If you are an Australian nurse who hasn't worked as a nurse in Australia for the past 12 months you could be eligible for the Australian Government's recently released $6,000 incentive program (conditions apply) to bring nurses back into the workforce.
St John of God Health Care Inc is committed to ensuring that your personal information is professionally managed in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and all relevant State legislation (Privacy Legislation).
The Privacy Act 1988 contains the National Privacy Principles which, in conjunction with other Privacy Legislation, set the standards for the way in which private organisations, such as St John of God Health Care, handle personal information.
This guide sets out how we may collect, use and disclose certain types of personal information which we obtain from or about you, how we ensure that that information is kept secure and how you can obtain access to that information.
What we may do with the information we collect
Clinical care Primarily, the personal information collected by us about you is used to ensure that you receive quality health services whilst you are under our care. Accordingly, any personal information collected about you may need to be shared amongst members of your health care team. This team of health care providers includes doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, allied health professionals, such as social workers, physiotherapists and dietitians, and other health service providers, such as pathology, radiology, pastoral services and pharmacy. Where necessary, your personal information may be disclosed to health care providers outside of the hospital, such as your general practitioner, home service provider or district health nurse, and such disclosure may be by fax or email.
Monitoring quality of care and patient satisfaction In addition, aspects of the personal information we collect may be used to monitor the quality of care we provide, the appropriateness and effectiveness of the services we offer and the level of our patients' satisfaction with the service provided to them. As a result, we, or someone we authorise to contact you on our behalf, may contact you in the future to seek your feedback on the health services we have provided to you whilst you were under our care.
Data required by law We have legal obligations to provide various data sets of information about our patients to the following entities:
State Health Departments (all patients and all notifiable diseases)
Private Hospitals Data Bureau (admitted patients only)
More information regarding the details of these particular data sets is available on request.
The St John of God Foundation - continuing the legacy of care The St John of God Foundation was established in 1996 to assist in furthering the invaluable work of the Sisters of St John of God and continue to expand their legacy of Hospitality, Compassion, Respect, Justice and Excellence. Both St John of God Health Care and donations or bequests from members of the public fund the Foundation, which is closely associated with, but not legally part of St John of God Health Care.
In partnership with organisations throughout the community, the Foundation assists in projects relating to homelessness, palliative care, mental well-being, drug abuse, youth suicide awareness, support for the victims of AIDS, post natal depression, women's refuges and outreach for ex-offenders.
All monies donated to the Foundation are used in further servicing the unmet needs of our community, an important service initiated over a century ago by the Sisters of St John of God. If you would like to receive the Foundation's newsletters, details of its fundraising events and the opportunity to make a donation, please indicate your agreement in the space provided on the Admission Form or advise one of our staff members. Please note that you may opt out of participating in the Foundation's activities at any time by emailing info@sjog.org.au
Chaplaincy services If you indicate your religious denomination on your Admission Form and wish to be visited by a hospital endorsed representative of your religious denomination during your stay, your details will be passed on to the relevant chaplain, minister or cleric to enable such a service to be provided.
Direct marketing of our other services If you indicate on your admission form that you are happy to be contacted by the hospital in relation to other services it offers, we may contact you in the future to let you know of new developments or other services we think may be of benefit to you. If you do not wish to receive this type of information at some time in the future, please just let us know.
Business management From time to time we may need to use or disclose aspects of your personal information for administrative purposes such as accreditation and evaluation activities, quality assurance activities and liaising with our insurers, lawyers or other advisers in the ordinary course of operating and managing our business.
Billing For billing purposes we may, from time to time, share relevant aspects of your personal information with third parties such as your other health care providers, Medicare, your private health insurance fund and where necessary, outside collection agencies.
How we treat your information confidentially
Apart from the uses listed above or otherwise permitted under the Privacy Legislation, using or disclosing your personal information will be done only with your consent. In addition, your information will be disposed of confidentially, in line with accepted document disposal schedules.
How we keep your information secure Your personal information is stored:
(a) On our computer Patient Management System which is accessed only as required by relevant staff. It is monitored to ensure that unauthorised personnel can not access your information.
(b) As a paper health record in a secure environment that is accessible only by the hospital or where off-site storage is required, by authorised professional storage contractors.
Your right of access
Under the Privacy Act 1988, you generally have the right to access the personal information that we hold about you. This includes information we store electronically on a computer database, as well as documents which make up your personal health record.
Applying for access
If you wish to access the personal information we hold about you, you should request access by contacting the hospital's Privacy Officer. To assist you in this process, you may wish to complete and lodge with us the appropriate application form (see below). Although St John of God Health Care does not charge an application fee, you may be charged administration fees and fees if photocopies of documents are made, if retrieval of the information is required from our hospital archives or if you require the services of an interpreter.
Your request for access will normally be processed within 30 days of its receipt. The relevant officer will arrange for you to visit the hospital to enable you to view your records and make photocopies of documents if required.
If, following a review of your records, you consider that the personal information we have about you requires corrections or amendments to be made, the relevant officer may make arrangements for the alterations to be made or noted. If, contrary to your view, we do not believe that an amendment is necessary, you may insert an addendum (noting your comments) into the record. Please see the form below, if you require corrections or amendments to be made to your personal information.
