Blackall Terrace Dental: Practice Policies

i. Definitions:

o A Fail To Confirm (FTC) is a patient not confirming attendance by 4pm the day prior to the appointment.

o A Short Notice Cancellation (SNC) is a patient providing less than 48 hours’ notice to cancel an appointment.

 o A Fail To Attend (FTA) if a patient providing no notice of cancellation; and/or providing less than 3 hours’ notice to cancel an appointment; and/or a patient arriving sufficiently late to an appointment in a manner that means treatment cannot be provided within the remaining time.

ii. This cancellation policy applies to all patients.

iii. It remains the responsibility of the patient, parent or guardian of the patient to attend and organise their appointments.

iv. We require 48 hours’ notice or more to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

v. We require confirmation of attendance by 4pm the day before the appointment.

vi. A Cancellation Fee is applied when:

o A patient fails to confirm (FTC); or

o A patient short notice cancels (SNC); or

o A patient fails to attend (FTA).

vii. Payment of the Cancellation Fee is required prior to re-booking.

viii. The Cancellation Fee is non-refundable.

ix. The Cancellation Fee is not related to or used towards the cost of treatment.

x. The Cancellation Fee is: $100.

xi. The Cancellation Fee is applied on every instance of a Fail To Confirm (FTC), Short Notice Cancellation (SNC) or Fail To Attend (FTA).

xii. As a courtesy, the Cancellation Fee is waived only for the first Fail To Confirm (FTC) or Short Notice Cancellation (SNC) within 12 months.

xiii. The Cancellation Fee is never waived for a Fail To Attend (FTA).

i. We collect personal information that is necessary to provide our services and carry on our dental practice.

ii. The types of personal information that we collect from patients and prospective patients includes:

o Name and contact details;

o Age, date of birth and gender;

o Emergency contact details;

o Dental history and previous dentists;

o Medical history;

o Details about your current health and medications;

o Health insurance details; and

o Billing and payment details.

iii. Health information is classed as ‘sensitive information’ and receives a higher level of protection under the APPs than other types of personal information.

iv. We collect personal information in several ways:

o Directly from patients; and/or

o Legal guardians, representatives or nominated persons (if applicable); and/or

o From patient questionnaires and  forms; and/or

o Verbal updates; and/or

o Written updates.

v. We may collect information from third parties if patients have agreed that they can provide us with this information. For example, we may collect information from:

o Health insurance providers; and/or

o Government funding sources, such as Medicare or Queensland Health; and/or

o Other dentists, dental specialists or health practitioners including General Practitioners.

vi. Where we hold personal information that was collected for a particular (primary) purpose we will generally use or disclose it only for that purpose and not for any other (secondary) purpose unless the patient has consented, or we are otherwise permitted or required to do so under the APPs, the Act, or another law.

vii. The purposes for which we may use personal information can include:

o To assess whether we can safely provide our dental services;

o To maintain and administer patient files;

o To invoice our fees;

o To make payment claims to health insurers;

o To make payment claims to any government funding sources such as Medicare and Queensland Health;

o To contact patients for follow up services and check-up reminders;

o To collect unpaid invoices; and

o To send information about our dental practice.

viii. The purposes for which we may disclose personal information can include:

o Making payment claims.

o Complying with audit and other legal obligations to the funder(s) whether a health insurer, Government or both;

o Seeking services or a second opinion from, or making a referral to other dentists, dental specialists, laboratories or healthcare providers;

o Debt collection, through a debt collection provider, if invoices are unpaid;

o To respond in an emergency situation; and

o To comply with a written request from patients.

ix. We will also disclose personal information if properly directed to do so by an appropriate government, regulatory or statutory body, including a court or tribunal.

x. We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we hold about patients is accurate, up-to-date and complete. These steps include:

o Maintaining and updating your personal information when you attend the practice; and

o Amending information when you let us know that any of your information has changed.

xi. We provide ongoing training to our staff about the matters contained in this Privacy Policy.

xii. We take steps to protect the personal information we hold whether in hard or electronic format against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, use, modification and/or disclosure.

xiii. We ensure that hard copies of records are kept in locked files.

xiv. We have security processes in place regarding computer access, and we take steps to ensure that electronic data is backed up.

xv. When we no longer require a patient’s personal information we may securely destroy or de-identify those records in accordance with Australian laws.

xvi. Patients have the right to access personal information that we hold about them.

xvii. Patents should contact us in writing, by email or by telephone to request access to personal information.

xviii. We will always try to meet request for information within a reasonable time.

xix. In some circumstances, requests for access may be denied. These circumstances include:

o If we no longer hold any personal information about the patient;

o If the request is frivolous or vexatious;

o If the information requested relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings and would not normally be disclosed as part of those proceedings;

o If providing access would be unlawful; and

o If denying access is required or allowed by law.

xx. If we deny access to the information requested, we will give written reasons when we respond to the request.

xxi. We may charge a reasonable fee for access to some types of information, limited to an amount to recoup our costs. Charges may include document retrieval, photocopying, X-ray and model costs, and delivery costs.

xxii. To enable us to provide the best service, it is important that the information we hold is accurate, up-to-date and complete. Any changes to your personal information including change of address, name, telephone number and other health providers, should be provided by the patient to enable us to update our records.

xxiii. It is not our standard practice to disclose or store personal information overseas. However, some of our service providers from time to time may be located overseas and/or they may store information outside of Australia. For example:

o Data storage providers or web hosts may use servers, systems and cloud computing facilities outside of Australia;

o Certain dental technologies or services may be provided by overseas companies and/or overseas laboratories.

xxiv. If we become aware of such matters, we will:

o Take reasonable steps to ensure that the overseas recipient does not breach the APPs; or

o Seek to establish a reasonable belief that the overseas recipient is subject to protections which, overall, are at least substantially similar to those in the APPs (and which can be enforced).

xxv. We will also disclose personal information overseas if patients give us informed consent in accordance with the APPs.

xxvi. Patients can contact us during our office hours with any questions, concerns or a complaint about this Privacy Policy or the way in which their personal information has been handled.

xxvii. We will always try to respond and take any appropriate remedial action within a reasonable time.

xxviii. Any complaint should be in writing.