Privacy at North Richmond Community Health

North Richmond Community Health collects personal information from individuals both to whom services are provided, and from individuals who help provide these services. This includes clients and their next of kin, employees, job applicants, recipients of support services, participants in advocacy campaigns, health promotion projects, health professionals, suppliers, volunteers, users of our social media pages and applications and our service providers.

The personal information collected depends on the purpose for which it is collected. North Richmond Community Health only collects personal information that is reasonably necessary to perform North Richmond Community Health functions or activities.

Such information includes:

• Client records – client’s name, address, date of birth, emergency contacts, healthcare practitioner contact details, the reason for which treatment (assistance/support) was sought and the investigations, treatment (assistance/support) and advice given. Every time a client attends North Richmond Community Health services, new information is added to this individual record.
• Employment records – employment contracts and variations, registrations and qualifications, position descriptions/duty statements, scope of practice, performance reviews and issues, training needs and attendance records, induction and orientation records, checks such as police checks and immunisation records.
• Payroll records – tax and superannuation, salary packaging documentation, leave requests and timesheets.
• North Richmond Community Health website user details including server or IP address, referring site, date and time of visit, top level domain name, pages accessed and documents downloaded and type of browser used.

At the time of registration, clients will be provided with a copy of the North Richmond Community Health Privacy Brochure – Protecting Your Privacy.  This Privacy Brochure outlines key information about North Richmond Community Health information handling processes and how a client can access their information.

Identifying Information can only be used or disclosed in certain circumstances, for example:

• Where the information is being used or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected (for example, treatment by North Richmond Community Health);
• Where the individual consents to the use or disclosure (or the senior next of kin consents if the individual is deceased), whether the consent is express or implied, written or verbal;
• Where the use or disclosure is required or authorised by legislation or a Court or Tribunal (for example, under a subpoena, summons, warrant or mandatory notification);
• Where the use of disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious and imminent threat to a person’s health, safety or welfare, or the use or disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to public health, public safety or public welfare;
• Where the use or disclosure is for a purpose (e.g. billing) that is directly related to the purpose for which it was collected (e.g. treatment) and that directly related purpose (e.g. billing) would be reasonably expected by a person in the individual’s circumstances.
• North Richmond Community Health is legally permitted to undertake quality assurance activities for accreditation or compliance purposes and to improve services to clients.
• North Richmond Community Healths Executive Management Group must approve all research undertaken at North Richmond Community Health.

The clinician will discuss with the client the sharing of information if required.  If agreed an “Authority to Obtain/Release Information” form is to be completed and a signed copy of this form will be provided to the client and placed in the clinical record.

Clients who are unable to provide consent for the collection of personal and health information – permission may be sought from the client’s authorised representative.