Privacy and Disclaimer

St Vincent’s Private Hospital Toowoomba Emergency Department run by TPEC maintains a strong commitment to providing the highest level of confidentiality for every patient and acknowledges its responsibilities and obligations under the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000.

A requirement of your hospital admission is that you provide St Vincent’s Emergency Department with consent on whether or not you wish the hospital to use your personal information for the purposes you identify.

On admission you will be required to complete a form which will describe this and request your consent.

Your medical record

To help us care for you when you come to the emergency, we need to know:

• your name
• address
• date of birth
• emergency contact details
• the reason you came to hospital
• your GP (general practitioner) contact details
• any tests or treatments you’ve had
• any other health information that may be relevant

This information becomes part of your medical record. Each time you come to hospital, we add new information to your medical record.

Whenever possible, we will get your information straight from you but we may also need extra information from other health care professionals who’ve looked after you, or from a family member, friend or carer.

Using your information

It may be necessary for parts of your medical record to be disclosed to other medical professionals to provide treatment, or during activities necessary for the hospital to function, e.g. your health fund, DVA or the supplier/manufacturer of your prosthesis.

Who else may see your information

We may share your information outside the hospital so you can get the care and help you need. For example, we may provide information about you to:

• other health services, hospitals or specialists involved in your care
• your GP
• the ambulance service
• spiritual and pastoral care workers
• students and other staff for training
• other services to help protect your life, health or welfare, such as in an emergency
• someone handling a complaint, legal action, or claim against the hospital or a staff member.

Protecting your information

Your information is stored as a paper and/or electronic medical record and may also contain images, such as x-rays or photos, or an audio or video recording.

There are a number of strict security measures in place within the Hospital to ensure your information is not accessed inappropriately. Regular security audits are performed to ensure the viability of these processes and systems. In addition, the Medical Records review each information request to ensure it is appropriate and legitimate.

Each member of staff is bound by the St Vincent’s Health Australia code of conduct and must keep your information private.

All Hospital staff – including permanent, visiting, agency, temporary and voluntary staff – are bound by strict legal confidentiality requirements.

Third party copyright

Wherever a third party holds copyright in material presented on this website, the copyright remains with that party. Where a registered trademark of a third party appears on this website, all of the rights of the trademark owner are reserved.  Their permission may be required to use the material. TPEC has made all reasonable efforts to identify material in which copyright or trademarks are owned by a third party and to ensure that the owner has consented to this material being presented on this website.