Privacy & Other Policies

We are committed to protecting the privacy of patient information and to handling your personal information in a responsible manner in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, the Australian Privacy Principles and relevant State and Territory privacy legislation (referred to as privacy legislation). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and disclose your personal information, how you may access that information and how you may seek the correction of any information. It also explains how you may make a complaint about a breach of privacy legislation. This Privacy Policy is current from 1st December 2024 and is reviewed annually. From time to time we may make changes to our policy, processes and systems in relation to how we handle your personal information. We will update this Privacy Policy to reflect any changes. Those changes will be available on our website and in the practice.

Collection: We collect information that is necessary and relevant to provide you with medical care and treatment, and manage our medical practice. This information may include your name, address, date of birth, gender, health information, family history, credit card and direct debit details and contact details. This information may be stored on our computer medical records system and/or in handwritten medical records. Wherever practicable we will only collect information from you personally. However, we may also need to collect information from other sources such as treating specialists, radiologists, pathologists, hospitals, other health care providers, and the My Health Record system. We collect information in various ways, such as over the phone, in writing, in person in our rooms, or over the internet or videoconferencing if you transact with us online or engage in telehealth. This information may be collected by medical and non-medical staff. In emergency situations we may also need to collect information from your relatives or friends. Your relatives or friends may contact us, or be involved in your assessment and episode of care if/when you invite them to, and information received from them will be entered into your medical records. We may be required by law to retain medical records for certain periods of time depending on your age at the time we provide services.

Use and Disclosure: We will treat your personal information as strictly private and confidential. We will only use or disclose it for purposes directly related to your care and treatment, or in ways that you would reasonably expect that we may use it for your ongoing care and treatment. For example, the disclosure of blood test results to your specialist or requests for x-rays. There are circumstances where we may be permitted or required by law to disclose your personal information to third parties. For example, to Medicare, Police, insurers, solicitors, government regulatory bodies, tribunals, courts of law, hospitals, debt collection agents, the electronic transfer of prescriptions service or to the My Health Record system. We may also from time to time provide statistical data to third parties for research purposes. We may disclose information about you to outside contractors to carry out activities on our behalf such as an IT service provider, solicitor or debt collection agent. We impose security and confidentiality requirements on how they handle your personal information. Outside contractors are required not to use information about you for any purpose except for those activities we have asked them to perform.

Data Quality and Security: We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is accurate, complete, up-to-date and relevant. For this purpose our staff may ask you to confirm that your contact details are correct when you attend a consultation. Being able to contact you is necessary to ensure we can deliver care to you. We request that you let us know if any of the information we hold about you is incorrect or out-of-date. Personal information that we hold is protected by: securing our premises; placing passwords and varying access levels on databases to limit access and protect electronic information from unauthorised interference, access, modification and disclosure; and providing locked cabinets and rooms for the storage of physical records. Where it is necessary to conduct a telehealth consultation from our doctors’ private premises they will take reasonable steps to maintain a private and secure environment to conduct such consultations.

Corrections: If you believe that the information we have about you is not accurate, complete or up to date, we ask that you contact us in writing (see details below).

Email use: You may receive correspondence via email. Communication by email has a number of risks which include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. We cannot guarantee that any particular email will be read or responded to. 2. Email can be circulated, forwarded and stored in paper and electronic files. 3. Backup copies of email may exist even after the sender or the recipient has deleted his/her copy. 4. Email senders can easily misaddress an email or email can be received by unintended recipients. 5. Email can be intercepted, altered, forwarded or used without authorisation or detection. 6. Employers and on-line services have a right to archive and inspect emails transmitted through their systems. 7. Email is inherently unsecure unless it is fully encrypted requiring the use of strong authentication and password protection. Most email does not meet those standards. 8. Email can be forwarded, printed, and stored in numerous paper and electronic forms and be received by many intended and unintended recipients without my knowledge or agreement. 9. Emails may be sent to the wrong address by any sender or receiver. 10. Email is easier to forge than handwritten or signed papers. 11. Copies of email may exist even after the sender or the receiver has deleted his or her copy. 12. Email service providers have a right to archive and inspect emails sent through their systems. 13. Email can be intercepted, altered, forwarded, or used without detection or authorization. 14. Email can spread computer viruses. 15. Email delivery is not guaranteed. 16. Email can be used for Phishing. Phishing is a technique of obtaining sensitive personal information from individuals by pretending to be a trusted sender.

The use of open internet email channels is not secure or encrypted – meaning that messages between could potentially be viewed by unauthorized persons who might intercept or read those emails. Evallies staff and its providers may not monitor my emails, or may not even receive them. Email is not an appropriate method for sharing urgent or emergent information. Evallies staff and providers will never ask for personal identifying information or other sensitive information using open email. Such information might include date of birth, mother’s maiden name, social security numbers, or other personal identifying information. Because of the risks outlined above, Evallies staff and associates cannot guarantee the security and confidentiality of email communication, and will not be liable for the inadvertent disclosure of confidential information. Email is not appropriate for urgent or emergency situations, nor is it a substitute for care that may be provided during a face-to-face visit or a telephone/telehealth consultation.

Patients are required to inform the health care professional of email address changes. When emailing a health care professional, patients are required to: (a) Put the patient’s name, date of birth and patient record number (URN) in the body of the email, not in the subject line. (b) Include the general topic of the message in the email’s subject line. For example ‘advice’ or ‘appointment’. (c) Contact the health care professional’s office via alternative communication methods (phone, letter etc) if a reply is not received within a reasonable period of time. Patients should not use email for communication regarding sensitive medical information and are responsible for informing the health care professional of any types of information that I do not want to be sent by email. Patients are responsible for protecting their password or other means of access to email. The health care professional is not liable for breaches of confidentiality caused by the patient or any third party. As emails are a part of the medical record, other individuals authorised to access the medical record will have access to those emails. Email messages from a patient may also be delegated to another health care professional or staff member for response. Administration staff may also receive and read or respond to patient emails. Sensitive and personal information on a patient’s medical record may be given to carers, guardians or other third parties who provide associated services that require such information for the purpose of providing a health care service. Information may be disclosed without consent if authorised or required by law. Staff may notify patients of appointments by email appointment reminders, as well as send clinical documents and surveys. Patients can “opt out” of the use of email as a means of communication by contacting the clinic, and some messages already scheduled for delivery may be sent after I opt out. It may take up to ten business days to fully process an opt-out request. If you have an issue with the privacy of your personal information (including complaints about our use of the My Health Record system), we request that you contact us in writing. Upon receipt of a complaint we will consider the details and attempt to resolve it in accordance with our complaints handling procedures. If you are dissatisfied with our handling of a complaint or the outcome you may make an application to the Australian Information Commissioner or the Privacy Commissioner in your State or Territory.

Privacy: Personal information that is relevant to your current situation will need to be collected and recorded. Electronic copies of confidential information are stored in a secure environment and also emailed to you. Please note that while your doctor will not discuss your care with another party without your consent or outside of the situations listed above, the doctor may receive information about you from others. Any correspondence received from others about you will be entered into your medical record and discussed with you. We may disclose your personal information to the following overseas recipients: any practice or individual who assists us in providing services (such as where you have come from overseas and had your health record transferred from overseas or have treatment continuing from an overseas provider); overseas transcription services; overseas based cloud storage; anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it. Some overseas recipients may be based in the Philippines.  

Contact: Please direct any queries, complaints, requests for access to medical records to admin@evallies.com.au. You are entitled to request access to your medical records. We request that you put your request in writing and we will respond to it within a reasonable time. There may be a fee for the administrative costs of retrieving and providing you with copies of your medical records. We may deny access to your medical records in certain circumstances permitted by law, for example, if disclosure may cause a serious threat to your health or safety. We will always tell you why access is denied and the options you have to respond to our decision.

Telepsychiatry: In these policies, we use the term ‘telehealth consultations’ to refer to consultations that use technology as an alternative to in-person consultations between a patient and a medical practitioner. It can include video, internet or telephone consultations, transmitting digital images and/or data, and prescribing medications. Telehealth can be used to provide triage, diagnosis, treatment and preventive health services. While the term ‘telehealth’ is commonly used to refer to a range of health services, for the purposes of these policies, we do not include: the use of technology during an in-person consultation, when an opinion is provided by one doctor to another, remote patient monitoring, or tele-education. By participating in a telehealth appointment, each patient agrees to ensure that they: 1. Have a consultation space that is quiet and free from distractions and does not allow others not involved in the patient’s care to hear any audio or view the consultation on screen; 2. To have access to secure, reliable technology and connectivity that is fit for clinical purpose, is not, where possible, a personal account, and can support access to interpreters where required; 3. Attend as themselves, and not to send a proxy for themselves without notifying the doctor in writing and then again on screen; 4. Confirm their identity during the appointment; 5. Have access to the suitable technology and connectivity and know how to use the equipment to participate in the consultation; 6. Is aware of their surroundings for the consultation and who may be able to hear any audio or view the consultation; 7. Inform the provider if they have a support persons at the consultation. This may include family members, friends, other health practitioners, carers and interpreter services – these supports are permitted to attend the appointment; 8. Will alert the provider if they require an interpreter and what language they require, as this is permitted; 9. Inform the doctor if they would prefer an alternative to a telehealth consultation; 10. Have had the billing arrangements explained to them and has provided financial consent. This includes whether they will be able to access Medicare rebates, whether they will be assigning a bulk billed Medicare rebate for the consultation to the provider, and any gap payments due for the consultation – this information is distributed to each patient in writing before the appointment; 11. Will voice any concern and alert the doctor if they do not understand the process involved in the telehealth consultation or if uncomfortable using the technology; 12. Will alert the provider if the telehealth consultation is not culturally safe or is not felt to be clinically appropriate or does not meet the same standards of care as provided in an in-person consultation; 13. Have requested a test call between themselves and a staff member beforehand to demonstrate how the technology works prior to the telehealth consultation if required; 14. Will tell the provider at the commencement of each consultation whether anyone else is present in the room or able to overhear the consultation, or if someone is likely to part-way through (e.g. expecting a knock at the front door); patients should always find a private and quiet place for a telehealth review; 15 . Have audio that is not able to be heard by others outside of the room, the ability to manage the room i.e. is it big enough; is the camera able to scan the room to identify who is present, the backdrop is not distracting, there is good lighting e.g. at both ends, and no shadowing i.e. sitting in front of a window etc. which warps the viewing of the patient’s body language; 16. Will complete a confidential survey to submit deidentified feedback if needed. If the provider determines that you require a physical review, you may be asked to have physical reviews with your GP or a nurse (or other healthcare professional as appropriate) between reviews. If a party intends to and/or does audio-visually record an appointment, this can only be done with both parties agreeing in writing prior to the consultation, and this agreement will be re-stated and confirmed during the consult on camera. Telepsychiatry involves the use of electronic communications that enable a healthcare provider at a different location from you to meet with you, assess your condition, diagnose, and treat you. Electronic systems used will incorporate network and software security protocols to protect the confidentiality of patient identification data and will include measures to safeguard the data and to ensure its integrity against intentional or unintentional corruption. As with any medical procedure, there are potential risks associated, which is the same with the use of tele-psychiatry. These risks include, but are not limited to: in rare cases, information transmitted may not be sufficient to allow for appropriate medical decision making by the physician; delays in medical evaluation and treatment could occur due to deficiencies or failures of equipment; in very rare instances, security protocols could fail, causing a breach of privacy of personal medical information. When you attend a telehealth appointment you acknowledge these potential risks and consent to participation via this medium. Significant lateness, delay, or technical difficulties owing to your fault that result in us being unable to perform a consult on the day (as per lateness policy) will incur a 100% cancellation fee for the disrupted appointment.

SMS correspondence: Evallies staff and providers routinely use SMS reminders for appointments and for other clinical purposes as determined from time to time by Evallies staff members. During the initial intake procedure, and then every time an e-script is provided, your mobile number for correspondence will be verified as up-to-date and accurate, and that phone number (as confirmed by you) will be used to communicate with you from that time and until the next time that it is re-confirmed. All Evallies staff and providers are authorised to send you SMS messages. SMS messages are included and entered into your medical records (via Xestro software services). There is no limitation to what information may be included in SMS messages sent to you from our clinic. Evallies staff and providers will not be found liable for a breach of confidentiality or privacy owing to an SMS being sent to, or being viewed by, a third party or other phone number as a result of the SMS being transmitted by Evallies to the phone number that you or your authorised proxy has provided.

Transfer of Data: We may disclose your personal information to the following overseas recipients: any practice or individual who assists us in providing services (such as where you have come from overseas and had your health record transferred from overseas or have treatment continuing from an overseas provider); overseas transcription services; overseas based cloud storage; anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it. Some overseas recipients may be based in the Philippines

Doctor on annual leave: When your doctor is on annual leave, you will be unable to schedule appointments or have scripts refilled with them. It is your responsibility to raise script, paperwork, or healthcare issues during each appointment, and your responsibility to plan to not require assistance in between appointments for routine care or anticipated issues. Therefore, you should not be disadvantaged if you are not able to access your doctor during their annual leave. If a crisis, complication, or emergency arises, you will need to consult with your GP or pharmacist about the emergent issue. Please note that no other doctor will be covering your doctor on their annual leave. If your doctor is on annual leave, information may be shared with an alternative provider in order to provide continuity of care, and may be disclosed by an Evallies staff member or provider if and when required or permitted by law if there is a risk to yourself or others.

Forms completed by doctors: Any forms, documents, or other paperwork that you request a doctor complete on your behalf may be provided at the doctor’s discretion. The doctor and/or other Evallies staff member will not be found liable for any harms or damages or breach of your privacy that results from disclosure of sensitive healthcare data that you have requested and authorized to be disclosed to a third party through such paperwork, documents or forms. Forms/Paperwork may be completed by your doctor at your request during an appointment, however, time will be allocated as a priority to treatment and care issues rather than to paperwork needs. If there is insufficient time to complete the paperwork, a follow up appointment will be required, or a fee can be paid for the paperwork to be completed outside of appointments. For urgent paperwork that requires filling/completing by a doctor outside of scheduled appointments, we cannot guarantee an appointment time will be available at short notice, and urgent paperwork may need to be undertaken outside of a scheduled appointment (if a doctor can accommodate the request at all) according to the fees outlined above.

Cancellations and unpaid accounts: If you cancel an appointment and do not re-book follow up, communication will be sent to your GP – they will be notified that care has been returned and discharged. Any e-scripts that were previously provided by your doctor will be cancelled, as the doctor will infer from your disengagement that you are seeking care elsewhere, and because they have no opportunity to review efficacy and/or complications arising from that prescription. If you would like to return, you will need to provide a new referral letter from your GP, and the new referral may not be accepted if your doctor does not have capacity to see you again. Card details are requested prior to your first appointment and are kept securely on file and charged for any cancellations, non-attendances, or unpaid accounts. Fees for missed appointments will not be covered by insurance companies, and Medicare rebates are not paid for missed or cancelled appointments. We charge a cancelation fee (amount changes annually and is disclosed when you book your initial appointment) if you cancel your initial (first) appointment for any reason with less than four whole business days of notice (i.e. if your initial appointment is 11am on a Tuesday, you need to cancel the appointment before close of business on the Tuesday prior to your initial appointment). We charge the full appointment fee if you cancel any appointment for any reason with less than two whole business days of notice (i.e. if an appointment is at 11am on a Tuesday, you need to cancel the appointment before close of business on the Thursday prior to your appointment, or you will be charged/billed for the entire upcoming consultation fee). When you cancel any appointment, your appointment will be given to another patient and if a cancellation fee is owed, you will be automatically charged and if payment is not received, you will be invoiced for the outstanding fee. If you cancel or do not attend any appointment, further appointments may not be offered, and care may be terminated and returned to your GP. Rescheduling for catchup appointments is subject to availability. Any debt that you do not pay within one week of it being due may, at any stage, be forwarded to a debt collection company or law firm for recovery. All costs arising for debt collection processes will be added to your account, including any applicable or associated legal fees. Your personal information and/or healthcare information may be disclosed to a debt collection agency. If you are late for any appointment, you will only be seen for the remainder of the time left in your appointment time slot and charged for the full appointment. Should you attend more than 10 minutes late for an up-to-25-minute appointment, or more than 15 minutes late for a 45+ minute appointment, you will need to reschedule your appointment, and you will not be reviewed by the doctor that day. You will be charged the appointment fee in total. You will need to pay an additional deposit to make a follow up appointment, and you may not be offered a future appointment especially if multiple appointments have been missed.

Communication with your referring GP: If you have been referred by a GP, they will be corresponded with after each and every appointment. There will not be any details about your care that will not be divulged to your GP and requests to shield information from them will be denied. If you are paying privately (i.e. without a GP referral), there may not be correspondence sent to your GP, at the doctor’s discretion. GPs who have previously referred you may be contacted even after a new referral is received. The doctor may not be an expert in the condition that you are experiencing. If a condition is discovered that a doctor cannot treat, you will be instructed that it is in your best interests to seek care from an alternative provider, and in that context, the doctor reserves the right to terminate the relationship. This may occur during the initial appointment. Furthermore, during the course of your treatment, you may develop a new condition that your doctor is not an expert in treating. In these situations, you will be informed immediately that care for the condition you are experiencing will not be offered. This might occur during the initial consultation, or during a course of treatment. The doctor reserves the right to terminate care or not provide a specific form of care requested or needed by a patient where it is outside their nominated scope of practice. If the doctor cannot assist you fully, a contingency plan will be created by the doctor and this will be communicated with you and your referring GP.

Care outside of appointments: Doctors do not provide healthcare services to patients outside of scheduled appointments. If you are in crisis or require urgent assistance outside of appointments, please call 000 or attend the nearest public hospital to be seen by a 24/hour psychiatric triage emergency department. There is no guarantee an appointment time will be available, or that contact from your treating doctor will be available, in cases of an emergency and/or in between appointments. If you contact an Evallies staff member in crisis or during an emergency, a staff member or doctor may be required by law to disclose your personal information to an emergency service or third party in order to protect you from harm. If an emergency arises during an appointment or a staff member / doctor learns of a need for emergency care to be provided by a third party , information may be exchanged with a third party (including clinical documents and your medical records), which may contain sensitive information, without your consent as required by law.

Bookings: When you require a follow-up appointment, as determined by your doctor at their discretion, it will be booked for you by an Evallies staff member. You may then be contacted with the details of this appointment using any of the contact details that you have provided (e.g. SMS, phone or email). It is your responsibility to call or contact the Evallies reception team to change this appointment if needed.

Late arrivals: if you are late for any appointment, you will only be seen for the remainder of the time left in your appointment time slot, and charged for the full appointment. Since you will nevertheless be charged for the full amount of the session, it is to your advantage to be on time for all sessions. Should you attend more than 10 minutes late for an up-to-25- minute appointment, or more than 15 minutes late for a 45+ minute appointment, you will need to reschedule your appointment and you will not be reviewed by the doctor that day. You will be charged the appointment fee in total. You will need to pay an additional deposit to make a follow up appointment and you may not be offered a future appointment especially if multiple appointments have been missed.

Abuse and/or aggression: We do not tolerate any forms of abuse, intimidation, insults, or aggression towards any staff member, by you or via a proxy for you (for example, a relative communicating with our reception staff ). Our staff have the right to terminate the relationship between you and your doctor immediately should you or a proxy for you not adhere to this policy. Psychiatric distress is not an excuse or justification for hostility and you must always communicate in a safe and respectful manner.

NDIS, Centrelink, Insurance reports NDIS reports and/or Centrelink certificates will not be provided during initial and/or assessment consultations.

Referrals: to claim Medicare rebates you must obtain and provide a valid GP referral letter prior to your appointments. Without a valid referral, you will not be entitled to Medicare rebates. It is your responsibility to obtain a referral and to ensure that it is kept up to date; if it is not, attended appointments without a valid referral will be charged fully and no MBS rebate will be claimable by you. Please ensure you are entitled to claim an Item 291 or 293 rebate prior to your initial assessment if your GP has requested a 291 appointment (if you are not eligible for a 291 rebate, the gap fee that you pay will be higher as an alternative MBS Item number will be claimable but the cost remains the same). GP referrals are valid for 12 months unless you are discharged back to the care of your GP, at which time your referral will expire. To re-establish care with your doctor from Evallies Rooms, you will need to obtain a new referral letter from your GP.

Script refills: there will be a private charge for all prescriptions prepared and sent to you in between appointments. There is no Medicare rebate for this service. Full payment is required before the script will be delivered. This policy aims to encourage patients to keep their scheduled appointments and to ask for refills or discuss medication changes during visits. In addition, please do not wait until you are out of medication to request refills or an appointment- we will need at least 3 days to refill any prescriptions and we cannot guarantee that an appointment will be available immediately. Controlled “schedule 8” substances will not be eligible for script refills outside of appointments.

Forms completed by doctors: forms/paperwork may be completed by your doctor at your request during an appointment, however, time will be allocated as a priority to treatment and care issues rather than to paperwork needs. If there is insufficient time to complete the paperwork, a follow up appointment will be required, or a fee can be paid for the paperwork to be completed outside of appointments, at a private fee per page (at the doctor’s clinical rate). For urgent paperwork that requires filling/completing by a doctor outside of scheduled appointments, we cannot guarantee an appointment time will be available at short notice, and urgent paperwork may need to be undertaken outside of a scheduled appointment (if a doctor can accommodate the request at all) according to the fees outlined above.