Personal information management policy

Symmetry Physiotherapy is committed to providing quality health care to its patients. As a fundamental part of this commitment Symmetry Physiotherapy recognises the importance of ensuring that our patients are fully informed and involved in their health care.

Symmetry Physiotherapy is bound by the national privacy principles. These principles set the standards by which we handle personal information collected from files pertaining to your health. Your patient file is handled with the utmost respect for your privacy. The file will be accessed by your consulting practitioner, and when necessary, by other consulting practitioners in the practice. It may also be necessary for our staff to handle your file from time to time to address the administrative requirements of running a practice. Our staff are bound by strict confidentiality requirements as a condition of employment regarding your patient records.

We will not disclose personal information about you to any person except in the ordinary operation of the affairs of Symmetry Physiotherapy, which may include providing information on a confidential basis to a mailing house when we send out newsletters and the like concerning benefits and services available to you as a patient of Symmetry Physiotherapy. We do not provide information about you to mailing houses for resale. We will not use or disclose any personal information about you if doing so would be contrary to our legal obligations to you or under any law.

Ordinarily, we will not release the contents of your patient file without your consent. However, we advise that there may be occasions where we will be required to release the details of your file, irrespective of whether your consent to the disclosure of the information is given. This will occur where the law requires disclosure, such as pursuant to a subpoena.

As a patient of Symmetry Physiotherapy, you have the right to access to any information we hold concerning you. You may request access to this personal information we hold about you, by writing or speaking to the practice principal.

Despite the fact that you may be granted access to your patient file, you will not be permitted to remove any of the contents of you patient file from the physiotherapy practice. In addition, you will not be permitted to alter or erase information contained in your patient records. While you will not be permitted to remove any of the contents of your patient file, you will be entitled to request copies of any, or all, of the contents of patient file. There will be a photocopying charge of ($0.25 per page) and a nominal administrative charge for these copies.

If you have any queries in relation to our handling of your private information, please bring this to the attention of your physiotherapist or the practice principal.