Patient Privacy and Accessing Clinical Records
As our patient, MercyAscot will collect information about you, your current health issues and your past medical history to provide you with the appropriate medical treatment and care, and for administrative purposes.
By law, we are required to hold all health information for a period of 10 years, or longer if the patient is a child.
When we no longer need your personal information for a purpose for which it may be used or disclosed by us, we will follow our organisational policy on the disposal of confidential information.
Protecting your personal information
We are strongly committed to protecting your personal information and your privacy. We store personal information of patients in a variety of ways, including paper and electronic formats.
Our policies and procedures ensure our staff treat your personal information confidentially and discreetly. We must always meet our legal requirements under the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020 to maintain confidentiality and privacy of patient information. Our staff are responsible for maintaining the security of patient information from unauthorised access to misuse, loss and damage.
Sharing your information
We may share your information with other medical practitioners or healthcare service providers involved in your care, including your treating specialists, laboratories, other treating health services and hospitals, and your nominated General Practitioner (GP).
With your consent, our staff may convey general information about your condition to your next of kin or a close family member while you are in hospital.
We are required to disclose some information to government agencies to comply with laws regarding the reporting of notifiable diseases.
Access and correction of patient data
You have the right to request copies of any data we hold about you (or the clinical record of someone you are the guardian or agent for) and to request changes to inaccurate information. We will need to receive your consent to be able to process your request. Please follow the below steps to access your clinical records:
- Download and complete the Clinical Record Release form
- Attach your signed photo ID, such as a driver's licence or passport
- Either hand deliver, post, or scan and email, the completed form and your copy of photo ID – to the physical or email address on the form
- Clinical Records may contact you if required, to confirm this request, and your identity
All requests for information must be accompanied by a form and relevant proof of identification.
For more information on requesting your clinical records, please contact the Clinical Records team on [email protected]
As per the Privacy Act 2020, we have up to 20 working days to process your request from the date we receive all required documentation.