Absolute Injury Management Website Privacy Policy

The information on this page details the privacy policy of Absolute Injury Management Pty Ltd (Absolute, We, Us, Our). The outlines the management of your health and personal information, which is collected by us, disclosed by you or others, or that we receive from you visiting our webpage. This policy also details how you access and amend, the personal information we hold about you.

1. Definitions

In this policy, the following definitions apply.

Health information means:

(a) information or an opinion about:
(i) the health or a disability (at any time) of an individual;
(ii) an individual’s expressed wishes about the future provision of health services to him or her; or
(iii) a health service provided, or to be provided, to an individual, that is also personal information;

(b) other personal information collected to provide, or in providing, a health service;

Personal information means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable:

(a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.

Sensitive information means:

(a) information or an opinion about an individual’s:
(i) racial or ethnic origin;
(ii) political opinions;
(iii) membership of a political association;
(iv) religious beliefs or affiliations;
(v) philosophical beliefs;
(vi) membership of a professional or trade association;
(vii) membership of a trade union;
(viii) sexual orientation or practices;
(ix) criminal record, that is also personal information;

(b) health information about an individual;

2. Introduction - Personal information and your right to privacy

2.1 Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal and sensitive information is very important to us. Absolute needs to collect this information in order to provide health care services to you. If you fail to provide this information, or provide inadequate or inaccurate information, your care may be jeopardised and we may not be able to provide you with our services.

2.2 At Absolute, we know that giving your personal and health information to us imposes a serious responsibility upon us. We are committed to protecting your personal information. Where your personal information may be disclosed, and to the extent that we can, we believe in giving you a choice as to whom we may disclose your personal information, who may use your personal information and how that personal information may be used.

2.3 Absolute must comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained within that Act, in relation to its collection, storage, use, disclosure, access to and correction of your personal information. Absolute is also required to comply other laws that govern our handling of your health information, including the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

3. Information collected by Absolute

3.1 As a health care service provider, Absolute collects personal information including health and sensitive information.

3.2 The type of information Absolute may collect about you includes details of your:

(a) age;
(b) gender;
(c) medical history;
(d) family history;
(e) ethnic background; and
(f) lifestyle matters which may assist us to provide health services to you.

3.3 We may collect this information directly from you, or we may collect that information from a relative or other third party (such as another health service provider). Information would only be collected from a third party where you have consented, or where there is an immediate risk to your life, health, safety or welfare which requires the provision of that information. If we collect information about you from a third party, we will take steps that are reasonable in the circumstances to make you aware that we have collected such information. The storage, use and of such disclosure information will be governed by this Privacy Policy.

4. Storage of your personal information

The information we collect about you may be kept on an electronic medical record system. If you have undergone a diagnostic procedure with Absolute, your personal information may be stored on that diagnostic equipment.

5. How we use and disclose your personal information

5.1 We collect your personal information to provide you with the health services you have requested from us. This may involve using that information for purposes ancillary to that primary purpose (such as for billing purposes). It may also involve us disclosing your health information to the following people for the following purposes:

(a) Your doctor. Following any consultation with us, we may provide a letter to your referring practitioner to assist them in providing you with ongoing treatment and care. Please notify us if you do not want a letter to be sent to your referring medical practitioner, or if the practitioner's details have changed.

(b) Other health professionals. For example, we may disclose your personal information to enable you to other health professionals to obtain diagnostic testing, to review your treatment with senior medical experts or for further specialist treatment. Any health professional to whom we provide your health information will be given that information on a confidential basis and will be subject to the same privacy requirements as we are.

(c) Relatives, guardians, powers of attorney, close friends or legal representatives. We will provide your personal information to these people only if there is a need for them to know it, for example, if you are the subject of a medical emergency and we need to contact someone to inform them of that emergency. We will not provide your health information to these people if you notify us that you do not wish for us to disclose your personal information to them.

(d) Other entities connected or associated with Absolute. We will only provide your personal information to these entities if there is a need for them to know that information for the purpose of us or them providing health care services to you.

(e) Medicare, health fund providers and relevant government organisations. We may disclose personal information about you to these organisations to inform them of treatment we have provided or will provide to you, for the purpose of you obtaining a rebate or other entitlement you might have from these organisations and similar purposes.

5.2 In most cases we will only use or disclose your personal information with your consent, however we may also use or disclose your personal information for purposes related or ancillary to the main purpose for which we collect it.

5.3 We will, however, only use or disclose your sensitive information for purposes directly related to the main purpose for which we collect that information.

5.4 In some circumstances, we may also use or disclose your personal information if we are compelled to do so by law.

5.5 We may use data we collect for marketing and research purposes. Where we use that data for internal purposes (such as for determining the most effective means of marketing our services), we will de-identify that data wherever practical. Where we use data for direct marketing or for research purposes, we will first obtain your express consent to use your personal information for that purpose.

5.6 In some circumstances, it may be necessary for us to use and disclose personal information for the purpose of maintaining the safety and security of people attending our clinic. Such disclosure may include disclosure to third party law enforcement organisations.

5.7 In addition to collecting personal information for the purpose of providing health services, Absolute also collects personal information from health professionals for recruitment and career education and informational purposes. We will only collect that information with your consent. If we collect personal information for recruitment purposes, we may store that information for applicants who were unsuccessful for future recruitment purposes or for the purpose of providing information about future career events.

6. Overseas disclosure

Depending on the nature of the service we provide to you, sometimes it may be necessary to us to engage overseas third parties to store the personal information we collect, including your personal and/or health information. If this occurs, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas third party complies with all necessary APPs.

7. Quality, accuracy and correction of your personal information

Absolute takes reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up-to-date. If you find that the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date, please contact us immediately and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that it is corrected within a reasonable time.

8. Security of your personal information and data retention

8.1 Absolute takes reasonable steps to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised disclosure or destruction. We have in place generally accepted standards of technology and operational security to keep your personal information secure. Only authorised people may access our records which store your personal information.

8.2 Absolute complies with the data retention obligations as specified in the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic).

9. Our web site and your privacy

We may collect personal information about you from our website when you submit a general enquiry via our contacts page, or send an online complaint or enquiry to our Privacy Officer. We may also collect information from your web browser, such as cookies.

9.1 Cookies

A "cookie" is a file of information that allows the Absolute servers (the computers that house our website) to identify and interact more effectively with your computer. When you access our web site, we send you a "cookie" that gives you a unique identification number. Cookies do not identify individual users or personal information about a user, although they do identify a user's Internet browser type, number of visits to the Absolute website, and your Internet Service Provider. You can configure your Internet browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies or notify you when a cookie is sent. Please refer to your internet browser's instructions or help screens to learn more about these functions.

9.2 Information logged on our web site

When you visit the Absolute web site, our servers log the following information which is provided by your browser:

  • the type of browser and operating system you are using;

  • your Internet Service Provider and top level domain name

  • the address of any referring web site, for example, the previous web site you visited;

  • the date and time of your visit; and

  • your computer's IP (Internet Protocol) address (a number which is unique to the machine through which you are connected to the Internet)

    This information may be used by Absolute for aggregated statistical analysis or systems administration purposes only. No attempt will be made to identify users or their browsing activities, except where required by or under law, inspection by law enforcement or other government agencies of our ISP logs.

9.3. Links to other sites

The Absolute website may, from time to time, contain links to other sites. In addition, some of the content appearing on the Absolute website may be supplied by third parties. While Absolute will always endeavour to engage in business arrangements with commercial entities of good repute and ethical business practices, we are ultimately not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites. We encourage you to read and understand the privacy policies on those web sites prior to providing any information to them.

9.4. Searches

Search terms you enter when using our search engine are collected, but are not associated with any other information that we collect. We may use these search terms for the purpose of aggregated statistical analysis so we can ascertain what people are looking for on our web site, and to improve the services that we provide. Also, from time to time, we may use external companies to provide us with detailed aggregate statistical analysis of our web site traffic. At no time is any personal information made available to these companies, nor is the aggregate information ever merged with personal information such as your name, address, email address or other information you would consider sensitive or would compromise your privacy.

10. Access to your personal information

10.1. Absolute will, at your request, and subject to applicable privacy laws, provide you with access to your personal information held by us. We will deal with your request in a reasonable period after the request is made. We will not charge you for making such a request but we may recover from you our reasonable costs incurred in supplying you with access to this information.

10.2. In certain circumstances, the law permits us to refuse your request to provide you with access to your personal information and for example in circumstances such as those set out in APP 12.3 and include:

  • access would pose a serious threat to the life or health of any individual;

  • access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others;

  • the request is frivolous or vexatious;

  • the information relates to a commercially sensitive decision making process;

  • access would be unlawful; or

  • access may prejudice enforcement activities, a security function or commercial negotiations.

10.3. The Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) gives individuals a right to access their health information. Absolute will comply with the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) in respect of any request made for access to health information under that Act.

11. Updates

We reserve the right to make changes to our Privacy Policy from time to time or as required by law. You can check our website to obtain a copy of our most up-to-date Privacy Policy.