Privacy policy

Draft for review. This policy has been drafted for the website rebuild and must be reviewed and approved by Templestowe Day Surgery before launch.

About this policy

Templestowe Day Surgery Pty Ltd (“we”, “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and disclose your personal and health information, and how you can access it or make a complaint.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles, and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic), including the Health Privacy Principles.

What we collect

We collect information that is reasonably necessary to provide you with health care, including:

• your name, date of birth, address and contact details
• your Medicare, health fund and Department of Veterans’ Affairs details
• your medical history, medications, allergies and other health information
• referral letters and information from your doctor, GP and other health providers
• the details of your next of kin or emergency contact
• billing and payment information.

When you contact us through our website, we collect the details you provide in the enquiry form.

How we collect it

Wherever possible, we collect information directly from you, for example through admission forms, consultations and phone calls. We may also collect information from your doctor, GP and other health providers involved in your care, your health fund, or a person responsible for you, where this is reasonable and permitted by law.

How we use and disclose it

We use and disclose your information to:

• provide your care and treatment, and communicate with your doctor, GP and other health providers involved in your care
• process billing and claims with Medicare, your health fund and other payers
• meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including reporting to the Department of Health Victoria
• maintain accreditation, manage incidents and improve the quality and safety of our services
• notify our insurers where required.

We will not use or disclose your information for any other purpose without your consent, unless the law requires or permits it. We do not sell your information or use it for marketing.

Storage and security

We store your information securely in paper and electronic records, and take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. Health records are retained for the periods required by law.

Service providers and overseas storage

We use some third-party service providers, such as email, online form and IT services, which may store information on servers located outside Australia. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is protected in line with Australian privacy law.

Our website

Our website uses a Google Maps embed, which may set cookies and collect usage information under Google’s own privacy policy. Information you submit through our enquiry form is used only to respond to your enquiry. Please don’t include detailed health information in website forms.

Accessing and correcting your information

You can ask to access or correct the personal and health information we hold about you. Please contact our office. We may need to verify your identity, and in limited circumstances the law allows us to refuse access, in which case we’ll explain why.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we’ve handled your information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

• the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on 1300 363 992
• the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner on 1300 582 113.

Contact us

Templestowe Day Surgery
2/114 James Street, Templestowe VIC 3106
Phone (03) 8822 3472

This policy may be updated from time to time. The current version is always available on this page.