Your privacy is important to us. Below, you will find our privacy statements according to the appropriate laws, Health Information Privacy Code (HIPC) and the Privacy Act.
HIPC:
How is your health information protected?
The HIPC controls how your medical records are handled. The Code has twelve rules governing how Flex Podiatry can collect, use and disclose your health information.
Flex Podiatry must:1. Only collect information about you that we need
2. Get it from you wherever possible
3. Be open with you about what is going to be done with it
4. Be fair about how we get it
5. Keep it secure
6. Let you see it if you want to
7. Fix it if you think it’s wrong
8. Take care that it’s accurate before using it
9. Dispose of it as soon as possible when we don’t need it anymore
10. Use it for the purpose we got it
11. Only disclose it if we have a good reason
12. Only use the National Health Index number for health reasons
What is health information?
Everything your Health Professional or other health agency holds about your health is health information. Health agencies include hospitals, ACC and health insurers. Health information includes prescriptions, notes, diagnoses, test results and records of conversations.
Does your information have to be kept safe?
Yes. All health agencies including Flex Podiatry must have reasonable security safeguards for your information. This includes securing computer records, having secure storage for paper files, confidentiality agreements with administration staff and cleaners, and securely disposing of information when it’s no longer needed.
Who gets to see your health information at Flex Podiatry?
Your podiatrist and support staff directly associated with your care will be able to see your health information so that they can care for you appropriately and safely. People working for health agencies such as ACC may also be able to see your information if they need it; or other Health professionals we refer you to for further care. If you’re not sure what’s going to happen with your information, just ask us. If you’re concerned, let us know. If you want to prevent disclosure of your health information please inform your health professional. Note that in some situations the law allows it to be disclosed even where you disagree.
Can you see your health information?
You have a right to see your health information. Feel free to ask us to show you your file, or for a copy you can keep.
What if your health information is wrong?
If you think your information is wrong, you can ask us to correct it. Depending on the type of information we may make a direct change or if appropriate we may choose to keep a historical record and make a notice of any amendments to your record at that time.
Privacy Act - How the Privacy Act can help you: The Privacy Act is about you and the information that is held about you. The Privacy Act has a set of principles for handling personal information. It requires businesses and other organisations to follow certain principles when collecting, using and storing your personal information.
What is ‘personal information’?
Personal information is any information that is about you. Under law, Flex Podiatry has to respect your personal Information.
In Summary: When we (Flex Podiatry) gather information about you, we need to get your permission to do so. We also need to be clear about what we are gathering and using it for. We must not share your information without your knowledge or approval. If we have information about you and you want to see it please ask. We also need to ensure your information is accurate and kept securely, and if we no longer need it then we safely destroy it.
For further Information please see
www.privacy.org.nz
For more information about our full privacy policy please ask us.
