Privacy Policy

Effective date: [date site goes live] Last reviewed: [same]

Dr Baxter Women’s Health (“the Practice”, “we”, “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information.

We handle your information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). Your health information is classified as “sensitive information” under that Act and is subject to stricter handling rules than ordinary personal information.

This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, when we may disclose it, and how you can access or correct it. A copy of this policy is available on request from the rooms.

Why we collect your information

We collect personal information for the primary purpose of managing your healthcare, and for financial claims and payments. We only use your consent for the purpose it was given. If we need to use your information for any other purpose, we will ask you first.

What we collect

To provide obstetric and gynaecological care, we generally collect:

your name, date of birth, address, and contact details
your Medicare number, private health fund details, DVA or pension card number (for identification and claiming)
your healthcare identifier (IHI)
your emergency contact and, where relevant, next of kin
your medical information, including medical history, obstetric and gynaecological history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, family history, social history and risk factors
your GP or referring practitioner’s details, and the referral itself
billing and payment records

We may hold this information as paper records, electronic records, imaging (ultrasound, x-ray, CT, photographs taken for clinical purposes), and audio recordings such as dictated correspondence.

How we collect it

When you are referred, we receive your referral and clinical background from your GP or referring specialist.
When you first attend, reception collects your personal and demographic details via our registration form. Please read the collection statement on that form.
During your care, Dr Baxter and our clinical staff collect further clinical information at each consultation, procedure or admission.
Where practicable and necessary, we may also collect information from your guardian or a responsible person, from hospitals where you are admitted, from pathology and imaging providers, or from other treating practitioners involved in your care.
If you contact us through this website, by email, by phone or by fax, we collect the information you choose to give us in that message.

We hold all personal information securely, whether electronically in protected information systems or in hard copy in a secure environment.

How we use and disclose it

We use your personal information to provide medical care and to process claims and payments. We do not disclose it to anyone outside the course of providing your care without telling you who will receive it, why, and obtaining your consent.

In the ordinary course of your care, we may disclose your information to:

your GP or referring practitioner (correspondence after each consultation, procedure or delivery)
other treating specialists, anaesthetists, sonographers, pathology and imaging providers
the hospitals where you are treated, including Peel Health Campus, Waikiki Private Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital
fertility services where you are jointly managed, including Genea
Medicare, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and your private health fund, for claiming
our medical defence organisation or legal advisers, where necessary

We may also disclose your information to third parties engaged by the Practice for business purposes, such as our practice management software provider, IT support, secure messaging (HealthLink), accounting or accreditation. These providers are required to handle your information in line with this policy and the Privacy Act.

Where there is a statutory requirement to disclose certain information, we will tell you. Some conditions require mandatory notification (for example, notifiable diseases, cancer registries, and the WA perinatal/midwives notification system).

Exceptions. We may disclose your information without your consent only where it is:

required or authorised by law
necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to your life, health or safety, or to public health or safety, and it is impractical to obtain your consent
needed to assist in locating a missing person
needed to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
for the purpose of a confidential dispute resolution process

Overseas disclosure

We do not routinely disclose your personal information to anyone outside Australia, and we will not do so without need and without your consent. Some of our software providers may store data on servers located outside Australia; where that is the case we require them to protect your information to the standard required by the Australian Privacy Principles.

My Health Record

Where you have a My Health Record and have not restricted access, we may view and upload clinical documents to it as part of your care. You can control access to your My Health Record at any time at myhealthrecord.gov.au.

Direct marketing

We do not use your personal information for direct marketing without your express consent. If you have consented, you can opt out at any time by writing to us at the address or email below, and we will action it.

We evaluate any unsolicited information we receive to decide whether it should be kept, acted on, or destroyed.

Information collected through this website

This website does not offer online booking and does not ask you to submit clinical information.

If you use our contact form or email us, we collect your name, contact details and the content of your message, and we use it only to respond to your enquiry. Please do not send clinical or sensitive health information by email or through the website — email is not a secure channel. If your matter is clinical, please phone the rooms.

Our website may use cookies and standard web analytics to understand how visitors use the site (for example, pages visited and general location). This information is aggregated and does not identify you. You can disable cookies in your browser settings; parts of the site may not work as intended if you do.

Our website may link to third-party sites, such as hospitals or health information services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites.

How long we keep your information

We are required to retain adult medical records for at least seven years from the date of last entry, and records for patients under 18 until they turn 25. After that, records are destroyed securely.

Access, correction and concerns

You may request access to your medical records. Please make the request in writing to the rooms and we will respond within a reasonable time. An administrative fee may apply for the retrieval and copying of records.

We take reasonable steps to make sure the information we hold is accurate and up to date, and we will ask you to confirm your details from time to time. If you believe something we hold about you is wrong, write to us and we will correct it.

We take privacy concerns seriously. If you believe your information has been mishandled, please put your concern in writing to us and we will respond in line with our complaints process.

Write to us at: Privacy Officer, Dr Baxter Women’s Health Unit 4, Minilya Parkway, Greenfields WA 6210 Email: reception@drbaxterobgyn.com.au Phone: (08) 9567 0454

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

Office of the Australian Information Commissioner — 1300 363 992, oaic.gov.au
Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (WA) — 1800 813 583, hadsco.wa.gov.au

Changes to this policy

We review this policy at least annually and update it when our procedures or the law change. The current version is always available on this page.