Lakeside Rooms Privacy Policy

The following describes the Privacy Policy that all the staff and professionals practising at The Lakeside Rooms adhere to.

All assessment and treatment services are bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) from the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012.

Individuals must have the option of not identifying themselves, or of using a pseudonym when dealing with an Australian Privacy Principles entity in relation to a particular matter. However, this may place limitations on the service we are able to provide.

CLIENT INFORMATION

Client information is collected directly from the clients or with their permission family members, some additional information may be provided by other professionals involved with the client like doctors or education providers.  All Practitioners working from Lakeside Rooms are Independent Practitioners and as such they maintain their own electronic or hard copy files.

Where Client records are held by Lakeside Rooms:

-   Hard copy files are stored in secure locked filing cabinets and only accessed by authorised staff.

-   Electronic files are stored on password-protected computers in our secure premises which is accessible only by authorised staff.

Files held by Lakeside Rooms include personal information such as name, contact details, billing information and notes relevant to the provision of relevant and informed psychological services. They may sometimes include copies of any letters or referrals from other professionals.

PURPOSE OF HOLDING INFORMATION

Information is gathered as part of the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of your concern, and is seen only by your treating professional. This information is retained to document what happens during sessions and enables your treating professional to provide a relevant and informed psychological service. Administration holds contact, appointment, and billing information as well as some reports and letters.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION WITH CONSENT

Some possibilities, uses and disclosures for which consent is most likely to be necessary include:

·    Training and Supervision

It is important for health professionals to be continually learning and refining their treatment and knowledge. A common way this is achieved is through discussing work with individuals and groups with another professional in what is referred to as supervision. Generally, only non-identifying data is used, as it is not necessary for learning purposes to have names/addresses, etc. These learning processes have clearly established guidelines to respect the sensitivity of information.

·    Media

Ordinarily, the disclosure of personal information to the media by a health practitioner is not permitted without consent.

·   Transferring records to another Health Service Provider upon request

If an individual wants to transfer their care to another Health Service provider, they can authorise the disclosure of health information from the original provider to the new provider. The new provider can then request the health information from the original provider.

However, if the original provider declines to transfer the information, then the individual may request access to the health information via Freedom of Information.

OTHER POSSIBLE USES AND DISCLOSURES OF INFORMATION

·     Use and disclosure necessary for research and statistics relevant to public health or public safety In limited circumstances, this provision allows uses or disclosures of non-identifying health information for research purposes, or for the compilation or analysis of statistics without consent, where this is required you will be notified.

·     Serious threats to life, health or safety

In limited circumstances and for emergency use only, a health service provider may need to use or disclose personal information to lessen or prevent:

·       A serious and imminent threat to an individual’s life, health or safety; or

·       A serious threat to public health or public safety.

This exception also allows for disclosure to an individual whose life, health or safety is threatened.

·       Use or disclosure required or authorised by law

If the law requires that a health service provider use or disclose information, the provider must do so.

Examples of such requirements include the mandatory reporting of child abuse (under the care and protection laws).

Disclosure must occur if there is a warrant or law requiring the health service provider to do so.

·       Courts and legal proceedings

At times, health service providers may be called to disclose health information to Courts or Tribunals.

If served with a subpoena or other form of Court Order requiring the production of documents to the Court, a health service provider is generally required by law to provide the documents identified in the order.

·       Disclosure of information overseas

We will not disclose any information to overseas recipients.

·     Your information is not used nor distributed for marketing purposes however we do distribute information to you from time to time about services available at The Lakeside Rooms.

REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO CLIENT INFORMATION

At any stage clients may request to see the information about them kept on file. Their treating professional may discuss the contents with them and/or give them a copy. All requests by clients for access to information held about them should be lodged with their treating Practitioner. These requests will be responded to in a timely manner. If necessary, you can make an appointment to see your treating Practitioner for clarification of material purposes. Please note that a fee will be charged for this appointment.

CONCERNS

If you have a concern about the management of your personal information, please inform a staff member. Upon request, you can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles January 2014, which describe your rights and how your information should be handled. Ultimately, if you wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, or access to, your personal information, you may do so with the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) on 1300 363 992, or GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001.

BUSINESS SUPPLIER/CUSTOMER INFORMATION

The Lakeside Rooms will never request you provide or update your account information by email or SMS.  If you receive a request via Email or SMS, please call us immediately to verify the request.

We will also not request you transfer funds to us via Email or SMS, please contact us by telephone to verify any such request is authentic.

For new business suppliers/customers, we will ask you to provide two methods of verification of your account and banking details, to ensure the information is legitimate.