Privacy Policy

Scope

This Privacy Policy sets out and explains how all members of the Icon Group collect, use, store, protect and disclose your Personal Information. The Policy is supplementary to any specific consent you provide. For example, we will normally request your prior written consent for the collection, use or disclosure of your sensitive Health Information.

Definitions

Key terms used in this policy are defined consistently with their definitions in the Privacy Act, as follows:

Term	Definition
Personal Information	means information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable: (a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and (b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not. Personal Information as used in this policy covers Health Information and Sensitive Information.
Health Information	means: (a) information or an opinion about: (i) the health or a disability (at any time) of an individual; or (ii) an individual’s expressed wishes about the future provision of health services to the individual; or (iii) a health service provided, or to be provided, to an individual; that is also personal information; (b) other personal information collected to provide, or in providing, a health service to an individual (c)  other personal information collected in connection with the donation, or intended donation, by an individual of his or her body parts, organs or body substances; (d)  genetic information about an individual in a form that is, or could be, predictive of the health of the individual or a genetic relative of the individual.
Sensitive Information	means: (a)  information or an opinion about an individual’s: racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; membership of a political association; religious beliefs or affiliations; philosophical beliefs; membership of a professional or trade association; membership of a trade union; sexual orientation or practices; criminal record; that is also personal information; or (b)  health information about an individual; or (c)  genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health information; or (d)  biometric information that is to be used for the purpose of automated biometric verification or biometric identification; or (e)  biometric templates

Collection of Information

We collect Personal Information for the principal purpose of providing you with medical care, treatment and services, as well as for billing and administrative purposes, including submitting health fund claims on your behalf. We will also, where permitted, collect Personal Information for other related or ancillary purposes.

The types of Personal Information that we collect may include your name, address, telephone number, private health fund membership details, and Health Information such as your past, current, and family health conditions, test results, treatments, procedures and medical advice.

Without limiting the foregoing, we may collect Personal Information from you if we consider it to be reasonably necessary to provide health care services, including:

• medical history
• family medical history
• next of kin
• ethnic background
• current lifestyle and activities
• clinical observations
• test results
• billing information
• Medicare numbers
• Concession Card numbers
• Department of Veterans Affairs information
• Private health insurance membership numbers and details of level of cover

In most circumstances we will collect your Personal Information directly from you rather than third parties. But if necessary and permitted by law, we may need or be required to collect Personal Information from third parties. For example, in cases of emergency where collection of your Personal Information is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your life or health, then we may collect such information from third parties without your consent if you are physically or legally incapable of doing so.

You are not obligated to disclose your Personal Information to us. However, if you do not provide the information requested, we may not be able to provide you with the best possible health care or meet the expectations you may have of us as care providers.

In some cases we will require you to specifically consent to any collection, use or disclosure of your Personal or Health Information as part of a Treatment Consent or Financial Consent, or other specific consent.

In most cases your consent will be requested in writing, but we may also accept your verbal consent. Sometimes your consent may also be implied through your conduct with us, or due to anticipated activities/reasons ancillary to the primary purpose of your prior consent.

Icon will destroy unsolicited information where it is determined that the information would not normally have been collected.

Use and Disclosure of Information

We may use and disclose your Personal Information for the purpose for which it was collected, including related secondary purposes, and for other purposes authorised by you or required by law.

Examples of uses and disclosures of your Personal Information may include:

a) Use and disclosure amongst health professionals to provide treatment

Modern health care practices require a patient’s treatment to be provided by a team of health professionals. These health professionals share patient Personal Information as part of the process of providing treatment. This is managed while maintaining confidentiality and protecting the patient’s privacy in accordance with the law. Personal Information will only be disclosed to those health care professionals directly involved in a patient’s treatment. Icon may disclose Personal Information via electronic processes or standard or express post where relevant

b) Your General Practitioner or referring Medical Specialist

Icon may send a discharge summary or letter to your referring medical practitioner, nominated practitioner and/or General Practitioner following consultation or treatment. This is intended to inform the referring practitioner of information that may be relevant to any ongoing care or treatment provided by them. Icon will confirm the most up to date details of your nominated General Practitioner at the time of consultation/treatment.

c) Other health service providers

Medical practitioners or health care facilities that require access to patient health records of treatment will require an authorisation from you to provide a copy of the medical record to that medical practitioner or health care facility. Disclosure will be provided without consent if it is not reasonable or practicable to obtain consent and Icon reasonably believes that the disclosure is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to the life, health or safety of any individual or to public health or safety.

d) Students, medical, nursing, allied health disciplines

Medical, nursing and allied health disciplines undertake placements at Icon facilities. As part of their placement, students may access patient health records of treatment. All students undertaking placement with Icon sign a Confidentiality Agreement.

e) Relatives, guardian, close friends or legal representative

In certain circumstances, Icon may provide information about your condition to your next of kin, where you are incapable of giving consent or cannot communicate the consent. Icon will disclose Personal Information where it is satisfied that the disclosure is necessary to provide care or treatment to you or for compassionate reasons, unless you inform us that you do not wish Icon to disclose your Personal Information to any such person. Where you do not have capacity, Icon will disclose information about your health to a person exercising your power of attorney under an enduring power of attorney or advance care directive.

f) Other Icon facilities

Icon will share Personal Information amongst its facilities. This will occur where you are transferred between any of Icon’s facilities, otherwise receiving care at multiple Icon sites or to coordinate your ongoing care.

g) Other common uses and disclosures

Icon may also use and disclose Personal Information in an identified format:

• for invoicing, billing and account management
• for health funds, Medicare or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs to verify treatment provided and the financial level of cover
• for the purposes of complying with any applicable laws, responding to a subpoena or compulsory reporting to State or Federal authorities (e.g. law enforcement or public health and safety circumstances)
• when communicating with medical defence organisations, insurers, medical experts or lawyers for anticipated or existing legal proceedings
• if it is necessary information for the purposes of protecting a child from the risk of physical or psychological harm
• in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to life, health or property or a person
• if matters are disclosed relating to serious criminal activity that have, or are likely to occur
• to third-party service providers who manage some of the services we offer; all of whom are obligated to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
• to undertake quality assurance for the purpose of monitoring service delivery standards
• for the purposes of sending standard reminders (e.g. appointments or treatment reminders via text message, email, voice mail, or post to addresses disclosed to Icon)
• for research purposes
• for sharing information with you about our products and services which may interest you (you will always be given the option to opt-out of any marketing communication sent by Icon Group Network)

In limited circumstances, we may disclose your Personal Information overseas to countries in which we operate, including the United Kingdom , New Zealand, Singapore and the People’s Republic of China. Where information is required to be disclosed overseas Icon will takes reasonable steps to ensure that the international third party uses your Personal Information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

If you request or authorise Icon to transfer your Personal Information, including your Health Information, to another health service provider, Icon will provide a copy or a written summary of such to that other health service provider as soon as practicable.

Access and Correction of Personal Information

In order to assist us in keeping your Personal Information accurate, complete and up to date, you are requested to promptly notify us of changes or updates to your Personal Information. You may request access to Personal Information we hold about you by making a written request to our Privacy Officer, whose details are below. We will respond to your requests within a reasonable period.

If upon receiving access to your Personal Information, or at any other time, you believe the Personal Information we hold about you is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please notify us immediately. We take reasonable steps to correct your Personal Information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.

Security of Personal Information

Icon stores your Personal Information in both paper and electronic forms. The security of your Personal Information is important to us. We take reasonable measures to ensure that your Personal Information is stored safely to protect it from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification, interference, or disclosure, and take electronic and physical security measures such as:

• Appropriate security on storage of paper records
• Use of document shredding and security bins
• Authentication and password controls for electronic records
• Use of our managed devices and services (e.g. iPads, laptops, email) for transfer of Personal Information.

Icon 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, unless otherwise required by law to be retained.

Periodic audit and risk assessments are conducted to ensure the appropriate availability, integrity and confidentiality of Personal Information managed through our systems.

In the event of a data breach, Icon will take immediate action to mitigate the breach and will comply with the mandatory data breach requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Icon will assess whether there is a likely risk of any serious harm to affected individuals and if so, will immediately notify such individuals with a description of the data breach, the kinds of information concerned and recommendations about the steps that you should take in response to the data breach.

Interacting with Icon Group Network Websites

When you use our website(s), we do not identify you as an individual user and do not collect personal information about you, unless you specifically provide this to us.

If you have provided consent to Icon Group to use your personal information to us, Icon Group may use your personal and browsing information to contact you regarding Icon products or services that may benefit you. This consent is provided by inputting information into our website(s), completing forms and submitting them to us, or opting into emails from Icon Group Network. If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications you can opt-out at any time. To do so, contact us using the details provided in this policy or click the “unsubscribe” link within our email messages.

Our priority is safeguarding your data: we follow industry best practices, including data encryption and other security measures. Our team members are trained in data protection and privacy protocols, and we have strict access controls to ensure that only authorised individuals can access the data we collect. We adhere to data protection regulations that apply to our organisation, and we make sure to comply with these and other legally required regulations.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that may be stored on your device when you visit a website. Icon Group website(s) may use cookies that allow us to gather anonymous data from website users. We use both session cookies, which are temporary and deleted once you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your device for a longer period. Persistent cookies help us recognise you when you return to our website. This anonymous data helps us to improve website functionality, enhance your browsing experience, provide personalisation, and for marketing purposes such as (but not limited to) Google advertisements or Facebook advertisements. This data may include (but is not limited to) your internet service provider (ISP), domain name, browser type and the pages you visit.

The cookies we collect do not contain personal information that can identify you directly. We respect your privacy and ensure that any data collected through cookies is used per our privacy policy.

You are able to opt-out of personalised advertising at any time. You can find instructions for opting-out of Google and Facebook advertising at the links below.

https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

https://www.facebook.com/help/1075880512458213

By continuing to use our website, you consent to the use of cookies as described. However, you have the option to disable cookies or modify your browser settings to notify you when cookies are being used. Please note that disabling cookies may affect certain features and functionality of our website.
If you have any questions or concerns about our use of cookies or our privacy practices, please feel free to contact us using the details in this privacy policy.

Icon uses Google Analytics to analyse current usage to ensure our visitors are get the information and services they need. For more information about this integration with Google, please visit https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

To better provide you with information, where relevant, we will link to third-party websites. Icon is not responsible for how these websites and third parties may collect, use, and share your information. Please refer to their privacy statements before interacting with them. These statements or policies are typically located at the bottom of their webpage.

Privacy Policy Changes

Icon may amend the Privacy Policy from time to time in accordance with changes in legislation, regulation, best practice, technology requirements and Icon’s operations and practices.

Enquiries and Complaints

If you have an enquiry or complaint about the way Icon handles your Personal Information please contact our Privacy Officer, whose contact details are in the section below. We will respond to your enquiry or complaint as soon as reasonably practicable. Making a complaint will not affect the care you receive from us, and someone else can make the complaint on your behalf.

If you are not satisfied with the result of your complaint to us, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, whose contact details are as follows:

Email: [email protected]

Facsimile: +61 2 9284 9666

Web: http://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/making-a-privacy-complaint

Contact Details

If you wish to contact us in relation to your Personal Information or any matter in this Privacy Policy, then please write to our Privacy Officer, whose contact details are as follows:

Privacy Officer
Icon Group
PO Box 3787
South Brisbane, QLD, 4101

Switchboard: 07 3737 4500
Fax: 07 3737 4501
Email: [email protected]

A translated copy of this Privacy Policy is available if required and upon request. We are also able to provide this Privacy Policy in hard copy form if required and upon request.

Website Terms and Conditions

Welcome to our website. In accessing and using this website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions.

Disclaimer

While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in this website is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information. Icon Group gives no warranty or assurance, and makes no representation as to the accuracy of any information or advice contained, or that it is suitable for your intended use. Icon Group disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way, and for any reason.

Each user waives and releases Icon Group and its agents, employees and service providers to the full extent permitted by law from any and all claims relating to the usage of material or information made available through this website. Subject to any terms implied by law, which cannot be excluded, in no event shall Icon Group be liable for any losses or damages, including incidental or consequential damages, resulting from use of the material. This website provides links to external internet sites. These external websites are outside our control. It is the responsibility of users to make their own decisions about the accuracy, reliability and correctness of information found. Although care is taken to provide links to suitable material, the nature of the internet prevents the guaranteeing of suitability, completeness or accuracy of any material that this site may be linked to. Icon Group is not endorsing any provider of products or services by facilitating access to information about these providers from its website, nor does it accept responsibility for the quality of goods and services provided by third parties accessed through this site.

Privacy Statement

Collection of Personal Information

We are committed to the protection of personal information. We understand that visitors and users of this website are concerned about their privacy, and the confidentiality and security of any information that is provided. Some information is automatically collected whenever anybody accesses this website. Additional information may be voluntarily supplied through on-line forms and e-mail for specific service delivery purposes. Icon Group will only use such information collected for the purpose for which it was supplied and such information will not be disclosed to any third party unless required by law. When you visit this website our internet Service Provider’s standard web logs record anonymous information for statistical purposes only, including: date and time of your visit to the site, pages you accessed, type of browser you are using, referring site and internet address of the server accessing our site.

Security

This website does not provide facilities for securely transmitting information across the internet. We take reasonable steps to ensure the security of all information that we collect, however no data transmission over the internet or information stored on servers accessible through the internet can be guaranteed to be fully secure. These activities are undertaken at your risk.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

This privacy policy may change from time to time particularly as new rules, regulations and industry codes are introduced.

Contact

If you have any queries about our privacy and security practices, please use the contact details found in this policy.

Copyright

Materials published on the internet are protected by copyright law. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced or reused for any commercial purposes whatsoever.