~ Privacy Policy ~

Purpose of this Policy:

Thank you for visiting Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use and protect your information in accordance with Australian Privacy Principles.

Information We Collect:

As part of providing a psychological service to you, Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will need to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your current situation. This information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment and treatments provided. As a base, the following information will likely be collected:

· Your name, address and date of birth.

· Your contact details.

· Current and past medical information.

· Your family medical history to the extent that it may inform current services.

· Your educational and occupational history.

· Legal or offending history (in the case of medico-legal services).

· Responses and results from psychological tests and questionnaires.

· Responses and results reasonably obtained as part of a neuropsychological assessment.

· This may be in a ‘pencil and paper’ format, or via a computer.

· Information pertaining to your session notes; treatment plan and your response to treatment.

All of the above material is used to inform accurate assessment, diagnosis and treatment plans for clients at Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting. Not having this information may increase the risk of sub-optimal assessments, diagnoses and treatment plans.

Confidentiality

All employees receive training at orientation, as well as ongoing training regarding the privacy of client information. Every employee is issued the Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting privacy and confidentiality policy and signs a confidentiality agreement as part of their terms and conditions of employment.

All personal information gathered by Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting Pty Ltd during the provision of psychological service will remain strictly confidential except when:

It is subpoenaed by a court or required by Law;
Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk or;
Your prior approval has been obtained to;
- provide a written or verbal report to another professional or agency (e.g. a GP or lawyer); or
- discuss your information with another person (e.g. GP, relative or employer).

Please be aware that to be eligible for rebates from Medicare, the psychologist will have to provide written reports to your GP, psychiatrist or pediatrician with an outline of assessments and treatments provided and recommendations for management as required by Medicare.

In some instances, the psychologist may consult with other psychologists and/or health professionals about aspects of psychological services being provided to ensure the best quality of care is being provided. In these instances, clients are not personally identified.

Storage and Security of Personal Information

All Jackie Burke Psychology and Consulting Pty Ltd. clinicians and employees take reasonable steps to protect the personal information of clients. Paper documents containing personal information will be stored under lock. Electronic information is stored and backed up securely.

Research and Personal Information

Where counsellors participate in human research activities and / or continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities, client anonymity will be protected. Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will also seek and retain a copy of client consent to any specific data collection for research purposes.

Research requests are to be approved by the Executive Manager. A copy of this approval will be retained by the practice.

Client Access to Their Health Information

A client may make a request to access their health information verbally at the practice, via telephone or in writing. NO reason is required. the request is referred to the Executive Manager. A Request for Personal Health Information form is completed to ensure correct processing. Once completed a record of the request is filed/scanned in the client record.

Data Breach Plan

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting employees understand the importance of being transparent when a data breach occurs – whether or not it is likely to cause serious harm to impacted individuals. Transparency enables individuals to take steps to reduce their risk of harm. It also demonstrates that Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting takes their responsibility to protect personal information seriously, which is integral to building and maintaining trust in the practice’s personal information handling capability.

As data breaches can be caused or exacerbated by many factors, there is no single way of responding to a data breach. Each breach will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, with an understanding of the risks posed by a breach and the actions that would be most effective in reducing or removing these risks.

Generally, the actions taken following a data breach will follow four key steps:

• Contain the data breach to prevent any further compromise of personal information.

• Assess the data breach by gathering the facts and evaluating the risks, including potential harm to affected individuals and, where possible, taking action to remediate any risk of harm.

• Notify individuals, government bodies and insurers if required.

• Review the incident and consider and implement actions to prevent future breaches.

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting will take each data breach or suspected data breach seriously, and move immediately to contain, assess and remediate the incident.

Steps will be taken to contain, assess, and notify either simultaneously or in quick succession.

Jackie Burke Psychology & Consulting determines how best to respond on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, additional steps may be taken that are specific to the nature of the breach.

Contacting Us

If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below: