Halcyon Skin respects your right to proper management of your information in accordance with the National Privacy Principles as outlined in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Should you have any questions or concerns in relation to your private information or this policy, how we use your information or would like to request a copy of this policy, please contact:

Dr Elizabeth Gascoigne at drlizzy@halcyonskin.com or phone 0411960565

1. Collection

  • 1.1  What information do we collect? The information we may collect and hold about you includes:
    • (a)  your name,
    • (b)  your date of birth;
    • (c)  your personal contact details such as address and telephone numbers;
    • (d)  your next of kin;
    • (e)  your occupation;
    • (f)  details in relation to your general practitioner or other medical providers;
    • (g)  your Medicare number and private health fund details if relevant;
    • (h)  billing details;
    • (i)  records of correspondence;
    • (j)  your medical history, current medical condition, symptoms, medications, prescriptions, family medical history, diagnoses, tests results, travel details, and details of current or future medical treatment; and
    • (k)  various other general or health related information provided to us by you or by others on your behalf.

1.2  How is this information collected?

Where practicable, we will collect information about you from you personally. For example, we may collect information from you during a consultation, telephone conversation or from information that you include in a letter, information form or email query submitted to us via our website.

To the extent possible, we will collect information in a reasonable, non-intrusive manner.

We will only collect information about you from a third party with your consent, except in the case of an emergency where you are unable to provide consent and where that information is necessary to treat you.

Website cookies - A cookie is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. Halcyon Skin uses cookies to help us identify and track visitors and their usage of the website.

We will not use illegal or unfair means to collect information about you.

2. Use and disclosure of information

2.1 Why is information collected?

We will only collect your personal information if it is necessary for its functions or activities, which may include, for example:

  • (a)  to provide medical advice to you;
  • (b)  to provide medical treatment to you;
  • (c)  to provide information to your general practitioner other medical care provided if such information is necessary for follow up treatment or on-going medical care;
  •  (d)  our internal administrative requirements;
  • (e)  accounting and billing purposes;
  • (f)  to provide you with Halcyon Skin marketing material from time to time;
  • (g)  dealings with our insurers, lawyers and other professional advisers;
  • (h)  management of complaint handling or for use in actual or threatened legal action;
  • (i)  for quality assurance, training, accreditation, risk management and continual improvement purposes; and
  • (j)  for any other purpose required by law.

Note: All efforts will be made to de-identify patient information before use in quality or training purposes.

2.2 Can my information be provided to third parties?

Generally, we will only disclose your personal information for a purpose that is related to the medical treatment that we are providing you. This may include disclosure to other Health Service Providers involved in providing you with medical treatment where you have consented to that information being disclosed or if you are unable to provide consent and we are unaware that it is against your wishes when the information is necessary to provide you with care or treatment.

Other circumstances in which we may disclose your personal information include:

  • (a)  to contractors we use to outsource functions, such as electronic network administrators. [However, where possible we will use reasonable measures to ensure that our contractors comply with the privacy standards established under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth);]
  • (b)  where we believe disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious or imminent threat to a person's life, health or safety or a serious threat to public health or public safety;
  • (c)  to persons or entities involved in accrediting our practice;
  • (d)  other circumstances where we are expressly permitted to do so under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

We will not provide your contact details to any other person or organisation for the purposes of marketing under any circumstances.

  • Data Quality
  • Data security
  • Access and Correction

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect, store and use is accurate, complete and up to date.

We may store your information in hard or soft copy form.

 [If your personal information is no longer needed for any of the purposes listed in clause 2.1, we will take steps to destroy or de-identify your information.]

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you at any time by writing to Halcyon Skin at drlizzy@halcyonskin.com.au or calling 0411960565.

You may inspect your personal information personally, or may prefer to request a photocopy or electronic copy of your personal information. In some circumstances, we may not be able to provide information in the form requested if it is too costly for us to do so, and we reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for accessing requests.

Once the patient has provided suitable proof of identity (which may include a driver's licence or birth certificate), access with be arranged either in the manner requested or some other form within 14 days.

We may not be able to provide you with access to your information in situations permitted under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), for example, where:

  • (a)  providing access to personal or health information would pose a serious or imminent threat to the life or health of any individual;
  • (b)  providing access would have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of other individuals;
  • (c)  the information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings between you and Halcyon Skin;
  • (d)  we are required by law to withhold the information; or
  • (e)  providing access would interfere with or prejudice the enforcement of law or the investigation of criminal or other prohibited conduct.

If you believe that the information held by us about you is incorrect, incomplete or inaccurate, then you may request for it to be amended. If the information relates to your health, we will not delete the information but rather ensure that the amended information is clearly associated with the inaccurate information to ensure that all subsequent users of the information are aware of the amendment.

  • Transborder Data Flows

Halcyon Skin will not transfer your information either within or outside Australia unless required by law or your consent has been obtained prior to the transfer.