Introduction

The purpose of this document is to outline how Dr Sicknote Pty Ltd trading as Qoctor complies with its confidentiality and privacy obligations. As an organisation, Qoctor’s principal concern is and always will be the health and safety of patients who visit our website.  

Patients will be assured that:

• the information collected and retained in our records is correct and up-to-date, and
• that they can access their information for review.

Health information

Qoctor recognises that the information we collect is often of a highly sensitive nature and as an organisation we have adopted the highest privacy compliance standards relevant to Qoctor to ensure personal information is protected.

For administrative and billing purposes, and to enable the patients to be attended to by other medical practitioners at Qoctor, patient information is shared between our medical practitioners. Qoctor and the medical practitioners may collect personal information regarding patients (including health information) for the purpose of providing our services.

Personal information collected will generally include:

• the patient’s name, address, telephone number, email address,
• current drugs or treatments used by the patient,
• previous/current medical history, including, where clinically relevant, a family medical history, and
• the name of any health service provider or medical specialist to whom the patient is referred, copies of any letters of referrals and copies of any reports back.

Qoctor may access information:

• provided directly by the patient,
• provided on the patient’s behalf with the patient’s consent,
• from a health service provider who refers the patient to medical practitioners providing services at or from qoctor, or from health service providers to whom patients are referred.

Information is collected via the website and via telephone or video conferencing.

Use or disclosure of personal information

Personal information collected by Qoctor may be used or disclosed:

• for the purpose advised to the patient at the time of collection of the information,
• as required for delivery of the service to the patient, including sharing of address and phone number with third-party providers for the purposes of parcel delivery and tracking.
• as required for the ordinary operation of our services (i.e. to refer the patient to a medical specialist or other health service provider),
• as required under compulsion of law, or
• where there is a serious and imminent threat to an individual’s life, health, or safety; or a serious threat to public health or public safety.
• Qoctor may use or disclose personal information for quality assurance, training, billing, and as may be required by our insurers.

Cookies

A Cookie is a feature stored on your computer’s hard drive by your web browser.  On each visit to the website, the web browser will recognise the Cookie and give Qoctor information about your visit.  The Cookie does not contain information that personally identifies you and Qoctor does not use Cookies for that purpose.  Qoctor uses Cookies to learn about your preferences and the way that you use the website, so that it can improve the website.  Most browsers accept Cookies automatically, but you should also be able to alter the settings of the browser to refuse Cookies.  You should note that de-activating Cookies may mean that you will no longer be able to enjoy the full operational capabilities of the website.

Accuracy of your information

Qoctor is committed to ensuring your information is accurate and has processes in place to ensure that the accuracy of this information is maintained. If you believe that the personal information Qoctor holds about you is inaccurate, please contact us at info@qoctor.com.au.

Security of information collected

Other than as described in this Policy or permitted under privacy principles, Qoctor uses its reasonable endeavours to ensure that identifying health information is not disclosed to any person unnecessarily or irresponsibly.

Due to the sensitive nature of the information collected by Qoctor to provide its services, extra precautions are taken to ensure the security of that information. Information may be stored electronically and / or in hard copy form. All electronically stored files are password-protected on several levels, and regular backups of data are performed.

 Qoctor requires its employees to observe obligations of confidentiality in the course of their employment with all staff/contractors signing Confidentiality Agreements.

How long are medical records kept?

Qoctor keeps health information for a minimum of 7 years from the date of last entry in the patient records unless the patient is / was a child in which case the record must be kept until the patient attains or would have attained 25 years of age.

Accessing your information

On request, you may have access to your medical record held by Qoctor, except in circumstances where access may be denied under the ‘Privacy Act’ or other laws. For example, access can be denied when letting a patient see their records would pose a serious threat to the patient’s life or health, or the life or health of someone else (such as a relative, the health service provider, staff or other patients).

The threat must be significant, for example where there is a serious risk the patient may cause self-harm or harm to another person if they saw the information. The threat can be a risk of danger to physical or mental health, but does not need to be imminent – it can be a serious threat that might occur sometime after access is granted.

Website privacy

Qoctor’s website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that Qoctor is not responsible for the privacy practices of any linked sites. We encourage users who leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every linked website that they choose to visit.   All links to external sites are provided for your convenience. The information, products and advertisements contained in the linked sites are neither approved nor endorsed by Qoctor, and Qoctor is not responsible for such information, products or advertisements.

Will my personal information be disclosed to overseas recipients?

Qoctor may use staff  in other countries. Qoctor may disclose personal information to those staff for the purpose of providing services to you.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

Qoctor has the right to change the Privacy Policy at any time. If there are updates to Qoctor’s Privacy Policy, we will address the changes promptly, update the revision date of this document and publish the changes on our website qoctor.com.au

Obtaining further information

If patients require more information regarding Qoctor, its services and facilities, they can:

• access the Qoctor website, or
• Email: info@qoctor.com.au.

Contact information and Complaints

If you have any queries regarding our Privacy Policy, if you have a concern or issue in relation to how we collect, store, use or disclose your personal information or if you wish to make a complaint please contact:

The Privacy Officer/Manager

Qoctor, S1, L8, 99 Queen St, Melbourne, VIC 3000

Or by, visiting our website you can submit a compliment, complaint or suggestion by email to info@qoctor.com.au

A response to your complaint will be made within 30 days of receipt of your complaint.  You can make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner if you are unhappy with our response, see www.oaic.gov.au

Disclaimer

While we make every effort to protect your privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law where we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our company or site.