OUR COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL CLINIC Privacy policy

For enquiries concerning this policy, please contact Jenny Edwards, CEO/Practice Manager, at gmg@thegardensmedical.com.au

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 is restricted to practice team members who require it for your care. If we ever use your personal information for purposes other than outlined in this document, 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. 

By acknowledging this Privacy Policy, you consent to us collecting, holding, using, retaining and disclosing your personal information in the manner described below.

The practice collects, uses, stores, and shares your personal information primarily to manage your health safely and effectively. This includes providing healthcare services, managing medical records, and ensuring accurate billing and payments. Additionally, we may utilise your information for internal quality and safety improvement processes such as practice audits, accreditation purposes, and staff training to maintain high-quality service standards. 

The information we will collect about you includes your: 

• names, date of birth, addresses, contact details 
• medical information including medical history, medicines, allergies, adverse reactions, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors 
• Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes 
• healthcare identifier numbers 

You can 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. 

The practice may collect your personal information in several different ways: 

When you make your first appointment, the practice team will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration. 

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. 

In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources, including: 

• 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 (if relevant). 
• While providing medical services, further personal information may be collected via: 

                o electronic prescribing 

                o My Health Record 

                o online appointments.

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

• CCTV footage: Collected from our premises for security and safety purpose 
• Photos and medical images: These can be taken using personal devices for medical purposes, following the guidelines outlined in our guide on using personal devices for medical images.    

We sometimes share your personal information: 

• with third parties for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy 
• with other healthcare providers (e.g. In referral letters) 
• when it is required or authorised by law (e.g. court subpoenas) 
• 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 provision of medical services, through electronic prescribing, My Health Record (e.g. via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).  

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. 

We do not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent. 

The practice will not use your personal information for marketing any 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 the practice in writing. 

The practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services offered to patients through research, analysis of patient data for quality improvement and for training activities with the practice team.

We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. If we provide this information to other organisations patients cannot be identified from the information we share, the information is secure and is stored within Australia. You can let reception staff know if you do not want your deidentified information included. 

At times, general practices are approached by research teams to recruit eligible patients into specific studies which require access to identifiable information. You may be approached by a member of our practice team to participate in research. Researchers will not approach you directly without your express consent having been provided to the practice. If you provide consent, you will then receive specific information on the research project and how your personal health information will be used, at which point you can decide to participate or not participate in the research project. 

Document automation is where 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. 

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.

The practice uses an AI scribe tool to support GPs take 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. The practice AI scribe service is Heidi Health, Lyrebird and MBS Pro: 

• Heidi Health, Lyrebird and MBS Pro does not share information outside of Australia 
• destroys the audio file once the transcription is complete. 
• removes sensitive, personal identifying information as part of the transcription  

The practice will only use data from our digital scribe service to provide healthcare to you. 

Your personal information may be stored in various forms.

The practice stores all personal information securely in electronic format within protected clinical information systems. These systems are safeguarded by multiple layers of security, including secure user authentication, role-based access controls, firewalls, and regular system monitoring to protect against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse of information. All staff and contractors are required to sign confidentiality agreements and adhere to strict privacy and security policies as a condition of their employment or engagement. Access to personal information is granted only to authorised personnel who require it to carry out their duties, and each user is assigned unique login credentials and passwords. Our practice also implements regular data backups, software updates, and security audits to ensure information remains accurate, current, and protected.

Our practice uses closed-circuit television (CCTV) in certain areas to help maintain the safety and security of our patients, staff, and property. CCTV cameras are in public and shared spaces only, such as the car park, building entry points and reception. No CCTV cameras are installed in private areas such as consulting rooms, treatment rooms, or bathrooms. The recordings are securely stored on a password-protected system with restricted access and are retained for a limited period before being automatically deleted, unless required for investigation of an incident or by law. Only authorised personnel may access CCTV recordings, and any use or disclosure of footage is strictly in line with privacy legislation and our confidentiality obligations.

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information. 

The practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records.

You have the right to see and update your personal or medical information held by our practice. If you would like to access your records or request a correction, please contact our Practice Manager in writing at gmg@thegardensmedical.com.au. We may ask you to confirm your identity to protect your privacy.

We aim to respond to all requests within 30 days. There is no fee to make a request, but a small fee may apply if you need copies of your records. We will always let you know about any costs before processing your request.

Please let us know if your personal details change, so we can keep your information accurate and up to date.

The practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. Sometimes, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by the practice is correct and current. You may request we correct or update your information. To do this please contact the practice at gmg@thegardensmedical.com.au. 

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have to our CEO/Practice Manager Jenny Edwards in writing to our email gmg@thegardensmedical.com.au. 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 or contact the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC), PH: 02 9212 7444/ 1800 043 159 (toll free in NSW), www.hccc.nsw.gov.au

At Gardens Medical Group, any personal information you share with us through website, email, and social media, is handled securely and confidentially. Our website uses cookies and analytics to help us improve our services, but this information does not identify you personally.

If you send us personal details online, we will only use them for the purpose you provided and will not share them without your consent, unless required by law.

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.