Cosmetique Dental Privacy Policy

Current as of: November 2023

Introduction

This privacy policy provides information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.

Why and when your consent is necessary ?

When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our dental practitioners and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible dental care. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will generally seek additional consent from you to do this, unless obtaining your consent is not practical or reasonable, and an exception under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) applies.

Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?

Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide dental services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your dental health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (e.g. staff training).

What personal information do we collect?

The information we will collect about you includes your:

name/s, date of birth, address/es, contact details (e.g. telephone, email), family contact information
details of your oral health condition and the treatment/s and service/s you have received
details of your general health (e.g. medications, allergies, medical conditions) and medical history that may impact the dental treatment you receive
private health insurance information
Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
information regarding other funding sources, where relevant (e.g. Child Dental Benefits Schedule, Department of Veterans’ Affairs)
information on workers’ compensation, motor vehicle and other accident claims, where relevant
healthcare identifiers, where relevant.

Dealing with us anonymously

You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.

How do we collect your personal information?

Our practice may collect your personal information in several different ways.

When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal information on new patient form.
During the course of providing dental services, we may collect further personal information.
We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:

your guardian or responsible person
other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists and diagnostic imaging services
your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).

When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?

We sometimes share your personal information:

with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs
with other healthcare providers
when it is required or authorised by law (e.g. court subpoenas)
when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
to assist in locating a missing person
to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. some diseases require mandatory notification)

Only people who need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing dental services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.

We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.

Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.

How do we store and protect your personal information?

Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms:

Paper Records, Electronic Records, Visual Records (X-rays, CT scans, videos and photos) and audio recordings

Our practice stores all personal information securely.

How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?

You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their dental records. We ask that you put this request in writing to info@cosmetiquedental.com.au and our practice will respond within 7 business days.

Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time to time, we will ask you to verify that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and to assist us with attending to your request we would prefer you to make such requests in writing to info@cosmetiquedental.com.au

How can you lodge a privacy-related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?

We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing. We will then attempt to resolve your issue/s in accordance with our resolution procedure. Please forward your concern to our management team at info@cosmetiquedental.com.au

You may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The OAIC may decide not to investigate your complaint if you have not raised it with the practice first. If you have lodged a complaint with us, and we have not responded within 30 business days or you are dissatisfied with our response, you may then take your complaint to the OAIC. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 363 992.

Privacy and our website

We respect the privacy of our online visitors. We may collect information on or through this website that can personally identify you. For example, we collect personally identifiable information which you volunteer to us to respond to visitor questions and comments about us and our products and services, and to mail e-newsletters (“Personal Data”).

We will use reasonable means to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Data while in our possession or control. We will not knowingly share any of your Personal Data with any third party other than our service providers who assist us in providing the information and/or services we are providing to you. To the extent that we do share your personal information with a service provider, we would only do so if that party has agreed to comply with our privacy standards as described in this privacy policy.

Any non-personal information, communications and material you send to this website or to us by email, or which we obtain from third parties without promises of confidentiality, may be kept, used and disclosed by us on a non-confidential basis. We are free to use and reproduce any such information freely, and for any purpose whatsoever. Specifically, we will be free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in such information for any purpose, including developing, manufacturing or marketing products.

We use Google and/or other third-party service providers to serve ads on our behalf across the Internet and sometimes on this website. They may collect anonymous information about your visits to our website (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number), and your interaction with our products and services. They may also use information about your visits to this and other websites to target advertisements for goods and services in order to provide more relevant advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

Policy review statement

This policy is reviewed annually. All patients are welcome to visit our website for updated information

Disclaimer

This Privacy policy template is intended for use as a guide of a general nature only and may or may not be relevant to particular practices or circumstances. It is not intended as legal advice.

The ADA has used its best endeavours to ensure the template is adapted for dental practice to address current and anticipated privacy requirements.

Persons adopting or implementing its procedures or recommendations should exercise their own independent skill or judgement, or seek appropriate professional advice.

While the template is directed to dental practice, it does not ensure compliance with any privacy laws, and cannot of itself guarantee discharge of the duty of care owed to patients.

Accordingly, the ADA disclaims all liability (including negligence) to any users of the information contained in this template for any loss or damage (consequential or otherwise), cost or expense incurred or arising by reason of reliance on the template in any manner.