PRIVACY POLICY | in-good-voice

1. Part 1 - About this Policy

1.1 Purpose:

In Good Voice is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information we collect and hold about individuals. This Privacy Policy explains how In Good Voice manages the personal information we collect, use, and disclose.

In Good Voice complies with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), other privacy laws that govern how private sector health service providers like In Good Voice handle your personal information (including your health information), and Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics (2010).

In Good Voice is a private practice that provides a range of vocal health services, noted in Section 1.2 below, under the ownership of Samantha U’Ren. We collect personal information from you in various ways, such as when you communicate with us, when you are referred to us, or when you book an appointment for one of our services. If we collect any personal information about you from another party, where practicable, we will take reasonable steps to inform you why we have collected the information and how we will use it.

1.2 Services Provided Within In Good Voice:

In Good Voice provides a number of services, including:

Speech Pathology / Voice Therapy
Singing Lessons
Educational Seminars / Presentations
Singing Performances

This Privacy Policy covers client information gathered and stored throughout any of In Good Voice’s services. For continuity, the provision of services will be referred to as “services” hereon.

As a client, you may only access one or two of the above services, and therefore some of the Privacy Policy sections will not refer to you and your personal information. If you have questions regarding the sections that are relevant, please contact the Privacy Officer, noted below.

2. Part 2 How In Good Voice Handles Your Personal Information

2.1 In Good Voice’s Legal Obligations:

To provide you with the health care services, singing lessons, or performances that you have requested, In Good Voice will need to collect and use your personal information. If you provide incomplete or inaccurate information to us or withhold personal and health information from us, we may not be able to provide you with the services you are seeking.

2.2 What information does In Good Voice collect?

We will only collect the information we need for the particular function or activity we are carrying out, in relation to the service you have requested.

We collect information from you that is necessary to provide you with services and to manage our relationship with you. The information we collect includes: your name, date of birth, address, health fund details and information about your health history and family history. We require this information to assist the speech pathologist to diagnose and treat you (for speech pathology services), and to provide the best possible service to you.

2.3 How does In Good Voice collect your information (including health information)?

Some information we collect may be sensitive information. We will only collect sensitive information with your consent, or as otherwise permitted by law.

We will usually collect your information directly from you. Sometimes, we may need to collect information about you from a third party (such as a relative or another health service provider). This is usually done via referral. All information gathered in this way is also bound by this policy.

2.4 How does In Good Voice use your information?

In Good Voice uses your personal information for the purpose you have given the information to us. We will use your information to provide services to you, to manage our relationship with you and to contact you in relation to matters concerning your care. We may also use your information for other purposes permitted under the Privacy Act 1988. This includes the following:

create and maintain client records
provide services to you
create progress reports as requested by external service providers
conduct communication activities such as mail outs
contact you regarding your service, appointment, or progress as required
provide external referrals
plan manage, review, and audit our services

We may at times disclose your information to the following people:

1. disclosure to other health professionals involved in your treatment (in instances of speech pathology care).

Your personal information will generally only be used by the speech pathologist involved in your care, however on occasion your care may be provided by other health professionals (for example: external speech pathologist, occupational therapist, referring doctor, and/or psychologist) working or consulting together. We may disclose your information to these health professionals as part of the process of providing your care and to other health professionals involved in your care. If this occurs, you, the client, will be consulted and information will only be disclosed with your express permission to help with treatment planning.

2. the referrer

In Good Voice will usually send a summary to the referrer (i.e., your medical practitioner) following discharge from In Good Voice or at other times, as required for your speech pathology care.

If you do not wish us to provide a copy of your discharge summary to the referrer you must let us know in writing (either written or electronically via email). Also, if the referrer’s details have changed, please let us know as soon as you become aware of the change so we may provide holistic care.

3. Relatives, guardian, close friends, or legal representative

We may provide information about your condition to your parent, child, other relatives, close personal friends, guardians, or to a responsible person for you, unless you tell us that you do not wish us to disclose your health information to any such person.

Other uses and disclosures

In order to provide the best possible environment in which to treat you, we may also use or disclose your personal information where necessary for:

activities such as quality assurance processes, accreditation, audits, risk and claims management, patient satisfaction surveys and staff education and training;
invoicing, billing and account management;
to liaise with your health fund, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs and where required provide information to your health fund, Medicare or the Department of Veteran's Affairs to verify treatment provided to you (only relating to speech pathology services);
the purpose of sending you standard reminders, for example for appointments and follow-up care, by text message or email to the number or address which you have provided to us.

Other uses with your consent

With your consent we may also use your information for other purposes such as including you on a marketing mail list, or research. Please note, however, that unless you provide us with your express consent for this purpose, we will not use your information in this way. This is an ad hoc list which you can remove yourself from at any time. We will not disclose your personal information to any individual who is outside In Good Voice with the exception of the providers listed above.

2.5 Access to and correction of your health information:

You have a right to access the personal and health information that we hold about you. You can also request an amendment to your personal and health information should you believe that it is inaccurate.

If we do not agree to change your medical record/personal information in accordance with your request, we will permit you to make a statement of the requested changes and we will enclose this with your record. In these cases, we will provide reasons for our decisions.

Should you wish to obtain access to or request changes to your health record you can ask for our Privacy Officer (see details below) who can give you more detailed information about In Good Voice's access and correction procedure.

Please note that In Good Voice may recover reasonable costs associated with supplying this information to you. This will be charged at the normal hourly rate for services.

2.6 Data Quality:

In Good Voice will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information which we may collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date.

2.7 Data Security & Storage:

In Good Voice will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification, or disclosure. We use technologies and processes such as access control procedures, network firewalls, encryption, and physical security to protect your privacy.

In Good Voice will destroy or permanently de-identify any of your information which is in its possession or control, and which is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected provided In Good Voice is not required under an Australian law or court/tribunal or otherwise to retain the information. Under Victorian legislation, In Good Voice is required to keep client files for a child until they turn 25 years of age, and for seven years from the date of the last service for adults (18 years of age and older).

In Good Voice utilises secure storage services such as customer relationship management software. This software may at times store information outside Australia. We ensure that all services we use complies with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 that relate to overseas disclosures.

2.8 What to do if you have a complaint about privacy issues:

If:

(a) you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy;

(b) In Good Voice does not agree to provide you with access to your personal information; or

You can lodge a complaint with or contact our Privacy Officer on the details below. We will promptly review your complaint and provide a response to you within five business days.

2.9 How to contact us if you have a complaint about privacy issues:

By letter: Privacy Officer, In Good Voice, PO Box 4402, Knox City Centre, Wantirna VIC 3152

By email: ingoodvoice@gmail.com

By telephone: 0412 032 402

1. Part 3 - How In Good Voice Handles Your Personal Information When You Visit Our Website

This section of our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your personal information which is collected from our website: www.ingoodvoice.com.au. This Privacy Policy applies to your use of our website and the use of any of the facilities on our website, including the completion of consent forms and questionnaires.

3.1 Collection:

When you use our website, we do not attempt to identify you as an individual user, and we will not collect personal information about you unless you specifically provide this to us (with the exception of client intake form details which are required for service provision).

Sometimes, we may collect your personal information if you choose to provide this to us via an online form or by email, for example, if you:

submit a general enquiry via our contacts page,
send us an email for further information,
register to receive eNewsletters, or
send a written complaint or enquiry to our Privacy Officer.

When you use our website, our Internet Service Provider (ISP) may record and log for statistical purposes the following information about your visit:

your computer address,
your top level name (for example, .com.,gov., .org, .au etc.),
the date and time of your visit,
the pages and documents you access during your visit, and
the browser you are using.

Our web-site management agent may use statistical data collected by our ISP to evaluate the effectiveness of our website.

3.2 Cookies:

A "cookie" is a device that allows our server to identify and interact more effectively with your computer. Cookies do not identify individual users, but they do identify your ISP and your browser type. This website uses temporary cookies. This means that upon closing your browser, the temporary cookie assigned to you will be destroyed and no personal information is maintained which will identify you at a later date.

Personal information such as your email address is not collected unless you provide it to us. We do not disclose domain names or aggregate information to third parties other than agents who assist us with this website and who are under obligations of confidentiality. You may be able to configure your browser to accept or reject all cookies and to notify you when a cookie is used. We suggest that you refer to your browser instructions or help screens to learn more about these functions. However, please note that if you configure your browser so as not to receive any cookies, a certain level of functionality of the In Good Voice website and other websites may be lost.

3.3 Links to third party websites:

We may create links to third party websites. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices employed by websites that are linked from our website.

3.4 Use and disclosure:

We will use any personal information collected via our website in accordance with our Privacy Policy.