Our practice uses data extraction tool called Primary Sense that shares de-identified data with Northern Sydney Northern Local Health District (NSLHD).
Please discuss with us if you wish to opt out / withdraw consent from this and we can change the settings for your medical record.
Proverbs Family Medical Practice Privacy Policy. Version 2025.10, Spring 2025
This form complies with the RACGP Standards for general practices (5th edition).
Current as of: 9th October 2025
IIntroduction
This privacy policy provides information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (including your health information) is collected and used within Proverbs Family Medical Practice and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
Why and when is your consent necessary?
When you register as a Proverbs Family Medical Practice patient, you consent to our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Staff will only access your personal information if it is necessary to help you maintain your health or for your care and treatment.
Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
Proverbs Family Medical 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 help you manage your health. We also use it for activities directly related to our practice and business, such as financial and Medicare claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, quality, safety, improvement, and business processes (e.g., staff training).
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes the following:
• names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
• email address to communicate with you about health and practice-related matters
• mobile phone number so we can send you an SMS to confirm appointments and/or otherwise communicate with you (e.g., for reminders)
• medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history, personal risk factors, and cultural history.
• Medicare number (where available) for claiming purposes
• healthcare identifiers
How do we collect your personal information?
Proverbs Family Medical Practice will collect your personal information:
1. our practice staff will collect your personal information when you make your first appointment.
2. While providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. With your verbal (and/or written) permission, this information may be sourced from other healthcare and pathology providers, hospitals, specialists, allied health providers, pharmacists, and your MyHealth record and LinkedEHR records (where applicable).
3. We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment, or communicate using social media.
4. Sometimes, 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 Veteran's Affairs (as necessary).
• your relatives or friends in an emergency
Who do we share your personal information with?
We sometimes share your personal information:
• third parties who work with Proverbs Family Medical Practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies, information technology providers, and clinical team members such as allied health providers and non-dispensing pharmacists
• with other healthcare providers, both within and outside of the practice
• when it is required or authorised by law (e.g., court subpoenas)
• when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to you or another patient’s life, health or safety, or public health or safety, or when it is impractical to obtain your consent
• to assist in locating a missing person
• to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
• for confidential dispute resolution processes
• when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g., some diseases require mandatory notification)
We use de-identified information internally and externally for quality improvement and population health management. Examples include our Primary Health Network and the NSW Ministry of Health.
Other than providing medical services or as described in this policy, Proverbs Family Medical Practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
Without your consent, we will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances permitted by law).
Occasionally, we may contact you regarding your health and our services.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. The information is mainly stored electronically and on paper. Your information is also stored in cloud-based email servers (Office 365). Access to this information is secure, encrypted, password protected and subject to Australian Privacy Principles (APP).
Proverbs Family Medical Practice stores all personal information securely.
Proverbs Family Medical Practice has a designated person, Dr Michael Smith, with primary responsibility for the practice’s electronic systems, computer security and adherence to protocols as outlined in our Computer Information Security policy. We have confidentiality agreements signed by all staff. To protect and securely store your personal information, we use an electronic format in a secure environment that is password protected.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to and correct your personal information. Proverbs Family Medical Practice acknowledges that patients may request access to their medical records. We generally require you to write this request but may (at our discretion) accept your request verbally. Please send your signed request & include three identifiers (i.e., name in full, date of birth, address with postcode). Proverbs Family Medical Practice will respond within a reasonable time, generally under 30 days. We reserve the right to charge a reasonable administrative fee to provide you with a copy of your 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.
Proverbs Family Medical Practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. Occasionally, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by Proverbs Family Medical Practice to ensure it is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information. We cannot delete clinical information, but we can append your corrections.
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. Don't hesitate to get in touch with Dr Michael Smith, via email, at admin@pf-mp.com.au. We aim to have a turnaround timeframe of 30 days.
You may also contact the OAIC. Generally, the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond before they will investigate. For further information, visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002.
We do not collect or use personal information on visitors to our website through "cookies" or other software or hardware techniques. We look at the number of hits the website receives and keep track of the domains from which this website is accessed. To determine our users’ interest, we may also look at the frequency of search words that connect you to this website.
Policy review statement
This Proverbs Family Medical Practice Privacy Policy will be reviewed from time to time to ensure it is in accordance with privacy legislation and our practice policies. After it has been amended, we will put the new privacy policy up on the patient noticeboard and website.
Reference
RACGP’s Privacy policy template for your practice, available to download at www.racgp.org.au/yourpractice/ehealth/protecting-information/privacy
