Communication Policy

Introduction

This Communications policy is to provide specific information to you, our patient, regarding forms of communication within our practice (including consent, telephone calls, automated sms, results, recalls, reminders, emails, and encrypted messaging, communication impairment services).

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.

Consent must be provided by an individual who has capacity to do so. In the case of minors 15 years and under, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the Commonwealth privacy regulator, has expressed a view that minors should be assessed on a case by case basis to determine if they have capacity to provide consent (such as where the minor independently seeks medical assistance or treatment).

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect about you includes your:

• names, date of birth, addresses, contact details (telephone/email)
• 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

Telephone calls to doctors

You can contact us by telephone during normal surgery hours 8am to 5pm.
A message will be taken when the doctor is with another patient or absent. Of course, in more urgent matters, calls will be put straight through to a clinical team member on duty.

When appropriate for patient care prescriptions or continuing care referrals these may be provided without a consultation (a phone message can be left). There is usually a fee for these services. Please allow ample time for your request to be ready. Please note that referrals cannot be backdated.

Secure Messaging Systems

Automated SMS systems used at 19th Avenue Family Practice include Best Practice (BPComms) and Hotdoc.

Our practice also uses encrypted secure messaging services to directly send or download information from/to the patient health record; Medical Objects, Health Link, My Health Record, HPOS, Electronic prescriptions.

BP Communications consent is obtained when registering or updating personal details (electronic new patient registration or paper record declaration).

Results

At 19th Avenue Family Practice, we use secure SMS systems (Best Practice/HotDoc) to notify you of the outcome of your test results when you need to return for a follow up appointment.

If your result is non urgent, a message from HotDoc (face to face appointment) or Best Practice (telephone appointment) may be sent to your phone or the practice nurse may telephone you directly to arrange an appointment with your GP (as they have clinically indicated).

We invite you to call the clinic after 2-3 days to check your results. Please call after 2pm.

Please note reception staff are not able to give out any detailed information about results.

Please note that the processing time for results may be longer for certain specialised tests.

If there is an urgent result to discuss, the Doctor will telephone you directly.

Recalls

The GPs operating from 19th Avenue Family Practice are committed to preventative health care and from time to time you may be contacted via our automated SMS systems in relation to reminders that have been specifically placed in your health record – repeat tests, immunisations, routine health screening and or assessments.

Requesting health care information via email

Where there is need to contact us via email please address to: [email protected]

Please note that all reasonable steps are taken to protect your health information.
It is our preference to reply directly to email requests (email address verified by the practice) informed consent.

It is our preference that you call the clinic directly with respect to appointment bookings.

Please note that reception staff are not permitted to send results via email. You may collect a copy of results in person.
Where sensitive information is required to be attached to an email, the recipient will be issued with a security pin (password protection).

The GP’s in our practice may at times following or during consultation send emails/referrals direct from the patient health record to the confirmed recipient email address as discussed.

Email communications with third party requests must have your written consent on file before release of information is permitted. GP’s in the practice must first authorise the release of information.

Privacy and our email

Every effort is made to ensure that emails are sent to the correct address.

Where emails are sent from our practice the following statement is built into the body of the email:

This electronic transmission is not a secure messaging system and is used by the Practice for administration purposes only. The information in this electronic transmission (including any attached files) is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or sensitive material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.

If you received this in error, please notify us immediately by reply e-mail or contact 19th Avenue Family Practice on the above phone number and delete the information from any computer and/or device. Thankyou

Communication Impairment

Every effort will be made to accommodate your communication needs.

All our doctors are registered with Translating Interpreter Services (National).

Certified assistance dogs are permitted in the clinic.

Hearing impaired? you may be eligible for registration with the National Sign Language program.

19th Avenue Family Practice has a Zero tolerance policy – aggressive and abusive behaviour will not be tolerated.

Policy review statement

This communication policy will be reviewed regularly (dated in the header) to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur.

Communication Policy details are included on our Website. A hard copy is available upon request.

C1.1 A Our patients can access up-to-date information about the practice.