Privacy Policy
Maple Leaf Medical Centre recognises the importance of privacy and the protection of confidential information of all our patients and those who visit our website. We want you to feel confident in giving us useful information. To achieve this, we believe that there has to be a high level of trust on your part, prompted by our assurance that the confidentiality of the information you give us is maintained constantly.
We are governed by and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). We uphold these principles and we have always considered it a great privilege that you have entrusted us with important information that forms a vital part of your private life. We therefore strive to ensure that your privacy is protected when you visit this website and our practice.
To this end, we owe you a duty in making available our Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy at any time; any such modification or update to this Privacy Policy shall be published on our website.
Collecting Your Information
At Maple Leaf Medical Centre, we collect your personal information at reception and may also collect personal information through this website. "Personal Information" means information we hold about you from which your identity is clear or can be reasonably determined. If you chose to not provide certain personal information to us, we might not be able to provide you with the services you requested.
The personal information we require may include, but not limited to:
Your Name, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Identity and Address;
Telephone Number;
Medicare, Pension or Health Care Card Number;
Your medication list or any current treatment;
Current and previous medical history, including, where clinically relevant, family medical history;
The name of any other health service provider or medical specialist from which you have received care; and
Copies of any letter of referrals and any reports relating to the patient.
With these information in our care, you can expect to receive personalised and culturally safe services from our staff and other health practitioners. At Maple Leaf Medical Centre, we treat you as a person, not a number.
Please note that information collection is not limited to patients and families alone; we also collect information on our medical and allied health staff. We do this either directly from them or through their contract agreement.
Protecting Your Information
Since we know that the information we collect is of sensitive nature, we ensure strict compliance with the highest privacy standards in keeping all your personal information secure and password protected. Our information system is fully computerised and we have different levels of access to ensure your information is protected by password at different levels. Access is only provided to staff and doctors to the degree of their involvement in your care and the level of that care. This access can always be verified if the need arises.
All of our employees and contractors that work with us are required to sign and comply with the Maple Leaf Medical Centre confidentiality agreement.
Using Your Information
Your personal information may be shared within our practice for administrative purposes, such as to liaise with the Department of Human Service Medicare program, to conduct training of staff or medical student and to facilitate quality improvement of our services. These quality improvement activities will enable us to provide the quality of service we have promised to deliver.
We may also use the information we collect from and about you for these additional purposes:
● We may release your information to your nominated health service providers or medical specialists, mainly for the purpose of receiving health care;
● We may use the information to communicate with you, including to notify you of upcoming appointments and to send promotional materials or notifications which we believe may be of interest to you;
● We may disclose your personal information where there is a serious threat to the health or safety of an individual or to the public.
Maple Leaf Medical Centre shall not disclose personal information about your individual visit to our website to any third parties without your written consent, except when required by law to do so.
Retention of Information
As part of our commitment to you, will keep your health information for a minimum of 7 years from the last occasion that you accessed our service. For individuals below 18 years of age, we will keep the records until the person has reached 25 years of age.
Apart from what has been stated above in this privacy policy statement, we shall not disclose, sell or distribute any of your personal information to any third party.
Accessing Your Information
If you would like to access, review, correct or update any of your personal information that we hold, please contact us as outlined on the "Contact Us" page of our website. You may also complete an ‘Update Your Record’ form during your visit to our practice.
Upon your request, please clearly state what information you would like to access, review, correct or update. We will try to respond to your request as soon as reasonably practicable.
Your right to access your personal information is not absolute. The law permits us to refuse your request to provide you with access to your personal information in circumstances where:
● Access would pose a serious threat to the life or health of any individual;
● Access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others;
● The request is frivolous;
● The information relates to a commercially sensitive decision-making process;
● Access would be unlawful;
● Access may prejudice enforcement activities, a security function or commercial negotiations.
Website Security Warning
Within the limit of our ability, Maple Leaf Medical Centre will endeavour to ensure that our website is as secure as possible at all times; however, we cannot guarantee the complete and flawless safety and security of any information disclosed through the website.
In the event of compromise of personal information, we will:
● Seek to rapidly identify and secure the breach to prevent any further breaches;
● Engage the appropriate authorities where criminal activity is suspected;
● Assess the nature and severity of the breach including the type of personal information involved and the risk of harm to the affected individuals;
● Notify the affected individuals directly if appropriate and where possible; and
● Notify the Privacy Commissioner (at the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner) if the breach is significant.
Maple Leaf Medical Centre and its associates accept no liability for any interference or damage to a user's computer system, software or data occurring in connection with the use of our website. We strongly recommend that users take appropriate measures to ensure that their computers are protected against third-party interference, such as hacking whilst on the web.
Please be advised that there are inherent risks in transmitting information across the internet.