Privacy Policy

Privacy and Security Policy – Protecting Your Privacy

Practice plus is committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.

Just like visiting your Clinician regular in person, your virtual health consultation is private and confidential. The video session is not recorded and therefore can only be seen and heard by you and your Practice Plus Clinician. Please find a private space when you connect for your appointment to ensure confidentiality.

If you have any questions, please speak to your Clinician during your appointment.

The Health Information Privacy Code 2020 can be found via this link.

What data is collected about me?

We respect your privacy and confidentiality. The following sets out why we collect your information and how it will be used.

By using the service you directly consent to your health information being collected, used and shared by Practice Plus as laid out below. Maintaining your trust and privacy is important to us.

• We only collect what we need to help you and your whānau.
• We only use what we know to improve your health and the health of the community.
• We don’t sell anything we know to anyone, ever.
• We only share what we know with people in the health system who we know will look after your information the way we do.
• We look after what we know and keep it secure.
• Your health record is YOUR health record – you can see it, correct it, and know what we have done with it – just ask.

What information is collected?

• Information about you (such as your name, date of birth, gender, address, ethnicity, citizenship, NHI number, contact information (phone numbers and/or email addresses).
• Information about your health.
• Information about health services that are being provided to you.
• Information about the financial transactions around consultation charges.
• We’re required to keep your information accurate, up-to-date and relevant for your treatment and care.

The information provided will be:

• Held by Practice Plus to provide health services
• Used to give you a National Health Index (NHI) number or update any changes
• Used to determine eligibility to receive publicly funded services.
• Information may be shared with other government agencies but only when permitted under the Privacy Act.

Your health information may also be used by health organisations such as Practice Plus and Health NZ for the following purposes of:

• Evaluation, analysis and planning of health services, and improving service quality
• To facilitate service payments
• The sole clinical information shared with HNZ as part of that dataset is a medical diagnosis code based on the user’s interaction with the service, but as a user you can request your clinician for that code not to be shared with HNZ (in which case it won’t be).

This information will not be used or published in a way that can identify you.

View Health NZ’s privacy statement here.

Confidentiality and information sharing

Your privacy and the confidentiality of your information is important to us.

• Your health professional may record relevant information from your consultation and use it to provide you with appropriate care.
• When you tick this box you give consent to sharing relevant health information with other health professionals who are directly involved in your care*
• We share a subset of information with Health NZ for to support service evaluation, analysis and planning of health services, and to facilitate service payments (including obtaining subsidised funding on your behalf).
• The only medical information shared with Health NZ in this dataset is a diagnosis code based on your health practitioner’s assessment of you. You can choose for this diagnosis information not to be shared if you prefer – please advise your health practitioner if you do not want this information passed to Health NZ.
• Your health information may also be shared with other government agencies but only when permitted under the Privacy Act. It may also be shared if authorised by law.
• Your health information may be reviewed by an auditor either checking on health matters or as part of a financial audit, but only according to the terms and conditions of Section 22G of the Health Act or any subsequent applicable Act.
• You don’t have to share your health information, however, withholding it may affect the quality of care you receive. Talk to your health practitioner if you have any concerns.
• Your privacy is our priority. We will keep your information secure and prevent unauthorised access. We work with a range of data sources and platforms, and we constantly evaluate our systems and processes to ensure we are using the latest technologies to increase security.

*Health professionals can include, but are not limited to, doctors, nurses, Māori health workers, health promoters, dietitians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, mental health workers and midwives.

Right to access and correct

• You have the right to access your health information and have it corrected.
• You don’t have to explain why you’re requesting the information, but you may be required to provide proof of your identity. If you request a second copy of that information within 12 months, you may have to pay an administration fee.
• You have the right to know where your information is kept, who has access rights, and if the system has audit log capability who has viewed or updated your information.
• If asking for your health information to be corrected, practice staff should provide you with reasonable assistance. If your healthcare provider chooses not to change that information, you can have this noted on your file.

Collecting and storing your health information

Robust protocols and processes have been developed for collecting and storing this data. Our processes are fully compliant with the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020.

Research

Your health information may be used in research approved by an ethics committee or when it has had identifying details removed.

• Research which may directly or indirectly identify you can only be published if the researcher has previously obtained your consent and the study has received ethics approval.
• Under the law, you are not required to give consent to the use of your health information if it’s for unpublished research or statistical purposes, or if it’s published in a way that doesn’t identify you.

Consent options

If you do not agree to have any of your information collected, then you will have to access care via your enrolled practice.

Contact us: If you would like to access the personal data relating to you that we have stored, or to request correction of such personal data, or if you have any concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us by any of the means set out below.

Email: support@practiceplus.nz
Phone: 0800 PRAC PLUS

Verifying identity: We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

Privacy Commissioner: If you are not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner, PO Box 10-094, Wellington 6143, New Zealand Phone: +64 4 474 7590

Use of cookies in Practice Plus

The Practice Plus website and app uses both non-persistent and persistent cookies to manage visits to the site. Non-persistent cookies are temporary and are deleted when a browser session is closed and persistent cookies are used in order that third party vendors, such as Google, can serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to the website and app. Therefore information about a visit to the Practice Plus website and app is not permanently stored on a personal computer.

You can change the cookies settings on your device, including so that you are offered whether or not you want to accept cookies. If you do not accept cookies, then that may mean that our website functionality may be affected.

Practice Plus uses systems that meet recommended standards to protect the privacy and security of all appointments. However, the service cannot guarantee total protection against compromising your health and personal information by outsiders; this risk is small, but it does exist.

If you have any questions or concerns please email help@practiceplus.nz

If you are still unhappy with the response you can call the Office of the Privacy Commissioner on 0800 803 909.

What is HealthOne?

AI – Artificial Intelligence

A number of our clinicians may use a reputable and accepted software that transcribes and summaries consultation notes from the conversations had in an appointment. They use so that they can focus on you as the patient and what you are saying and not on the computer writing notes. It does not provide any predictive advice or make decisions.

It will allow a comprehensive clinical note to be taken; this will then be sent back to your GP unless you do not consent for this to happen.