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Privacy Policy

Julie O’Sullivan Occupational Therapy is committed to providing quality services to you and this policy outlines our ongoing obligations to you in respect of how we manage your Personal Information.

We have adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act). The NPPs govern the way in which we collect, use, disclose, store, secure and dispose of your Personal Information.

A copy of the Australian Privacy Principles may be obtained from the website of The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.aoic.gov.au

All dealings between children/ guardians of Children receiving therapy service and OT are confidential. Julie O’Sullivan Occupational Therapist complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Vic) and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) which are in place to protect personal and health information. The Acts contain principles for the collection, use and disclosure of personal and health information.

Purpose: This Privacy and Confidentiality Policy describes the kinds of personal information that Julie O’Sullivan Occupational Therapy collects and the manner in which we collect, hold and document your personal information. We may review and update this Privacy and Confidentiality Policy, to take into account new laws, regulations and technology. All personal information held by us will be governed by our most recent Privacy Policy.

Obtaining Personal and sensitive information: We require consent to obtain and store your personal information. Personal information obtained and stored on a standard basis:

- identifying details (name, DOB, address, NOK, phone and email contact details

- medical history, including any relevant family medical history

- who the child lives with and any community agencies the child is engaged with i.e. childcare / kinder/ school

- commonwealth identifiers (NDIS registration number)

- health services information (such as health service providers you or your child have previously or are currently accessing or engaging)

Permission to Contact from will be signed at initial intake and can be reviewed at any time. Any extra permissions that are given during the course of therapy will be documented in the therapy notes.

The contents of any email messages may be preserved if we believe we may have a legal requirement to do so.

The presence of others in a therapy session gives implied consent for information sharing. Information may be disclosed to relatives, friends or others present during a therapy session unless you instruct us not to.

Additional consent, verbal and documented,  will be obtained to liaise with 3rd parties such as medical professionals, therapists,  educators, support coordinators or plan managers.

Documentation: All record keeping and documentation of therapy and interactions are dealt with in accordance with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia, Code of Conduct (2014). This dictates that the service

- keep accurate, up to date, factual, objective and legible records that report relevant details of clinical history, clinical findings, investigations, information given to patients or clients, medication, and other management in a form that can be understood by other health practitioners.

- records are held securely and are not subject to unauthorised access, regardless of whether they are held electronically and/ or in hard copy.

- records show respect for patients and clients and do not include demeaning or derogatory remarks

- records are sufficient to facilitate continuity of care

- records are made at the time of events or as soon as possible afterwards

- recognisiing the right of patients/ clients to access information contained in the health records and facilitating that access

- promptly facililtating the transfer of health information when requested by patients or clients.

Storage of Personal Information

We aim to keep your personal information secure and up to date. Any personal information that is collected by us will be held on Halaxy, health management system o and any hard copies shredded. Safeguards include physical, technical and procedural methods.

Accessing / updating client information: You may request to update, change or have removed your personal information which is held by the service. Please contact us via otjulieosullivan@gmail.com . If you would like to request client records please refer to our Accessing Client Information Policy as per the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic)

Further information

Further information about the application of the Privacy Act can be found at the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at www.oaic.gov.au