually completed within a fortnight. For a full medical records transfer, there is an administrative fee of $40.

Sharing information is important for good communication between you and practice staff. Your GP can provide a full explanation of the health summary or medical record you are provided access to.

Depending on what is involved, you may be asked to contribute to the cost of providing the information.

 

 

Direct marketing

 

This practice does not engage in direct marketing.

 

 

Communication of practice changes and services.

 

This practice limits the frequency of direct communication regarding health updates. We encourage our patients to review our website or Facebook page for necessary updates. In rare circumstances we utilise HotDoc broadcast services which would be an SMS to your HotDoc listed mobile. This service allows you to opt out.

 

 

HotDoc Privacy Agreement

 

Gasworks Medical Practice utilises HotDoc services for appointment booking, recalls, reminders, forms and various other services.  https://practices.hotdoc.com.au/privacy-policy/

Resolving concerns regarding the privacy of your health information

If you have any concerns regarding the privacy of your personal health information or the accuracy of the information held by the practice, you can discuss these with practice staff. Inaccurate information can be corrected, or your concerns noted in your record. For legal reasons, the original notes will be retained.

 

 

Why do we ask for an emergency contact and next of kin?

 

In case of emergency and/or incapacity we may need to contact your next of kin for information regarding your medical care.

 

 

Can I refuse to provide emergency contact and next of kin?

 

You are not required to provide a NOK or emergency contact; however it may impair our ability to care for you in an urgent situation if you are unable to be contacted.

 

 

What access and information are shared with your NOK (Next of kin)?

 

In the case of an emergency, we may need to provide some medical information to your NOK, however this we would only provide information that is necessary to manage the urgent situation.
In an urgent situation if we cannot contact you, we may contact your NOK to ask for their assistance in contacting you.

 

 

What access and information are shared with your emergency contact?

 

The same level of access and information as your NOK.

 

 

What if we have a parental agreement, custody disputes or DVO?

 

To ensure the safety and privacy of all patients we require any parental custody court orders to be provided to the practice. It is important to provide your doctor up to date details of any custody disputes or court orders. The safety and security of our patients is something we take seriously.

Our process is to ensure the court orders form part of the child’s medical record.
We recommend a discussion with your doctor to determine the level of information that is included in the medical record.

Our practice operates in accordance with AGPAL guidelines ensuring three points of verification are met before disclosing any information: Full name, D.O.B, and address/mobile number.

Should you have any questions please contact the practice.

 

 

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint and how will the complaint be handled by the practice?

 

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have to your doctor or our practice manager.  We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with the resolution procedure.

If you do not feel we have resolved your issue You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will require you to give them time to respond before they investigate.  For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) on 1300 363 992

 

 

Policy review statement

 

Our privacy policy is regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with current obligations.

If any changes are made:  They will be reflected on the website. Significant changes may be communicated directly to patients via email or other means. Please check the policy periodically for updates. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Who can I contact about the Gasworks Medical Practice privacy policy?

 

For enquiries concerning this policy, you can contact our practice manager, email manager@gasworksmedical.com.au

 

 

How are document automation technologies used?

 

Document automation is the process by which software 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 Best Practice, Medical Objects, Health Share.
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.

All data, both electronic and paper are stored and managed in accordance with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Privacy and managing health information guidance.

 

 

How are artificial intelligence (AI) scribes used?

 

Some doctors at Gasworks Medical Practice use an AI scribe tool to support GPs in taking 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.

At your first appointment, your doctor may choose to use this technology and, where appropriate, may document your initial consent to its use as part of your ongoing care.
You will always have the opportunity to ask questions about this process, and if at any time you no longer wish for AI scribing to be used during your consultations, you can opt out by informing your doctor.

 

 

How does Lyrebird, Heidi or MBSPro work?

 

AI scribes use a microphone to capture speech that is taking place during a clinical encounter, the program then converts the audio data into text. Using the text transcription and instructions received by the user, the AI scribe leverages the connections between the words and concepts on which it was trained to construct clinical documentation for use in the patient’s health record.

This technology reduces the administrative task load for your GP and enables them to focus more directly on the patient during the consultation.

GPs will carefully review the output prepared by an AI scribe for false positives and negatives and edit the text as required (adding any missing information or omitting incorrect information). The GP can then add their own notes and observations, and in some cases attach documents, before signing off on the documentation.

 

Lyrebird Health Privacy Policy is available to view: https://www.lyrebirdhealth.com/au/legal/privacy-policy

Heidi Health Privacy Policy is available to view: https://www.heidihealth.com/au/legal/privacy-policy

MBS Pro Privacy Policy is available to view: https://www.mbspro.com.au/company/privacy-policy

 

 

How does our practice use Cubiko Quick Check to assess your Medicare eligibility?

 

Our practice uses Cubiko Quick Check to assist in identifying eligibility for relevant Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers. This tool is automatically used for all appointments booked with our practice and is linked to your appointment record.

Cubiko Quick Check securely accesses your Medicare data to identify whether you may be eligible for specific services such as mental health care plans (MHCPs), chronic disease management plans (GPCCMPs), and associated reviews. This process supports your GP in offering appropriate care and ensuring that you are able to access any available Medicare-funded services.

This tool does not store your personal data externally and operates entirely within secure, accredited medical software, in accordance with Australian privacy legislation and the Australian Privacy Principles. Information identified through Cubiko Quick Check may be discussed with you during your consultation, always with the aim of supporting your healthcare needs.

 

 

How are electronic prescriptions managed through third-party services?

 

Gasworks Medical Practice uses secure electronic prescribing service eRx (eRx Script Exchange) to facilitate the prescribing and dispensing of medications, in line with Medicare-funded technology initiatives.

This service operates using a cloud-based prescription exchange service, acting as a central repository for electronic prescriptions.
Your prescription is encrypted and transmitted from our clinical software to the secure national exchange, where it is stored.

Patients retain full control of which pharmacy can access their prescription — either by receiving a token (via SMS, email, or printout) with a unique QR code, or by registering for an Active Script List (MySL)

With your consent and authorisation, any participating pharmacy across Australia can retrieve your prescription from the cloud to dispense your medicine, offering flexibility if you’re away from your usual pharmacy.

Only the minimum necessary information to fulfil the prescription is released to the dispensing pharmacy or platform, and only authorised healthcare staff can access it  . eRx acts purely as an ‘electronic postman’ — it does not decrypt or store data in unencrypted form.

These platforms are independently audited and comply with the Australian Digital Health Agency standards, the Australian Privacy Principles, and are fully integrated with major clinical software used in Australia  .