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This document describes the privacy policy of Carol Manns Psychological Consulting for the management of clients’ personal information. The psychological service provided is bound by the legal requirements of the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Client information is held in hard copy form within secure onsite storage and in soft copy form on practice computing equipment which is accessible only to authorised employees of Carol Manns Psychological Consulting & authorised associates providing services that require legitimate access.
The information may include personal information such as name, address, contact phone numbers, medical history, and other personal information collected as part of providing psychological services.
For the purpose of on-line booking, your identifying details such as name, date of birth, e-mail address and phone number may be recorded in our cloud-based practice management system provided by Cliniko for the purpose of on-line booking. Agreement to their terms & conditions1 and their privacy policy2 is done at the time of registration with their system for on-line booking.
The security of any information provided to Carol Manns Psychological Consulting via the internet cannot be assured as the internet is not a secure environment. Individuals should protect their own personal information appropriately.
E-mail correspondence of the practice is also stored on-line with Google via their GSuite3 product.
Client payment information is handled via HICAPS4 which may include Medicare and or private health insurance claim/item numbers for the purposes of rebate claims at the time of account payment.
The Australian Psychological Society Ethical Guidelines indicate that psychologists are required to keep client records for 7 years following the termination of treatment. Upon termination your file will be stored on site in a secure storage facility for 7 years and will then be destroyed by confidential shredding and full electronic erasure of files.
A client's personal information is collected in a number of ways during psychological consultation with Carol Manns Psychological Consulting, including when the client provides information directly to Carol Manns using hardcopy forms, written correspondence, and when the client interacts directly with Carol Manns Psychological Consulting employees such as the receptionist, and when other health practitioners provide personal information to Carol Manns Psychological Consulting via referrals, correspondence and medical reports.
If the client does not wish for their personal information to be collected in a way anticipated by this Privacy Policy, Carol Manns Psychological Consulting may not be in a position to provide the psychological service to the client. In some circumstances, clients may request to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym, unless it is impracticable for Carol Manns Psychological Consulting to deal with the client or if the practice is required or authorised by law to deal with identified individuals. In most cases it will not be possible for you to be anonymous or to use a pseudonym.
A client’s personal information is gathered and used for the purpose of providing psychological services, which includes assessing, diagnosing and treating a client’s presenting issue. The personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions and enables the psychologist to provide a relevant and informed psychological service.
Clients’ personal information will remain confidential except when:
A client's personal information is not disclosed to overseas recipients, unless the client consents or such disclosure is otherwise required by law. Clients' personal information will not be used, sold, rented or disclosed for any other purpose. In the event that unauthorised access, disclosure or loss of a client’s personal information occurs Carol Manns Psychological Consulting will activate its data breach plan and use all reasonable endeavours to minimise any risk of consequential serious harm.
At any stage clients may request to see and correct the personal information about them kept on file. The psychologist may discuss the contents with them and/or give them a copy, subject to the exceptions in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If satisfied that personal information is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete, reasonable steps will be taken in the circumstances to ensure that this information is corrected. All requests by clients for access to or correction of personal information held about them should be lodged with Carol Manns. These requests will be responded to in writing within “15” days, and an appointment will be made if necessary, for clarification purposes.
If clients have a concern about the management of their personal information, they may inform Carol Manns. Upon request they can obtain a copy of the Australian Privacy Principles, which describe their rights and how their personal information should be handled. Ultimately, if clients wish to lodge a formal complaint about the use of, disclosure of, or access to, their personal information, they may do so with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by phone on 1300 363 992, online at http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint or by post to: Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218, Sydney, NSW 2001.
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