Privacy Policy & Patient Consent

When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our Doctors 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
• Business processes including staff training

The information we collect about you includes:

• Names, date of birth, addresses, and contact details
• 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; and health fund details
• Details of your past medical practitioners, pathology, or radiology services to assist your management

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so, or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals. Please be aware that in most clinical circumstances, providing your identity is necessary for us to deliver safe and appropriate medical care, access Medicare benefits, and communicate with other treating practitioners on your behalf.

Our practice will collect your personal information in the following ways:

• When you make your first appointment, practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration
• Via letters and reports from your referring practitioners, pathology providers, and radiology providers
• During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further 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

In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources where 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 — specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services, pathology and diagnostic imaging services
• Your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary)

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 involved in your care
• With schools or allied health professionals where relevant to your management
• When it is required or authorised by law (e.g. 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, or for the purpose of a 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. 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.

Safeguards & Your Rights Regarding AI Use

The use of any AI tool in this practice is subject to the following safeguards:

• All AI-generated content is reviewed, verified, and approved by the treating doctor before being added to your medical record or sent as correspondence. AI does not make clinical decisions.
• Only privacy-compliant, clinically appropriate tools are used. Data is not shared with third-party AI providers for training or commercial purposes.
• AI tools used will comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and applicable requirements under the Privacy Act 1988.
• You have the right to request that AI tools not be used in relation to your personal health information. Please advise reception or your treating doctor at any time.
• Any errors or concerns arising from AI-assisted documentation should be raised directly with the practice and will be addressed promptly.

The final responsibility for all clinical documentation, correspondence, and decisions remains at all times with A/Clin Prof Dr Hemant Kulkarni and the treating team.

Your Right to Access and Correct Your Records

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information at a time convenient to both yourself and the practice. Our practice acknowledges that patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing to the Practice Manager. We will respond within 30 days. We may impose a charge for photocopying or for staff time involved in processing your request. Our practice takes reasonable steps to correct your personal information where it is not accurate or up-to-date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may request that we correct or update your information by writing to us at: wexford.nephrology@outlook.com

How to Lodge a Privacy Complaint

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. You can write to us at:

• Email: wexford.nephrology@outlook.com
• Post: Suite 27, Level 1, Wexford Medical Centre, 3 Barry Marshall Parade, Murdoch WA 6150

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):

• Website: www.oaic.gov.au
• Phone: 1300 363 992

Generally the OAIC will require you to give the practice time to respond before they will investigate.

We may collect personal information from you digitally via our website and/or email. Our website may also use data analytics, cookies, and similar technologies to understand how visitors interact with the site. Any personal information collected digitally will be kept securely and used for our own practice purposes only. It will not be sold, shared, or used for commercial marketing without your express consent. If you wish to opt out of website tracking or cookie use, you may adjust your browser settings accordingly. Please note this may affect certain functionality of the website.