Privacy Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

This policy outlines how Broken Hill Radiology manages personal and health information. As a provider of diagnostic imaging services, we are committed to protecting the privacy of our patients in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) and the NSW Health Privacy Principles (HPPs). This policy applies to patients, staff and contractors of Broken Hill Radiology.


2. Collection of Personal and Health Information

Broken Hill Radiology collects information that is necessary to provide safe and accurate diagnostic imaging services.


2.1 Types of Information Collected

  • Personal Information: Full name, date of birth, gender, residential address and contact details.
  • Sensitive Health Information: Clinical history, symptoms, previous imaging or pathology results, allergies, and images and reports generated as part of your care.
  • Government Identifiers: Medicare numbers, DVA numbers and Individual Healthcare Identifiers (IHI).
  • Financial Information: Private health insurance details or payment information where required.


2.2 Methods of Collection

Information may be collected through:

  • Patient registration and consent forms, either digital or paper-based.
  • Referral forms provided by your General Practitioner, Specialist or other referring healthcare practitioner.
  • Secure electronic health information transfer systems.
  • Information provided directly by you during your appointment, consultation or examination.


3. Use and Disclosure of Information

Personal and health information is primarily collected and used for the purpose of providing diagnostic imaging and associated healthcare services.


3.1 Primary Use

Your information may be used to perform diagnostic imaging examinations, interpret results and provide reports to your referring healthcare practitioner.


3.2 Disclosure to Third Parties

Where appropriate and permitted by law, we may disclose your health information to:

  • Your Referring Practitioner: And other healthcare practitioners involved in your care.
  • Treating Teams: Hospitals, specialists and other healthcare providers involved in your treatment.
  • Medicare: For billing, claiming or eligibility purposes.
  • My Health Record: Where applicable, reports may be uploaded to Australia's My Health Record system in accordance with applicable requirements and your My Health Record preferences.


3.3 Marketing

Broken Hill Radiology does not sell or trade patient information to third parties. Personal or health information will not be used for direct marketing except where permitted by law and with any consent required.


4. Data Security and Integrity

Broken Hill Radiology takes reasonable steps to protect personal and health information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.


4.1 Digital and Physical Security

Measures used to protect information may include:

  • Encryption: Appropriate security measures for the electronic transmission and storage of diagnostic imaging and health information.
  • Access Control: Access to patient records is restricted to authorised clinical and administrative personnel who require access as part of their role.
  • Secure Storage: Electronic and physical records are protected using appropriate security measures.


4.2 Record Retention

Broken Hill Radiology retains health information in accordance with applicable NSW legislation and regulatory requirements.

Generally:

  • Adults: Health records are retained for at least 7 years from the date of the last entry in the record.
  • Children: Records relating to a person under 18 years of age are generally retained until the individual reaches 25 years of age.


5. Access and Correction

Patients have rights to request access to personal and health information held about them and to request correction where information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.


5.1 Requesting Access

Requests for access to images, reports or other health information may be directed to Broken Hill Radiology. We will respond to requests in accordance with applicable privacy and health records legislation.


Where permitted, a reasonable administrative fee may apply for providing access or supplying information in a particular format.


5.2 Correcting Information

If you believe information held by Broken Hill Radiology is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, please contact us. We will take reasonable steps to review and, where appropriate, correct the information.


6. Data Sovereignty and Overseas Disclosure

Broken Hill Radiology takes appropriate steps to ensure personal and health information is handled in accordance with Australian privacy requirements.


Where information is stored, processed or accessed by external service providers, appropriate privacy and security safeguards are required.


7. Notifiable Data Breaches

Broken Hill Radiology complies with applicable requirements of the Commonwealth Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme.


Where an eligible data breach occurs, we will take appropriate action, including notification to affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) where required.


8. Privacy Complaints and Contact Information

If you have a question or concern about how Broken Hill Radiology manages your personal or health information, or you wish to make a privacy complaint, please contact us.


We will review privacy complaints and endeavour to respond within a reasonable timeframe.


Privacy Officer | Broken Hill Radiology

Clinical Details

Submission Process