Turton St Sunnybank Medical Centre endeavours to prioritise consistent, clear, and respectful communication with all patients. This includes maintaining patient confidentiality and adhering to professional standards.

Please read the following communication guidelines regarding phone calls, emails, and appointments.

Phone Calls
We value the opportunity to listen to and address the concerns of all our patients. However, in line with our policy:

• Doctors will not take phone calls directly from patients.
• Our administrative team is trained to assist with general inquiries and guide patients to the appropriate next steps.
• For clinical concerns, including results, prescriptions, referrals, and medical certificates, we ask that you book an appointment with your doctor.

Emails

We maintain an email address for administrative purposes. Please note:

• We do not respond to patient requests via email.
• Confidential patient information, including test results, will not be sent via email.
• For any medical concerns, please book an appointment with one of our doctors.

Appointments

Our doctors are committed to providing comprehensive care by listening to their patients and addressing concerns in line with ethical and legal standards.

To ensure this:

• Patients are required to book an appointment for all consultations,
  including for results, prescriptions, referrals, and medical certificates.
• Telehealth appointments are available at this medical centre. Please call our lovely Reception staff for more information.

We appreciate your cooperation in following these guidelines to help us deliver the best possible care to our patients.

For more information, please call our reception team on 07 3344 5808.

Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre recognises the importance of privacy and confidentiality in all areas of medical care and for all patients who attend our practice. Our privacy policy outlines how we manage your personal
information in compliance with relevant privacy laws and regulations. For a copy of this privacy policy, please contact our reception team.

Our culture of confidentiality is in line with the Commonwealth Privacy Act-Private Sector Act 2000 with no exceptions.

An overview of how we store, use, and disclose your information

Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre understands that the information we collect as part of our service is often of a highly sensitive nature. Therefore, we always ensure to comply with the highest level of privacy and confidentiality to keep all personal information secure.

All patient information is stored electronically under various levels of password protection.  All employees and contractors that work in our practice are required to sign and comply with our practice’s comprehensive confidentiality
agreement.

Patient information may be shared between doctors, management, and reception staff for administrative and billing purposes only.
Patient information may be shared between doctors, management, reception staff, and allied health services with consent of the patient for referral to other health service providers or medical specialists.

Our practice may access information:

• Provided directly to the practice by the patient
• Provided directly to the practice on behalf of a patient with their consent
•  From health service providers/specialists who the patient is referred to
• From health service providers/specialists who refer a patient to a
  medical or allied health practitioner working within our practice premises
• From Medicare

The collection of all patient information by our practice may be used or disclosed if required by law or if there is a serious threat to individual or public health and safety.

All patient information is kept for a minimum of 7 years from the last visit. If the patient is under 18 years of age, medical records must be kept until that patient has reached 25 years of age.

If you wish to file a complaint regarding what you believe is a breach of privacy, to access your information held by us, to correct any of your
information held by us, or to find out more about how this practice handles your personal information, please contact our management.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of our services, you have the right to make a complaint to:

Office of the Health Ombudsman
133 646
complaints@oho.qld.gov.au
PO BOX 13281
George Street
Brisbane 4003

The following information outlines in detail how Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre collects, stores, uses, and discloses patient information in compliance with relevant privacy laws and regulations.

Personal information
‘Personal information’ includes your name, date of birth, address, contact details, Medicare number, healthcare identifiers, and health fund details.
Turton Street Sunnybank follows the guidelines of the RACGP Handbook for the management of health information in general practice.
The RACGP Handbook incorporates both federal and state privacy legislation, as well as the Australian Privacy Principles, which require that your personal information is kept private and secure.

Medical information
‘Medical information’ includes your medical history and ongoing medical needs.

Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre follows the guidelines of the RACGP Handbook for the management of health information in general practice.

The RACGP Handbook incorporates both federal and state privacy legislation, as well as the Australian Privacy Principles, which require that your medical information is kept private and secure.

Providing your information to other general practitioners, health service providers, and medical specialists Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre respects your right to decide how your personal information is used and shared. However, there may be instances in which your personal and medical information needs to be disclosed to other general practitioners, health service providers, or medical specialists that are involved in your care. Your general practitioner will let you know when this may be necessary and gain your consent before disclosing
any information.

• Our practice will not share your personal or medical information with anyone, including other health professionals, unless:
  You have consented to the disclosure of information
• We are legally obliged to, in which case your GP will first discuss with
  you the information that they are legally obliged to disclose
• The information is necessary for you to obtain Medicare payments or other health insurance rebates
• There is an overriding public health and safety interest in the release of the information

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 have provide consent for this to occur
• 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

Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre may use patient health information to assist the improvement of quality of care given 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.

The information used for research, including the publication of research results, will not allow you to be identified, unless the research serves an important public interest. In such cases, identifiable medical records can be used for medical research without your consent under the guidelines issued by the Australian Government.

Before providing such identified information, your general practitioner will discuss with you the information that they are obliged to disclose.
Security of information in the practice Australian privacy legislation applies to all personal and medical information recorded via electronic and paper records.

All records must be kept secure to protect against unauthorised access. Turton Street Sunnybank Medical Centre complies with these requirements to protect your information.

Access to your health information

You have the right to access your medical information, including historic and ongoing medical information.

You may request this information at any time from our practice management.

If you request access to your medical record, your general practitioner will first need to consider if there may be a risk of physical or mental harm to you or any other person that may result from the disclosure of your health information.

Your general practitioner may also need to remove any information that will affect the privacy of other individuals.

Depending on the size of your medical records and what is involved in fulfilling your request, you may be asked to contribute to the cost of collating and receiving these records.

Direct marketing
This practice does not engage in direct marketing.

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, please contact our management.

Inaccurate information can be corrected, and your concerns can be noted in your record.

For legal reasons, the original notes will be retained.

Contacts

If you have questions, concerns, or a complaint regarding the privacy of your personal and medical information, please contact our management.

Further information on privacy legislation is available from:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

1300 363 992
www.oaic.gov.au
ACT Health Services Commissioner

02 6205 2222
www.hrc.act.gov.au/health
Health and Disability Services Complaints Office
Western Australia – 1800 813 583
www.hadsco.wa.gov.au/home/index.cfm
Information and Privacy Commission
New South Wales – 1800 472 679
www.ipc.nsw.gov.au/privacy/ipc_index.html
Office of the Health Services Commissioner
Victoria – 1300 582 113
www.health.vic.gov.au/hsc/index.htm
Office of the Information Commissioner
Northern Territory – 1800 005 610
https://infocomm.nt.gov.au
Office of the Health Ombudsman
Queensland – 133 646
https://www.oho.qld.gov.au/
Ombudsman Tasmania
1800 001 170
www.ombudsman.tas.gov.au
Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC)
South Australia – 08 8226 8666
www.hcscc.sa.gov.au

In respect of both our doctors time and patients needing medical attention, we ask that you provide no less than 24 hours notice for appointment cancellations.

All cancellations must be made by telephone.

Email cancellations will not be accepted with the exception of over-the-weekend cancellations.

Failure to comply with the cancellation policy may result in termination from the practice.