Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions & Cookies
At Total Veteran Healthcare, we are committed to protecting your personal information and providing a transparent online experience. Our Privacy Policy details how we collect, use, and safeguard your data, while our Terms and Conditions outline the rules and guidelines for using our website and services.
Additionally, our Cookies Policy explains how we use cookies to improve your experience, personalise content, and analyse site traffic. By accessing and using our site, you consent to our policies regarding privacy, terms, and cookies, all designed to ensure a secure and supportive environment for veterans and their families.
Effective Date: 11 April 2023
Bowen Hills Medical Operations Pty Ltd, ABN 23 955 861 651 trading as The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics (“we” or “The Banyans”) recognises and values the protection of your personal information. We are aware of our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) and we will ensure our full compliance with that Act.
Introduction
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
Why and when your consent is necessary
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs 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.
Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
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, and business processes (e.g., staff training).
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
- names, date of birth, addresses, 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
- health fund details.
Dealing with us anonymously
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.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.
- When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
- While providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
- We may also collect your 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. Often this is because 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, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
- your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).
When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?
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
- 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
- for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
- when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g., some diseases require mandatory notification)
- while providing medical services, through eTP, My Health Record (e.g., via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
- The Banyans Health and Wellness Group (only if you are using other health services within the group).
- Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than while providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) 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.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms as electronic records.
Our practice stores all personal information securely.
We securely store and protect personal information in an electronic format, in protected information system. The information system is password protected and stored in a secure cabinet and all staff and contractors sign confidentiality agreements.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing via letter or email. Our practice will respond within 7 working days
Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information 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 also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to the Practice Manager.
How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure.
Please see practice details below:
For post – The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics, Suite 5, 16 Thompson St, Bowen Hills QLD 4006
Email – reception.bowenhills@thebanyans.com.au
Phone – 07 3155 3848
If you feel your complaint has not been resolved, please contact the external health complaints agency for our state:
Queensland
Office of the Health Ombudsman
Telephone: 133 646
Web: www.oho.qld.gov.au
Complaints that relate to privacy issues or concerns that cannot be resolved internally are to be directed to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC):
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
Telephone: 1300 363 992
Postal Address: GPO Box 5218, Sydney NSW 2001
Web: www.oaic.gov.au
Members of the public may make a notification to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) – www.ahpra.gov.au – about the conduct, health or performance of a practitioner or the health of a student. Practitioners, employers, and education providers are all mandated by law to report notifiable conduct relating to a registered practitioner or student to AHPRA.
Policy review statement
This privacy policy will be reviewed annually or as required to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. Patients will be notified of changed by a sign at reception.
Website Privacy
Security
We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.
Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a closed lock icon at the bottom of your web browser or looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the web page.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (e.g., billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers on which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.
Links
This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.
Notification of Changes
We reserve the right to amend changes to our privacy policy without direct notice to you. Changes will be reflected on this webpage.
BOOKING TERMS
In this agreement: ‘We’, ‘our’ or ‘us’ means Bowen Hills Medical Operations Pty Ltd [A.C.N. 646 705 802] as Trustee for the Bowen Hills Medical Operations Unit Trust trading as The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics; and ‘You’ or ‘your’ means the person identified as the patient via this booking process. These terms govern our relationship with you now and in the future. You warrant that you have either completed this booking process yourself or someone has assisted you with your authorisation.
(a) Our fees may change from time to time. The fees are only guaranteed when paid by you in full. (b) Our fees are in Australian Dollars and are inclusive of GST. (c) Once you confirm your booking, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions in the below Services Contract, which governs the terms on which we agree to provide you with our services. (d) We are committed to the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). The information we have collected about you during this booking process is collected for the purpose of: (i) confirming your booking; (ii) providing you with the services described in the below Services Contract; (iii) providing you with information about issues that may affect you; (iv) facilitating our internal business operations, including the fulfilment of any legal requirements; (v) providing you with information about the goods and services that we or our related entities or organisations that we have affiliations with offer that may be of interest to you; and (vi) analysing the goods and services that we offer and our patients need with a view to developing new and improved goods and services. (e) If the personal information you provide to us is incomplete or inaccurate, we may be unable to provide you with the services you are seeking. (f) We acknowledge that health information is sensitive, and commit not to collect health-related information (other than any procedure you have requested) over the Internet. (g) You may access the personal information we hold about you in accordance with our privacy policy, available by contacting us at PO Box 3371 Warner Qld 4500, emailing reception.bowenhills@thebanyans.com.au or by visiting our website at www.thebanyansmedicalcentre.com.au.
SERVICES CONTRACT
In this agreement:
‘We’, ‘our’ or ‘us’ means Bowen Hills Medical Operations Pty Ltd [A.C.N. 646 705 802] as Trustee for the Bowen Hills Medical Operations Unit Trust trading as The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics.
‘You’ or ‘your’ means the person identified as the patient via this booking process.
A reference to a ‘party’ is a reference to us or you, and a reference to the ‘parties’ is a reference to both us and you.
These terms govern our relationship with you now and in the future.
You warrant that you have either completed this booking process yourself or someone has assisted you with your authorisation.
(a) Supply of the Service
We will do our best to ensure that we are able to see you at the Appointment time you have selected. Delays do sometimes arise, but we will do our best to ensure you do not have to wait or do not have to wait long.
To keep delays to a minimum, you need to arrive at least 5 minutes before your Appointment. If you are not present when your Appointment starts, we can cancel your Appointment and do not have to provide the Services to you and may charge you a cancellation fee.
We are also not obliged to perform any Procedure if we determine during your Appointment that it is not in your best medical interests.
Once we have provided you with the Services, you agree to pay us the Fees.
We reserve the right in our sole discretion to invoice you for the Fees. You agree to pay any invoice we issue to you within 14 days after receipt.
(b) Changing or cancelling your Appointment
If you wish to change or cancel your Appointment, please let us know as early as possible so that we may allocate your Appointment to another person. This will help us meet our aim of providing our patients with speedy and efficient nurse practitioner services.
(c) Information provided by you
You agree that all information (including your medical history) provided by you in connection with the Services is true and complete to the best of your knowledge.
(d) Confidentiality
Both parties agree to keep confidential, and not to use or disclose, any Confidential Information of the other party that is given to or received by that party either before or after entering into this agreement.
This confidentiality obligation does not apply to the extent that the Confidential Information is required to be disclosed by applicable law, or under compulsion of law by a court or government agency, or is in the public domain otherwise as a result of a breach of this agreement or other obligation of confidence.
(e) Intellectual property
The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics Material remains our property and nothing in this agreement is intended to grant you any Intellectual Property Rights in the The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics Material or other Intellectual Property Rights of us.
(f) Liability
The liability of each party for any loss or damage suffered or incurred by the other party in connection with this agreement is limited to Fees payable by you in the 12 months prior to a party first suffering loss or damage in connection with this agreement.
Neither party will be liable for any Consequential Loss suffered by the other party in connection with this agreement. Consequential Loss means loss that is indirect loss, consequential loss, loss of income or revenue, loss of profits, or loss of savings.
Nothing in this agreement is intended to limit your rights under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). If the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or any other legislation provides that there is a guarantee in relation to any good or service supplied by us in connection with this agreement and our liability for failing to comply with that guarantee cannot be excluded but may be limited, then the limitations on our liability set out above do not apply to that liability and instead our liability for such failure is limited to (at our election):
(i) in the case of a supply of goods, us replacing the goods or supplying equivalent goods, repairing the goods, paying the cost of replacing the goods or of acquiring equivalent goods, or paying the cost of having the goods repaired; or
(ii) in the case of a supply of services, us supplying the services again or paying the cost of having the services supplied again. The limitations of liability in this clause do not apply to:
(i) our professional negligence;
(ii) personal injury or death of any person;
(iii) repudiation of this agreement;
(iv) a breach of clause (d); or
(v) a wilful or negligent breach of this agreement.
(g) Force majeure
We will not be in breach of this agreement as a result of, or liable for, any failure or delay in the performance of our obligations under this agreement to the extent that such failure or delay is wholly or partially caused, directly or indirectly, by a Force Majeure Event or any act or omission by you.
(h) General
The laws of Queensland, Australia govern this agreement. Each party irrevocably submits to the non exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Queensland, Australia and Courts competent to hear appeals from those Courts.
We may assign our interest under this agreement.
Each provision of this agreement will be read and construed as a separate and severable provision or part and if any provision is void or otherwise unenforceable for any reason, then that provision will be severed and the remainder will be read and construed as if the severable provision had never existed.
No rule of construction applies in the interpretation of this agreement to the disadvantage of the party preparing the document on the basis that it put forward this document or any part of it.
(i) Definitions
In this agreement:
‘Appointment’ means the relevant appointment time booked by you via our online booking process.
‘Confidential Information’ of a party means the terms of this agreement and any information:
(i) relating to the business and affairs of that party;
(ii) relating to the customers, clients, patients, employees, sub contractors of other persons doing business with that party;
(iii) which is by its nature confidential;
(iv) which is designated as confidential by that party; or
(v) which the other party knows or ought to know is confidential, and includes all trade secrets, know how, financial information or other commercially valuable information of that party, and including the Fees charged by us.
‘Fees’ means the fees we tell you are payable for the Services you receive.
‘Force Majeure Event’ means any occurrence or omission outside our control and includes:
(i) a physical natural disaster including fire, flood, lightning or earthquake;
(ii) war or other state of armed hostilities (whether war is declared or not), insurrection, riot, civil commotion, act of public enemies, national emergency (whether in fact or in law) or declaration of martial law;
(iii) epidemic or quarantine restriction;
(iv) ionising radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear waste or from combustion of nuclear fuel;
(v) confiscation, nationalisation, requisition, expropriation, prohibition, embargo, restraint or damage to property by or under the order of any government agency;
(vi) law taking effect after the date of this agreement; and
(vii) strike, lock-out, stoppage, labour dispute or shortage.
‘Intellectual Property Rights’ means all industrial and intellectual property rights, both in Australia and throughout the world, and includes any copyright, moral right, patent, registered or unregistered trade mark, registered or unregistered design, registered or unregistered plant breeder’s right, trade secret, knowhow, right in relation to semiconductors and circuit layouts, trade or business or company name, indication or source or appellation of origin or other proprietary right, or right of registration of such rights.
‘Procedure’ means any procedure requested by you via our online or other booking processes.
‘Services’ means the services we provide to you in relation to a particular Appointment, including any Procedure.
‘The Banyans Medical Centre and Specialist Clinics Material’ means any material provided by or to which access is given by us to you for the purposes of this agreement, including documents, equipment, reports, technical information, studies, plans, charts, drawings, calculations, tables, schedules and data stored by any means.
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Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (e.g., advertisers). However, we have no access to or control over these cookies.