Patient Privacy

Parents of children under the age of 14 have the right to request information from their child’s medical record, unless the Family Court has specifically removed that right from the parent.

Parents of children aged 14 or 15 require the agreement of the child to access their child’s medical record.

Patients aged 16 or older have the right to privacy of their medical record.

NCRG will not release medical records to the family or friends of patients aged 16 or older, unless:

• the patient has consented, or
• the patient lacks capacity, and the person is the appropriate next best person (e.g. a sibling who is the appointed guardian for a patient with an intellectual disability), or
• required to do so by law, or
• on some limited compassionate grounds as allowed by privacy laws.

If you would like a family member or friend to have access to your medical records, for example to pick up films or reports on your behalf, you will need to complete a “Patient request for radiology records” form, available from reception or via this link

Patient information is used and disclosed for purposes directly related to your healthcare, and in ways that are consistent with your expectations for quality and continuity of healthcare.

NCRG uses your information:

• to provide you with medical diagnosis, treatment and care;
• to provide information to Medical Practitioners, Registered Nurses and other Allied Health Professionals who are providing diagnosis, treatment, necessary follow up treatment and/or ongoing health care to you;
• to assist with any calls you make to us;
• to process private health fund claims;
• for our routine administrative requirements including notification of future appointments and debt collection;
• to respond to any complaint you make, or in defence of anticipated or existing legal claims (e.g. we may need to respond to a regulator such as the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission, or provide personal information to other health service providers for peer review);
• when required by law to report data to State and Federal Government agencies (e.g. BreastScreen, Cancer Council, National Health and Medical Research Council);
• for quality assurance or clinical audit activities where we seek to evaluate and improve the delivery of a particular aspect of our service;
• for planning and evaluation of accreditation activities;
• for training staff and medical students;
• to let you know about advances in radiology and treatment options; and
• if lawfully required (e.g. under a subpoena or court order) to provide information to a third party, such as an insurer or employer.

Privacy laws also allow us to use or disclosure personal information in some unusual circumstances, such as emergency scenarios, to law enforcement agencies, or on compassionate grounds.

Your personal information will not be used or disclosed for any other purpose unless it is either de-identified, or we have your consent.

Owing to the nature of the services provided by NCRG it is not practicable for patients to deal with NCRG anonymously or using a pseudonym.

NCRG protects the data security of your personal information in the following ways:

• paper-based and other hard copy documents are located securely within the practice and securely destoyed once they have been electronically stored;
• all practices have security alarms, which are in operation outside business hours;
• electronic databases are housed in a secure environment and protected from unauthorised access.

Medical records are only accessible by those persons who require access to that information for the purpose of carrying out their duties.

We must notify you if:

• there is unauthorised access to, disclosure of or loss of the personal information we hold in relation to you; and
• such access, disclosure, or loss is likely to result in serious harm to you.

Patients have the right to access their medical record.  For more information, see the NCRG Information Sheet, “Access to your Patient Medical Record”.

If you believe that the personal information we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete, irrelevant or out of date, then you may request it to be amended. You will need to demonstrate how you believe the records are not accurate or complete. We will then consider if the information requires amendment. If we do not agree that there are grounds for amendment, then we will add a note to your record stating that you disagree with the record, including any statement provided by you of the amendment sought.

Please contact the NCRG Privacy Officer via the Contact Us page

or post to

Privacy Officer

PO Box 1115

LISMORE  NSW  2480

Federal privacy laws, including the Australian Privacy Principles, are regulated by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner – see www.oaic.gov.au

NSW privacy laws, including the Health Privacy Principles, are regulated by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commission, NSW – see www.privacy.nsw.gov.au