Health Information

As a patient, legal guardian or substitute decision-maker for a patient, in providing appropriate health care services certain information may be asked for:

• Notes from other health professionals you have seen
• Referral letters from other health professionals you have seen
• Reports or recommendations from schemes or insurer’s agents
• Your ‘My Health’ record
• Health scans, tests or assessments you have had
• Results of scans, tests or assessments Hoppers Crossing Sports & Spinal completes or recommends
• Your current medication information
• Letters or notes from lawyers, solicitors, agents or others representing you
• Verbal information about your wellbeing, or health, function, movement.

You can either give this information to us yourself, or when you give consent in writing for collection of specific health information, it may be able to be requested for you from other health professionals or health organisations. This will depend on the type of information and organisation holding it.

If you choose not to give health information when it is requested, the quality of the health service or advice given to you can be impacted and/or your personal health risks can increase.

Where and for how long is my health information stored and who can access it?

All health information collected in giving a health care service is stored in what is known as a clinical record.

The original record is kept by Hoppers Crossing Sports & Spinal until a person turns 25 years of age if the person was seen prior to age 18, or for no less than seven years for all people over 18 years. Once the retention period nears its end, the records are disposed of via permanent deletion of digital files, shredding and binning of any physical documents.

Health information is primarily stored digitally through Cliniko (a secure practice management software) and any physical copies of information that must be retained are kept securely in a locked filing cabinet within the business premises. This information will only be accessible to current practitioners of the clinic. You can request that your health information not be visible or accessible to certain practitioners on request.

In the event of a request about forwarding health information to another health professional, verbal and written consent from the patient will need to be given via phone call and email for this information to be passed on.

Osteopaths are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth), Australian Health Practitioner Regulation (AHPRA) rules like the Code of Conduct for Regulated Health Professionals, Guidelines for Informed Consent  that require your health information to be kept secure and only to released to you, unless required by jurisdictional laws, a written order, law enforcement orders, private health funds and/or other third-party schemes with authority.

Your health information may need to be provided to other health services, like Ambulance, if you have a health event that requires life-saving assistance on the premises. Only health information needed to render this life-saving assistance is given if required.

Can I withdraw consent for sharing my health info?

In general, you can withdraw consent for sharing your health information with another health professional by: providing both verbal and written consent over phone and email; including personal information to confirm your identity (full name, address & date of birth).

Can I request a copy of my clinic record?

A copy of a clinical record can be requested, but the original record cannot be given under Privacy Act 1988 Commonwealth requirements. There is generally a fee involved in preparing a copy of a record. It may change from time to time.

Please note your clinical record can be changed in certain occasions, for instance, when a diagnosis is suspected and later ruled out, or when other health professionals provide notes or records changing the initial content of a health record. When you report new or changed symptoms, these would also be included in your health record. All changes to a health record are included in a new section on the date information is received, unless there is need to return to an original clause and update it with current information noted with the date new information is received.

What happens if there is a breach of my health info?

The following steps may occur if an unauthorised third-party receives health or sensitive health information (known as a breach):

• You will be informed, especially if the information could lead to your reputational harm, and/or

• If you cannot be directly informed, a notification will be published about the breach as a general alert. Reasonable steps to share information about the breach will be made and/or
• An update of steps taken to further protect the information and prevent future breaches will be outlined.