Privacy Policy

Our commitment is to protect your personal and health information. This Privacy Statement details how we collect, use, store, disclose, and safeguard your information in compliance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), as amended, the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), and the RACGP Standards for general practices, 5th edition.
The personal information we collect includes your:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • ethnic origin
  • address, contact details
  • Medicare number

Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff.

We collect personal information through various means:

  • Patient registration forms
  • During consultations and provision of health services, Emails, SMS, phone calls
  • We collect, use, and disclose your personal information to:
  • Deliver professional healthcare services;
  • Inform you about our services;
  • Process Medicare claims and payments;
  • Report to the Australian Immunisation Register;
  • Conduct clinic audits and accreditation;
  • Data Integrity. We strive to maintain accurate, up-to-date, complete, and relevant personal information. Please inform us of any changes to your details.

Notifiable Data Breaches
In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as soon as practicable and provide recommendations to mitigate the impact.

We may share your personal information with:

  • Other healthcare providers involved in your care (e.g., for referrals, shared health summaries, My Health Record)
  • In emergency situations to protect your life or health
  • To locate a missing person
  • For legal purposes (e.g., court orders, statutory notices)
  • As required by law (e.g., mandatory disease notifications)

We are committed to safeguarding your personal information from misuse.
We have implemented security measures, including staff training, password protection, firewalls, intrusion detection, virus scanning.

Complaints

If you have any questions or concerns with any aspect of the care you receive, please feel free to talk to your doctor about it or put it in writing to reception@thehavenmedical.com.au

We believe that problems are best dealt with, within the practice. However if you feel there is a problem with any aspect of your health care the Government has established the Health Care Complaints Commission. Level 12/323 Castlereagh St Haymarket 2000. Their telephone number is 9219 7444 and their email address is hccc@hccc.nsw.gov.au

Cancellation and Non-Attendance Policy

We request that you provide a minimum of 3 hours notice if you cannot attend your appointment. This provides us with the opportunity to offer your appointment to another patient who may need to see a doctor urgently.
A $30 cancellation fee, will be charged for non attendance or where adequate notice to the practice is not provided. .
We understand that sometimes you may be unable to keep an appointment due to a personal emergency. If this happens to you, please contact reception as soon as possible to explain the situation.
At our discretion we may refuse to accept further appointments for patients who do not respect this policy by continuing to fail to attend appointments.

E mail and Social Media Policy

This policy outlines how The Haven Family Medical Practice (“the Practice”) uses social media and how patients can interact with us online

  • Due to privacy concerns communication from patients via email is NOT our preferred communication method and is not encouraged.
  • The Practice may maintain a presence on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) to share general health information, news, and updates about the Practice.
    The Practice’s social media pages are not intended for providing individual medical advice or discussing specific patient concerns.
    Confidentiality: Patients are reminded not to share any personal health information on the Practice’s social media pages. All health-related communication should be done directly with the Practice through established channels (phone, in-person appointments,).
  • For all medical advice, appointments, prescription requests, or other health-related matters, patients should contact the Practice directly via phone or by booking an appointment through Hot Doc.