We abide by the Australian Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (the Privacy Act). The Australian Privacy Principles govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and disposes of your personal information. A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
We only use your personal information for activities related to your upcoming operation’s anaesthetic. If required, only relating to giving you the best possible care, we may share information collected with your surgeon, our billing company (for the purpose of billing), the hospital where you are having your operation, your general practitioner or other medical specialists involved in your care. We do not share your personal information with anyone else.
The medical care or attention you receive is not affected by agreeing or not agreeing to our electronic communication agreement . Agreeing to electronic communication streamlines and improves the efficiency, thoroughness and human factors aspect of my work.
Electronic communication includes: Email, Fax, and SMS (aka ‘Text’ or ‘Text messages’).
Patients are able to obtain advice or information related to the anaesthetic for their upcoming procedure by electronic means prior to and after their anaesthetic.
Electronic communication will not and is not to be used for urgent or emergency matters.
You should be aware that electronic communications could be compromised, forwarded, intercepted, printed and stored by others. Electronic communication is not a totally secure system for sending and receiving communication. We cannot guarantee confidentiality of information transferred via email, SMS or fax. For example, (i) it may be seen by your family, friends or colleagues who may have access to your device (mobile phone, computer or tablet); (ii) it may be inadvertently sent to the wrong email address; (iii) it may be ‘hacked into’ and posted on the internet with worldwide exposure. It is important to be aware all electronic information systems are susceptible to breaches. We are not liable for any data breaches that occur to our web or email hosting services. That said, we will always respect your privacy and confidentiality. We are committed to and will always do our utmost to protect your privacy and information.
Our servers are housed by leading Australian (not overseas) expert web-hosting providers with a strong focus on security – e.g. regular hardware and software updates, firewalls. All our web and data collection website services are housed in datacentres located in Sydney (Australia). After collection, we do not store any of your personal information on our servers. We encrypt any personal information submitted to our website using industry leading protocols (HTTPS/SSL) then email them (TLS/SSL) to me (the anaesthetist). We use industry leading encryption – the same grades used by the military, government agencies and financial institutions. We store your information in our email system (hosted by Google Mail, a leading global provider of web and email services). Wherever possible, we ensure secure encryption is taking place when communicating with you. This is dependent on your service providers’ facilities as well.
Any decision made by you to stop the use of electronic communication will be respected upon written notice. Any resumption of electronic communication will require a new written notice.
You are free not to consent to electronic communication. This will mean that I will telephone you to obtain your medical history and go through your pre-operative instructions.