Privacy and Confidentiality Statement
Metta Community Care Sydney’s privacy and confidentiality obligations concern the collection, use, disclosure and storage of personal information. We are committed to ensuring the highest possible confidentiality and privacy standards.
In dealing with personal information, MCCS is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 and the Aged Care Act 1997 – Sect.62.1 – Responsibilities relating to protection of personal information.
OUR PRIVACY POLICY
MCCS believes that individuals and communities have a right to privacy, dignity and confidentiality. This right will be upheld at all times through practices of sharing and providing information in a discrete manner and on a need-to-know basis only.
All MCCS employees, healthcare workers and contractorshave to sign a contract which includes strict observation of privacy and confidentiality principles as set out in the Privacy Act 1988 and Aged Care Act 1997.
MCCS has systems and procedures in place to protect your personal information from misuse and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
We may collect your name, address, date of birth, information about your illnesses, symptoms, disabilities and information required to provide you with a health service.
If you identify yourself, MCCS will usually collect your name, age, gender, contact details, some medical history, your symptoms, and, if relevant to your health, your ethnic background and sexual practice.
We may also record information about health services to be provided to you in the future or your wishes about the future provision of health services.
We usually collect information directly from you when you use our services or when you send us an email, fax, letter or complete an online or paper form. We sometimes collect personal information from a third party, for example from a healthcare service such as a residential care facility or a healthcare professionalwho is managing your care or from your family members that contact MCCS on your behalf. If someone calls on behalf of another person, we collect the caller’s name and contact details.
All interactive consultations with MCCS in relation to its health services are recorded in a database. MCCS may collect your personal information if you provide personal information when contacting us. For example, if your email address contains personal information, we will record your email address when you contact us by email.
We have a safe and secure Information Management System in place to ensure that our records of your information remain accurate, complete and up to date, including by verifying the information with you each time you use our services or from other sources.
We will assess our Privacy Policy regularly and make amendments or updates as required, to ensure our clients’ privacy and confidentiality is protected at all times.
If the information is no longer required by us for any purpose for which it was collected and is no longer required by law to be retained by us, we will destroy or de-identify the information.
DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
MCCS will use and disclose your personal information only for the following purposes:
- Providing healthcare services to you;
- Assisting Commonwealth, State or Territory health services or departments of health to provide you with health services or to address issues you may raise with them;
- Matching service delivery data with health information for service improvement;
- Compilation and analysis of statistics relevant to public health and safety; and
- Complying with its legal obligations.
MCCS will share relevant information with health services and/or Government bodies in the event of a national or jurisdictional health disaster in order that an appropriate health response can be provided.
MCCS may use your personal information to make a follow up call to you for feedback on your satisfaction with the services you have received.
MCCS will generally not disclose your personal information to anyone except as described in this Privacy Statement, where you consent to a particular disclosure, or where the identifying data can be removed.
MCCS may consult regarding your case with another health service provider only with your consent.
When we disclose your personal information to third parties,in accordance with our Privacy Policy, we will make all reasonable efforts to ensure we disclose only relevant information and that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
We will not sell or rent or transfer your personal information to anyone.