Southcity GP Services

Privacy legislation was passed in both Federal and State Parliaments in 2001. The provisions of the legislation essentially reflect normal ‘best practice’ procedure for most practices. Both Acts include a (relatively) plain-English section detailing rights and responsibilities. These are called the National Privacy Principles for the Federal Act and the Health Privacy Principles for the Victorian Act.

With two pieces of legislation to consider, you could be forgiven for thinking it is all a bit daunting, however the two Acts are very, very similar—in fact the first eight Privacy Principles in each Act cover the same issues (and in very similar language). The main differences are in Health Privacy Principles (HPP) 10 and 11 for which there are not corresponding National Privacy Principles (NPP) and, conversely, NPP 10 for which there is not a corresponding HPP. In addition, the thrust of the HPPs is purely personal health information and there are some specific provisions within the HPPs where the NPPs are more general.

With these Privacy pages, Southcity presents an easy-to-understand guide to privacy legislation as it relates to general practice, including:

• Victorian privacy legislation (Health Records Act 2001)
• Commonwealth privacy legislation (Privacy Amendments (Private Sector) Act 2000)
• Privacy Principles
• Consent
• Fees
• Advising consumers
• Templates
• Privacy FAQ
• Privacy Audit
• Contractor Confidentiality Agreement Template
• Southcity Privacy Statement
• Southcity Privacy Policy

   Health Records Act 2001 (Victoria)

• Fully operational from 1 July 2002.
• Health Privacy Principles
• Details at www.dhs.vic.gov.au/privacy/
• Contact the Health Services Commissioner on (61 3) 8601 5200 or toll-free on 1800 136 066
• Patient information pamphlet developed by DHS Information and Performance Evaluation Unit: Protection and Use of Your Health Care Records (pdf 879KB)

    Privacy Amendments (Private Sector) Act 2000 (Commonwealth)

• Effective for private organisations (including medical practices) from 21 December 2001
• National Privacy Principles
• Details at www.privacy.gov.au
• Health Information and the Privacy Act
• Privacy Issues for Doctors
• Guidelines on Privacy in the Private Health Sector
• Temporary Determination by the Federal Privacy Commissioner on taking family histories

    Contractor Confidentiality Agreement
When we began developing Southcity's Privacy Policy, we realised that there was a need to develop a confidentiality agreement that covered practices in situations where someone from outside the practice, a computer technician for instance, comes into the practice to perform legitimate work.

Our legal advisers have drafted this agreement for Southcity practices to use:

---

CONTRACTOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Good information privacy principles are integral to the way INSERT NAME OF PRACTICE runs its practice. INSERT NAME OF PRACTICE has developed a privacy culture by promoting sound privacy policies, by implementing information security safeguards and by properly training employees with regard to the handling of personal information.

By signing this acknowledgment, I agree:

1. To keep strictly confidential any personal information that I may be exposed to as part of my contracted duties;
2. Not to access any personal information without express authorisation;
3. To protect and preserve the confidential nature of any personal information that I am expressly authorised to view;
4. Not to misuse, reproduce, store, improperly modify or disclose any personal information that I am expressly authorised to view;
5. To notify an authorised officer of INSERT NAME OF PRACTICE if I detect any improper use, modification or disclosure of any personal information;
6. That my obligations contained in this Acknowledgment continue even after I am no longer contracted by INSERT NAME OF PRACTICE; and
7. That a breach of my obligations contained in this Acknowledgment will be considered by INSERT NAME OF PRACTICE to be serious misconduct, a breach of my contractor duties and may be grounds for legal action against me.

.....................	.....................	.....................
Contractor Signature	Print Full Name	Date

---

Download Confidentiality Agreement — Word version