Privacy

Concept draft. To be reviewed by the group's privacy officer before launch.

This policy explains how The Dental Studio collects, uses, stores and shares your personal and health information, and how you can see it, correct it or make a complaint. We follow the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988.

What we collect

To care for you, we collect your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email, your Medicare, DVA and health fund details, your medical and dental history and the medicines you take, and the name of an emergency contact.

During your care we also create X-rays, photos, scans, clinical notes and treatment plans, and keep records of appointments and payments.

How we collect it

Mostly from you: when you book, fill in forms, call us or come in. With your consent, we may also receive information from other health practitioners involved in your care, from your health fund, and from Services Australia, for example to check a child's eligibility for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.

When you book online, your details pass through our booking provider, [Booking provider].

Why we use it

To assess and treat you, keep accurate records, send appointment reminders, process health fund, Medicare, CDBS and DVA claims, take payments, and meet our legal and professional obligations. We don't use your health information for marketing, and we don't sell it.

Who we share it with

Only as needed for your care or as the law requires: health practitioners we refer you to or who refer you to us, including other clinics in our group; the dental laboratories that make crowns, dentures, veneers and aligners; your health fund, Services Australia or DVA when we process a claim; and the providers of our practice software and IT services, who must protect it.

If you apply for a payment plan, the provider you choose collects information under its own privacy policy.

[Confirm whether any of these providers store information outside Australia, and where]

How we store and protect it

Records are kept in [Practice software] with access limited to staff who need it. Paper records are stored securely. We keep records for as long as the law and our professional guidelines require, then destroy them securely. [Confirm the retention period with the privacy officer]

If a data breach is likely to cause you serious harm, we'll tell you and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires.

Seeing and correcting your information

You can ask for a copy of your records or ask us to correct something. Contact our privacy officer. We'll respond within a reasonable time, usually 30 days. In limited cases the law allows us to refuse access, and we'll tell you why in writing.

This website

This site uses [Analytics provider and cookies used] to understand which pages are useful. It doesn't ask for health information. Links to other websites, such as health funds and payment providers, are covered by their own privacy policies.

Questions and complaints

Contact our privacy officer, [Privacy officer name], at [Privacy email] or on (07) 5526 0111, or write to us at 1 Sigatoka Place, Clear Island Waters QLD 4226. If you're not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.

This policy was last updated on [Policy date].

Book a visit

Choose a time online, or call and we'll find one with you.

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(07) 5526 0111

Open Monday to Friday

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