What is a Mutual Contract. As a patient of Murray House Clinic, we encourage you to be informed of your rights and responsibilities. In order to provide a consistent high standard of service, we wish to make it clear what you can expect from this practice and what the practice can expect from you, our patient. Just as you have rights, responsibilities and expectations from the doctors and staff at the clinic, the doctors and staff have rights, responsibilities and expectations from patients. By attending this clinic you agree to practice policy and expectations.

Patient’s Rights.

You have:

The right to considerate and respectful care, regardless of your beliefs and ethnic, cultural and religious practices.

The right to know the name of any person involved in your care whilst attending the clinic.

The right to seek a second opinion and to refuse the presence of any health care workers who are not directly involved in your care.

The right to receive information from your doctor in nontechnical language, regarding your illness, expected treatment and follow-up care.

The right to refuse participation in any medical study or treatment considered experimental in nature.

The right to confidentiality and privacy. Details concerning your medical care, including examinations, consultations and treatment are confidential. No information or records pertaining to your care will be released without your permission, or the permission of your representative, unless the request is authorised by law or necessary to enable another healthcare worker t assist with your care.

The right to expect safety where practices and environment are concerned.

The right for privacy during consultations and/ or treatment.

The right to make a comment or complaint about the treatment or quality of care without fear of discrimination.

Patient’s Responsibilities.

You have:

The responsibility to provide accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, medications, allergies and other matters relating to your health.

The responsibility to report unexpected changes in your condition to your GP.

The responsibility for telling us if you do not comprehend a contemplated course of action or what is expected of you.

Australian Privacy Principals.

(APP’s) The Federal Privacy Act incorporates 13 Australian Privacy Principles (the APP’s) that set out the rules for the handling of personal information in the private sector. In the interests of providing quality health care this practice has developed a privacy policy that complies with the privacy legislation and the APPs.

The provision of quality health care is our principal concern. It requires a doctor patient relationship of trust and confidentiality. Your doctor regards patient health information as confidential and will only collect this information with patient consent.

A patient’s personal information is handled in accordance with this practice’s privacy policy and consistent with the privacy legislation.

Patients are entitled to know what personal information is held about them; how and under what circumstances they may have access to it; why it is held; its use; to whom and under what circumstances it may be disclosed; when consent is required for these purposes; and how it is stored.

Every effort will be made to discuss these matters with patients at the time personal health information is collected from patients attending this practice. Because there will be occasions when it is not practical to make patients aware of these matters at the time of collection this brochure is designed to outline how this practice endeavours to protect the privacy of patients’ personal health information.

Identifiers.

These are numbers, letters or symbols that are used to identify patients with or without the use of a name. (eg Medicare Numbers)

We will limit the use of identifiers assigned to patients by Commonwealth Government agencies to those uses necessary to fulfil our obligations to those agencies.

Anonymity.

A patient has the right to be dealt with anonymously, provided this is lawful and practicable. However, in the medical context this is not likely to be practicable or possible for Medicare and insurance rebate purposes. It could also be dangerous to the patients health.

Complaints.

Patients should feel free to discuss any concerns, questions or complaints about any issues related to the privacy of their personal information with their doctor.

If a patient remains dissatisfied the Health Services Commissioner can be contacted at: 30th Floor, 570 Bourke Street Melbourne. Vic. 3000. ph: 8601 5200 fax: 8601 5219 Toll Free 1800 136 066 email: hsc@health.gov.vic.au Murray House Clinic Supports Good Privacy Practice.