Privacy Policy

Barkers Road Specialist Centre takes your privacy seriously. Privacy protection and confidentiality of health information is essential for quality health care.  We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the information we handle in accordance with our professional and ethical obligations, and federal and state privacy laws.

This includes complying with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) forming part of the Privacy Act (Cth) 1988 and the Victorian Health Privacy Principles ( HPP) as set out in the Health Records Act (Vic) 2001). This policy sets out how we intend to do so.

Collection  and Use of Information

Barkers Road Specialist Centre collects and holds personal health information about your child.  We collect information from you so that we may properly assess, diagnose, treat and be proactive in your child’s health care needs.  All members of the professional team involved in your child’s care will have access to your personal information.

This means we may use and disclose the information you provide in the following ways

• Disclosure to others involved in your child’s health care, including treating doctors, pathology services, radiology services and other specialists outside this medical practice.   This may occur through referral to other doctors, or for medical tests and in the reports or results returned to us following the referrals.
• Disclosure to enable recording on medical registrars (example The Victorian Birth Defects Register)
• Administrative purposes in running our medical practice, including our insurer or medical indemnity provider, and quality assurance and accreditation bodies.
• Billing purposes, including providing information to your health insurance fund, the Health Insurance Commission (Medicare) and other organisations responsible for the financial aspects of your child’s care
• Research purposes when statistical or de-identified data may be released to a third party

In most cases we will obtain information directly from you or your child’s treating Doctors.

 Non-custodial parents have a right to children’s medical records unless there is a court order prohibiting this. 

Information Quality

Our goal is to ensure that your information is accurate, complete and up-to-date. To assist us with  this, please contact us if any of the details you have provided change. Further, if you believe that  the information we have about you is not accurate, complete or up-to-date, contact us and we will  use all reasonable efforts to ensure the information is correct.

Storage

We take all reasonable steps to protect the security of the personal information that we hold.  This includes appropriate measures to protect electronic materials and materials stored and generated in hard copy.

This includes:

• Securing our premises
• Placing passwords and varying access levels on databases to limit access and protect electronic information from unauthorised interference, access, modification and disclosure
• Providing locked cabinets and rooms for the storage of physical records 

Access

You are entitled to request access to your child’s medical records.  We request that you put your request in writing and we will respond to it within a reasonable time.

There will be a fee for the administrative costs of retrieving and providing you with copies of your  child’s medical records.

We may deny access to your child’s medical records in certain circumstances permitted by law, for example, if disclosure may cause a serious threat to your child’s health or safety.  We will always tell you why access is denied and the options you have to respond to our decision.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about the privacy of your personal information, we request that you contact us in writing. 

If you are dissatisfied with our handling of a complaint or the outcome you may make an application to the Australian Information Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner in your State or Territory.