Your Privacy, Our Policy

Port Macquarie Ophthalmic Surgery is committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of all health and personal information stored on the premises. All information is collected directly where possible.

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.

Why and When Your Consent is Necessary

When you register as a patient of PMOS, you provide our ophthalmologists and surgery 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.

PMOS 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 (eg. staff training).

What Personal Information do we Collect?

The information we will collect about you includes:-

• Names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
• Medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, social history, family history and risk factors
• Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
• Healthcare identifiers
• Health fund details
• Other purposes as required or permitted by law

How Do We Collect Your Personal Information? 

PMOS will collect your personal information:-

1. When you make your operation, our surgery staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your paperwork
2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further information
3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us or communicate with us using social media

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 other specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
• Your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (as necessary)

Who Do we Share Your Personal Information With?

PMOS May Collect, use or Disclose Personal Information of a Patient Outside the Day Surgery Facility to:

• Nominated GPs or other health care professionals involved in the care of the patient
• Pathology and other diagnostic facilities
• Assist in the education of health care workers
• Billing and debt recovery services
• Other purposes as required or permitted by law
• 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 the APPs and this policy
• 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 patients consent
• To assist in locating a missing person
• To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
• For the purpose of confidential dispute resoluteness process
• During the course of providing medical services, through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions

Only people that 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.

PMOS will not share your personal information outside of Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. These can be electronic medical records, x-rays, CT scans, photos, eye test images taken in our practice.

PMOS stores all personal information securely in our electronic patient management system Best Practice VIP.

How Can You Access and Correct Your Personal Information at our Surgery? 

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

PMOS acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing either via a letter or email request and our surgery will respond within 30 days.

Our surgery 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 your personal information held by our surgery is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to reception@pmos.net.au.

How Can You Lodge a Privacy Related Complaint, and How will the Complaint be Handled in our Surgery? 

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. Complaints should be made to the Director of Nursing via email to reception@pmos.net.au or by letter to Port Macquarie Ophthalmic Surgery at 35 Ackroyd Street, Port Macquarie NSW 2444. Your complaint will be addressed promptly within 30 days. You will be contacted if any further information is required to investigate the complaint. Once all the necessary information is investigated so we can respond to your complaint, you will be contacted.

You may also contact The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Generally the OAIC will require you to given them time to respond, before they will investigate.

Address: GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2001
Phone: 1300 363 992
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au

This privacy policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes to the Australian Privacy Principles.