At M Clinic we take privacy and confidentiality very seriously. The policies and procedures of the M clinic apply to all health care providers you may see at our clinic. This includes our doctors, nurses, peer educators, administrative staff, medical students, and anyone else who may need access to personal health information in order to perform their normal duties. The staff here will be happy to discuss this with you.
What Details are Required?
At M Clinic, we require the following personal details as a minimum to conduct testing:
- Full Name
- Date of Birth
- Post Code
- Contact Number (mobile preferred)
Although you are required to provide a contact number, M Clinic does not make any unnecessary contact. And if you wish to receive test results or testing reminders via SMS, you MUST first consent to receiving SMS’s from the M Clinic.
Client Privacy
Client Privacy is also protected under section 141 of the Health Services Act 1988. In this legislation, health service staff are prohibited from disclosing information that could directly or indirectly identify a patient. However, there are some exceptions to the statutory privacy protections and health providers are sometimes required, or authorised, to disclose confidential information about patients.
M Clinic always endeavours to discuss with the clients prior to any release of information. It is important to note, there are times when confidentiality may be breached; these include:
- Mandatory notification of infectious diseases – information is only released to the Communicable Disease Control Directorate staff who are bound by the same confidentiality.
- To a court, in the course of criminal proceedings.
- To the Australian Red Cross for the purpose of tracing blood – only if you test positive to a Blood Borne Virus or HIV and recently donated blood.
- For the purpose of medical research (de-identified and only if the research has been approved by an ethics committee).
By law, medical files are required to be kept for 7 years. If a client does not receive services for 7 years, their file will be destroyed.
If you have any further concerns about your confidentiality and privacy at M Clinic, please do not hesitate to contact us on (08) 9227 0734
