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Privacy Policy

1. Our commitment to privacy

Your privacy is a top priority for us.

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. This policy sets out how we will collect, use, store, disclose and de-identify your personal information.

When dealing with your personal information we observe our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and comply with the Australian Privacy Principles, as well other relevant State legislation.

2. The types of information we collect

When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our dentists 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 (e.g. staff training).

The types of personal information we collect include:

  • contact details (names, addresses, phone numbers, email, etc); and demographic information (gender, date of birth etc.)
  • Dental Medical information
  • Medical Information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
  • Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
  • Healthcare identifiers
  • Private health insurance fund details.

The types of sensitive information we collect includes records of communication between us, which may include from time to time, information you provide us, or we collect from others. This includes, but is not limited to, the following types of information:

  • The Dental Club registration status and practice information;
  • Records relating to the patients’ dental health, dental procedures and referrals to dental laboratories and specialists
  • Information relating to phone conversations

3. Why we collect private information about you

It is our mission to provide exceptional dental care to our patients by having the patients’ best interests at heart from the very moment you walk through our door. We are passionate about what we do, and we want our patients to feel comfortable and relaxed that they will receive the highest quality dental care in a warm, caring, and professional manner.

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. During 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 private health insurance fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).

4. How we collect your information

We may collect information from you either directly or from third parties. Information we collect from third parties may be by formal or informal means.

Where we collect information from third parties and it is not personal information that is contained in a Commonwealth record, we will take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify the information as required by law.

We collect personal information about patients, employees, contractors and visitors to our events. We collect your information in the following ways:

  • face to face contact;
  • medical history forms
  • electronically including through our website and online surveys;
  • via social media messages or conversation;
  • during phone calls;
  • voice or image recordings;
  • whilst delivering and administering services at our facilities; and
  • from forms, coupons and other correspondence (both in writing and electronically).

5. How we use your information

We only use your personal and sensitive information for the reason we collect it as set out above and for the purpose(s) for which it was collected, or as otherwise permitted by law.

6. 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 third 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)
  • 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 there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. some diseases require mandatory notification)
  • during the course of providing medical services

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.

7. Accessing and correcting your personal information

You can access your information by asking us. Occasionally, we may need to refuse your request to access information, for example, where granting you access would infringe someone else’s privacy.

When you request access, we will ask you to provide some form of identification so that we can ensure that you are the person to whom the information relates.

In some cases, we may also ask you to pay a reasonable fee to cover the cost of access.

If you have a question about this privacy policy or want to access your personal information you can contact us by sending an email to thedentalclub@hotmail.com.

We will aim to respond to you within 28 days of receiving your request.

If we’re not able to help with your request, you will receive a written explanation as to why.

8. Complaints about a breach of your privacy

If you are concerned about how we have collected or managed your personal information we request, you can contact us at The Dental Club by sending an email to thedentalclub@hotmail.com.

If you’re not satisfied with how we have handled your complaint you can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on http://www.oaic.gov.au/.

The OAIC is a government body independent of us. It has the power to investigate complaints about possible interference with your privacy.

9. Securing your information

We take reasonable steps to ensure the security of personal and sensitive information we hold and to protect it against loss, misuse or unauthorised access, destruction, use, modification or disclosure.

Our IT systems are password protected and comply with applicable security standards.

Only authorised personnel are permitted to access these details.

It is our policy to:

  • permanently de-identify personal information where reasonable and possible; and
  • destroy personal information once there is no longer a legal or business need for us to retain it.

10. Anonymity

It is your right to be dealt with anonymously, provided that is it lawful and practicable.

We will try to accommodate a request for anonymity wherever possible; however, we note that in some circumstances, this may prevent us from practically and effectively communicating with you.

If this is the case, we will notify you.

11. Cookies and links to other websites

Cookies

When you visit The Dental Club website a record of your visit is logged. The following data is supplied by your browser:

  • Your IP address and/or domain name;
  • Your operating system (type of browser and platform);
  • The date, time and length of your visit to the website; and
  • The resources you accessed and the documents you downloaded.

This information is used to compile statistical information about the use of our website. It is not used for any other purpose. If you do not want ‘cookies’ to be used, please adjust your browser settings to disable them.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to third party websites, and third-party websites may also have links to our website.

Our privacy policy does not apply to external links or other websites. The operators of other websites may collect your personal information.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you link to from our website.

The Dental Club
1300 167 768
thedentalclub@hotmail.com