Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic – Privacy Policy

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic, subsidiaries and group entities are committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic manages the personal information that we collect, use and disclose. It also explains how you can contact us should you have any queries relating to the use or management of your personal information.

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic is governed by various legislation relevant to the management of personal information and privacy. We are required by the Privacy Act 1988 to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APP) (subject to the other provisions of the Privacy Act). The APP’s control the way personal information is managed, including collection, use, disclosure, storage, access and deletion. Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic is also required to comply with the Spam Act 2003 and the Do Not Call Register Act 2006.

Scope

This Privacy Policy reflects our current practices. Should any updates be made, these changes will be communicated via our website.

For any questions or concerns regarding this policy, please email us at [email protected]

Your personal information will only be used or shared in accordance with this policy and for the purposes for which it was collected.

Collection of Personal Information

To the extent required by the Privacy Act:

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic will not collect personal information about you unless that information is necessary for one or more of our functions or activities.
Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic will collect personal information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive manner.
If Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic receives unsolicited personal information that we could not have collected through lawful means, we will destroy or de-identify it as soon as practicable, unless it is required for lawful purposes.

When Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic collects personal information directly from you, we will take reasonable steps at or before the time of collection to ensure that you are aware of the purposes of collection, any other organisations (or types of organisations) to which we would usually disclose information of that kind, detail on how you access the information and how to contact us.

Use and Disclosure of Personal and Health Information by Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic

The personal information you provide to Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic is obtained for the primary purpose of providing high quality healthcare. If Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic uses or discloses your personal and/or health information for a purpose (secondary purpose) other than the main reason for which it was originally collected (primary purpose), to the extent required by the Privacy Act, we will ensure that:

The secondary purpose is related to the primary purpose (and directly related in the case of sensitive information) and you would reasonably expect that Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic would use or disclose your information in that way;
You have consented to the use and disclosure of your personal and/or health information for the secondary purpose.

Where required, personal and/or health information will be disclosed as required or authorised by or under law or as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.

What Types of Information Do We Collect?

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic collects a variety of personal information from patients, clients, and prospective clients, which may include:

Full name, date of birth, address (mailing and residential), email address, and contact numbers.
Details about your family members, relatives, or other key contacts.
Health fund information.
Government identifiers such as Medicare or DVA numbers (note: these are not used as identifiers in our system).
Other health-related information relevant to your care, such as:
- Symptom records, medical history, diagnoses, and treatment plans.
- Specialist reports.
- Test results.
- Prescriptions.
- Healthcare identifiers.
Employment details, including your occupation and employer.
Information about your lifestyle and hobbies.

How Do We Collect and Store Your Personal Information?

We generally gather personal information through the following methods:

Directly from you, whether through New Patient Forms, in person, by phone, via online forms, competition entries, or messages.
From individuals authorised to act on your behalf.
Through product purchases (in-person or online).
Via enquiries or complaints.
From call records or lists.
From third parties where legally permitted, such as:
- Government agencies (e.g., Medicare or Department of Veterans’ Affairs).
- Private health insurers.
- Legal representatives, including solicitors and compensation agents.
- Medical professionals (e.g., GPs, allied health practitioners, or specialists).

Why does Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic collect Personal and Health Information?

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic collects personal and/or health information for a range of purposes including:

The provision of high-quality health care
To administer accounts and process payments
To communicate with you regarding any issues affecting your treatment
Provide information on services and benefits available to Clients
To notify Clients of promotions and events
To use for research purposes, case conferences, in study groups and at seminars (please note in these instances, all personal information will be de-identified).

From time to time, Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic will contact its Clients and non-Clients whose personal information has been collected for a range of reasons including:

Appointment Reminders
Appointment Follow Ups
Marketing about new products, services or specials.
Newsletters
Clinic information or updates
Market research or surveys to improve our service and guide future development.

Our commitments to best manage your personal and/or health information:

We will endeavour to clarify the purposes for which information is being collected.
We will gather and utilise individual data for our identified purpose or for other required purposes, or as required by law.
We will only hold individual data for as long as is necessary to undertake our purpose and for necessary record keeping.
We will gather individual data by legal and reasonable means and, where possible, with the agreement of the individual concerned.
We will protect individual data through the use of best practice systems and endeavour to prevent theft, and also unapproved access, divulgence, duplicating, use or unauthorised amendment.
If asked, we will promptly provide access to our policies and procedures for the administration of individual data.

We are focused on leading our business as per these standards with a specific end goal to guarantee that the privacy of individual data is secure and maintained.

This Privacy Policy does not extend to any personal information collected or held by Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic in relation to its employees.

You can let us know at any time if you do not wish to be contacted for any of these purposes. If you originally provide consent, your consent will remain current until you advise us otherwise.

How might we contact you?

We might contact you in a number of ways including:

Post
Email
SMS
Telephone Call
Facsimile
Via social media platforms

Spam

We will not send you any commercial electronic messages such as SMS’s or emails unless this is permitted by the Spam Act. Any commercial electronic message that we send will identify Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic as the sender and will include our contact details. The message will also provide an unsubscribe facility. If you do not wish to receive commercial electronic messages from us, please let us know.

Do Not Call Register

We will not call you on a number listed on the Do Not Call Register unless this is permitted under the Do Not Call Register Act. If you do not wish us to call you on a particular number, please let us know.

When and Why does Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic disclose Personal/Health Information to Third Parties?

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic may share personal information under the following circumstances:

To comply with our legal obligations (e.g. mandatory reporting under legislation, responding to a court order or subpoena)
To consult with other health professionals involved in your healthcare, including health care providers outside Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic.
For use by a multidisciplinary treating team
If you have a My Health Record, to upload and to download personal information about you from it
To get test results from diagnostic and pathology services
To claim on insurance
To communicate with your health fund, with government and other regulatory bodies such as Medicare
To help us manage our accounts and administrative services (e.g. billing or debt recover, arrangements with health funds, pursuing unpaid accounts etc).
Provide patient and clients with products and services, advise of upcoming promotions, specials and sales
Respond to enquiries and online orders
Develop and improve our website
Direct or indirect marketing purposes
To perform audience analysis to better understand and reach individuals with similar needs and preferences
Remind patients of upcoming appointments in the form of a phone call, SMS or email
Advise clients and prospective clientele of meetings
Inform a patient or client they have won a competition
To transfer your records on the sale of a clinic at which you have been treated
Respond to complaints and compliments you have made
To lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or a serious threat to a public health or safety
To help in locate a missing person
To establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim through the My Health Record
To prepare the defence of anticipated or existing legal proceedings
To discharge notification obligations to liability insurers

We may also outsource certain services to trusted third-party providers. In these cases, we ensure appropriate agreements are in place to protect your information.

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. Any shared demographic or de-identified data is only used for outlined purposes, such as research.

Data Quality and Security

To the extent required by the Privacy Act, Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic will take reasonable steps to:

Make sure that the personal and health information we collect, use and disclose is complete, accurate and up to date.
Protect the personal and health information that we hold from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Destroy or permanently de-identify personal and health information that is no longer needed for any purpose that is permitted by the Privacy Act.

Data Breach Notification
Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic complies with the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme under the Privacy Act 1988. In the event of an eligible data breach (where unauthorised access, disclosure, or loss of personal information is likely to result in serious harm), we will:

Assess the suspected breach to determine its severity.
Notify affected individuals as soon as practicable, including details of the breach and recommended steps to minimise harm.
Report the breach to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) as required by law.

If you suspect your personal information has been affected by a data breach, please contact us immediately via the details provided in this policy.

What is Personal Information?

‘Personal information’ is any information or an opinion, in any form and whether true or not, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable from the information or opinion ascertained. Examples include an individual’s name, address, contact number and email address.

Special provisions apply to the collection of personal information which is defined as sensitive information. Sensitive information includes the collection of Health Information for use by a Health Service.

What is Health Information?

‘Health Information’ is defined to be:

Information or an opinion, that is also personal information, about:
Other personal information collected to provide, or in providing, a health service.

Examples of Health Information Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic may collect include:

Clinical notes of an individual’s symptoms, diagnosis and the treatment given.
Expert reports and test results
Appointment and billing details
Prescriptions and other pharmaceutical purchases
An individual’s healthcare identifier when it is collected to provide a health service.
Any other personal information (such as information about an individual’s race, sexuality, religion, date of birth, gender) reasonably necessary to provide a health service.

What is a Health Service?

‘Health Service’ is defined to mean:

An activity performed in relation to an individual that is intended or claimed (expressly or otherwise) by the individual or the person performing it:

The Privacy Act applies to all organisations that provide a health service, including Allied Health professionals. BRISBANE HEADACHE AND MIGRAINE CLINIC will only handle the minimum amount of health information reasonably necessary to provide the required health service.

Cross Border Disclosure of Personal and Health Information

If Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic transfers your personal and/or health information outside of Australia, Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic comply with the Privacy Act and take such steps as reasonable to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the requirements that relate to cross-border disclosure of personal information.

Access and Correction of your Personal and Health Information

Please contact Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic if you would like to access or correct the personal and/or health information that we hold about you. Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic will generally provide you with access to your personal and/or health information (although a fee may be imposed) and will take reasonable steps to amend any personal and/or health information that is incorrect.

In some circumstances, Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic may not permit access to your personal and/or health information, or may refuse to correct your information, in which case we will provide you with reasons for this decision.

Receiving Treatment Anonymously or Under a Pseudonym

Where lawful and practical, we can provide treatment anonymously or under a pseudonym (an alternative name).

Further Information

Please contact Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic if you have any queries about the personal information that Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic holds about you or the way that we handle that personal information.

Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic

Attention: Privacy Policy Manager
Address: 47 Pinelands Road, Sunnybank Hills, QLD, 4109

Phone: 1800 432 322
Fax: (07) 3054 6673
Email: [email protected]

Complaints

Please contact Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic on the details above if you have any concerns or complaints about the manner in which your personal information has been collected or handled by Brisbane Headache and Migraine Clinic.

Last updated: December 2024