PRIVACY & PRACTICE POLICY
Practice Privacy policy
Introduction, why your consent is necessary & why/how we collect information
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on 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.
The term ‘our practice’ refers to The Vasectomist Pty Ltd T/A The Vasectomist.
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our doctor 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.
Our practice will need 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 financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes.
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
- names, date of birth, address, your email and phone numbers; Medicare number for identification & claiming.
- medical information including medical history relevant to vasectomy, medications, allergies, adverse events, social
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 unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
- Your details collected at the booking stage are: your name, email and phone number.
- Following your appointmetn booking you are asked to provide further details via a link to the separate secure online form, or you may complete the registration form in hard copy format when you arrive at the clinic.
- During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
- We may also collect your personal information when you send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment.
- 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).
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 3rd parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
- with other healthcare providers
- when it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas); to assist in locating a missing person
- 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 establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
- for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
- when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
- during the course of providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services 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 (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Online bookings are made via an HIPAA-Compliant (Healthgrade) server. The portal includes your basic contact details (your name, email, phone number).
You have the option to register your information via an online form. The Forms are encrypted, and stored electronically in HIPAA-compliant servers. This information includes your date of birth, Medicare number, contact details, and basic medical history.
We take the additional step of deleting the registration form data after we have entered the information into The secure Clinic to Cloud Medical portal. This portal is a secure Australian medical online portal used by GPs and Specialists. The Microsoft Azure servers are based within Australia.
Our practice stores all personal information securely. Staff sign confidentiality agreements.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing to the practice manager, and our practice will respond within 30 days. The practice will charge $30.
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 The practice manager.
How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
Practice Booking Policy
- $100 deposit at time of booking
- Deposit is refunded with any cancellation or rescheduling with > 48hrs (during weekdays) notice, or for documented COVID reasons
- Cancel or reschedule by phone to 07 3505 5919
- Payment at the front desk after the procedure
- Medicare rebate is processed on your behalf unless you wish to organise this yourself
Privacy Policy updated 13/5/2021
Dr Dick Beatty
Website Disclaimers
About The Website
The website refers to https://thevasectomist.com.au
The aims of The website are to inform the user about:
- The full range of contraceptive options.
- The Benefits & Risks of Vasectomy.
- Care that is provided before, during & after the procedure.
- The history of Vasectomy from its origins through to modern minimally invasive Techniques.
The website’s intended audience are People who are interested in learning about Contraception & Vasectomy.
The website is fully authored by Dr Richard Beatty, who is formally qualified in no-scalpel vasectomy (Accredited in Local Anaesthetic Vasectomy by FSRH.org) & a Specialist General Practioner (BM, FRACGP, MRCP).
Dr Richard Beatty is known as Dr Dick Beatty, or simply Dr Dick.
The website does not accept or host any advertisement. The site is 100% funded by Dr Richard Beatty. There is no commercial link to any of the treatments mentioned except for vasectomy provided by Dr Richard Beatty.
The site does not replace the advice of a health professional. The information is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his/her own doctor.
The information is authored and reviewed regularly by Dr Richard Beatty. Please note that medical information rapidly changes and therefore some information may be out of date.
The personal information collected from the visitors of our website, including their identity, remains confidential. We respect the law(s) on confidentiality applicable to this website (hosting country) and we will never pass on these data to any third party, unless required by law.
Cookies are used on the website. You may block these cookies and the whole website is still accessible when these cookies are blocked.
Currently we are using Google Analytics to analyze the audience of the website and improve our content. No personal information is collected from Google Analytics. For further information on the privacy policy concerning Google Analytics, please go here.
Confidentiality: Email addresses and/or contact information & names are kept private. All personal & medical data remains confidential.
Conditions of Website Use
This material is general in nature.
By visiting and using this website (“Site”) established & designed by the owner Dr Richard Beatty, including any of the content or information it contains, the following terms and conditions apply. In using this Site you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
These terms and conditions apply to information which is presently available on this Site and to information which will become available on this Site in the future.
Website Disclaimer
Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
If you have any concerns about your health, consult your general practitioner. Information provided on this Site does not imply endorsement of third-party services or products and cannot provide you with health and medical advice.
In some cases the material may incorporate or summarise views, guidelines or recommendations of third parties. Such material is assembled in good faith, but does not necessarily reflect the considered views of the 3rd party, or indicate a commitment to a particular course of action.
This Site provides links to other websites as a service. Providing a link to another website does not constitute endorsement or approval of the website, its owners or operators, or any information, products or services offered on the website.
The website owner has no control over the content of material accessible on any sites that are cross-referenced. It is the responsibility of the user to make their own decisions about the relevance or accuracy, currency and reliability of information found on those sites. The website owner cannot guarantee that these links will work all of the time and has no control over the availability of the linked pages.
Website Privacy
Cookies are used on the website. You may block these cookies and the whole website is still accessible when these cookies are blocked. To unblock cookies, follow these simple instructions on eHow.
Google Analytics may be used to analyse the website usage and improve our content. No personal information is collected from Google Analytics. For further information on the privacy policy concerning Google Analytics, please go here.
Your email address will be recorded if you send a message via the contact form. Your email address will only be used for the purpose for which you have provided it and it will not be added to a mailing list or used for any other purpose without your consent.
The personal information collected from the visitors of our website, including their identity, remains confidential. We respect the law(s) on confidentiality applicable to this website (hosting country) and we will never pass on these data to any third party, unless required by law.
Website Copyright
The website owner’s materials, including Internet pages, documents and online graphics, and/or audio & video, are protected by copyright law. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced or re-used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without written permission of the website owner. Please acknowledge the website owner when reproducing or quoting material from this site.
Links to this site
Other websites are welcome to link to any of the webpages on this Site, except where the page is protected by a security feature such as a login.
This Site’s webpages must not be loaded into frames, but must load into the user’s entire window.
Links must not be associated with content that in any way negatively portrays this website or is defamatory, offensive, abusive, harassing, indecent, menacing, unwanted or otherwise unlawful or unauthorised.
If there is any doubt please forward a copy of the content intended to accompany the link.
If linking to the the website homepage, the address to use is thevasectomist.com.au
Viruses
The website owner does not represent or warrant that any files obtained from or through this Site are free from computer viruses or other defects. The website owner accepts no liability for the presence of computer viruses or other defects.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS LAST UPDATED 13/5/2021