Privacy Policy

About This Policy

Speech & Swallow Group (S&SG) is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information we collect and hold about individuals.

S&SG complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Health Records & Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) and Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics (2010).

This Privacy Policy explains how S&SG manages the personal information we collect, use and disclose. This includes having in place systems governing the appropriate collection, use, storage and disclosure of personal information, access to & correction and disposal of that information.

Speech & Swallow Group is a private speech pathology practice under the ownership of Amelia Bayliss.

Definitions

‘Personal Information’ means information (or an opinion) we hold (whether written or not) from which a person’s identity is either clear or can be reasonably determined.

‘Sensitive information’ is a particular type of personal information- such as health, race, sexual orientation, or religious information.

Procedure

Ensuring S&SG Workers Understand Privacy & Confidentiality Requirements

The Director of S&SG will review the Privacy Policy annually and ensure the responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals’ personal information is understood and upheld.
All workers engaged in S&SG at anytime will undergo training related to Privacy & Confidentiality requirements at the time of induction and annually.

3.1 S&SG Legal Obligations

In order to provide you with the health care services that you have requested, S&SG will need to collect and use your personal information. If you provide incomplete or inaccurate information to us or withhold personal and health information from us, we may not be able to provide you with the services you are seeking.

3.2 What information does S&SG collect?

We will only collect the information we need for the particular function or activity we are carrying out.

We collect information from you that is necessary to provide you with speech pathology services and to manage our relationship with you. The information we collect includes: your name, date of birth, address, health fund details and information about your health history and family history. We require this information to assist the speech pathologist to diagnose and treat you.

Participant information is stored for seven years post the date of last discharge. In the case of participants aged under 18 years, information is kept until their 25th birthday and 7 years post discharge.

3.3 How does S&SG collect health information?

We will usually collect your health information directly from you. Sometimes, we may need to collect information about you from a third party (such as a relative or another health service provider).

3.4 How does S&SG use your information?

S&SG uses your personal information for the purpose you have given the information to us. We will use your information to provide speech pathology services to you, to manage our relationship with you and to contact you in relation to matters concerning your care. We may also use your information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act 1988.

3.5 Who might we disclose your information to?

We may disclose your information to the following people:

(a) disclosure to other health professionals involved in your treatment

Your personal information will generally only be used by the speech pathologist involved in your care, however on occasion your care may be provided by a number of health professionals (for example: physiotherapist, occupational therapist and/or psychologist) working or consulting together. We may disclose your information to these health professionals as part of the process of providing your care and to other health professionals involved in your care.

(b) the referrer

S&SG will usually send a discharge summary to the referrer (i.e., your medical practitioner) following discharge from S&SG or at other times, as required for your care.

If you do not wish us to provide a copy of your discharge summary to the referrer you must let us know. Also, if the referrer’s details have changed, please let us know.

c) Relatives, guardian, close friends or legal representative

We may provide information about your condition to your parent, child, other relatives, close personal friends, guardians, or to a responsible person for you, unless you tell us that you do not wish us to disclose your health information to any such person.

d) Other uses and disclosures

In order to provide the best possible environment in which to treat you, we may also use or disclose your personal and health information where necessary for:

activities such as quality assurance processes, accreditation, audits, risk and claims management, patient satisfaction surveys and staff education and training;
invoicing, billing and account management;
to liaise with your health fund, NDIA, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs and where required provide information to your health fund, NDIA, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs to verify treatment provided to you;
the purpose of sending you standard reminders, for example for appointments and follow-up care, by text message or email to the number or address which you have provided to us.

e) Other uses with your consent

With your consent we may also use your information for other purposes such as including you on a marketing mail list, or research. Please note, however, that unless you provide us with your express consent for this purpose, we will not use your information in this way. We will not disclose your personal information to any individual who is outside Australia.

3.6 Access to and correction of your health information

You have a right to access the personal and health information that we hold about you. You can also request an amendment to your personal and health information should you believe that it is inaccurate.

If we do not agree to change your medical record/personal information in accordance with your request, we will permit you to make a statement of the requested changes and we will enclose this with your record.

Should you wish to obtain access to or request changes to your health record you can ask for our Privacy Officer (see details below) who can give you more detailed information about S&SG's access and correction procedure.

Please note that S&SG may recover reasonable costs associated with supplying this information to you.

3.7 Data Quality

S&SG will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information which we may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

3.8 Data Security

S&SG will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. We use technologies and processes such as access control procedures, network firewalls, encryption and physical security to protect your privacy.

S&SG will destroy or permanently de-identify any of your information which is in its possession or control and which is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected provided S&SG is not required under an Australian law or court/tribunal or otherwise to retain the information.

3.9 What to do if you have a complaint about privacy issues

If:

(a) you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy;

(b) S&SG does not agree to provide you with access to your personal information; or

You can lodge a complaint with or contact our Privacy Officer on the details below. We will promptly review your complaint and provide a response to you.

3.10 How to contact us if you have a complaint about privacy issues

By email: speechswallowgroup@gmail.com

How S&SG handles your personal information when you visit our website.

This section of our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information which is collected from our website: www.speechswallowgroup.com

This Privacy Policy applies to your use of our website and the use of any of the facilities on our website.

4.1 Collection

When you use our website, we do not attempt to identify you as an individual user, and we will not collect personal information about you unless you specifically provide this to us.

Sometimes, we may collect your personal information if you choose to provide this to us via an online form or by email, for example, if you:

submit a general enquiry via our contacts page;
complete our online referral intake form
send a written complaint or enquiry to our Privacy Officer.

When you use our website, our Internet Service Provider (ISP) may record and log for statistical purposes the following information about your visit:

the country you are based in;
the date and time of your visit;
the pages and documents you access during your visit; and
the browser you are using.

Our website management agent may use statistical data collected by our ISP to evaluate the effectiveness of our website.