Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the highest standard of patient care whilst incorporating a holistic approach toward diagnosis and management of illness.
We are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment whilst promoting health, well-being and disease prevention to all patients. We do not discriminate in the provision of excellent care, and we aim to treat all patients with dignity and respect.
We are an AGPAL Accredited General Practice. General practice accreditation is independent recognition that this practice is committed to delivering safe and high-quality health care to our patients by complying with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for General Practices.
General information
Appointments
A Standard appointment is 10 minutes. Longer appointments are available on request and must be allocated at the time of booking. Please remember, if you have a couple of issues to discuss with the Dr. please request a long appointment. For continuity of care, we do encourage you to request an appointment with your preferred GP.
MANAGEMENT OF PATIENT HEALTH INFORMATION POLICY
Your medical record is a confidential document. It is practice policy to maintain the security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. Our Privacy Policy is located at the front reception desk. If changing practices, to obtain your medical record, you would need to fill out a “transfer of medical records” form at your new practice who will then send the request to us and your medical record will be sent directly to your new practice. Please note that fees may apply, please speak with reception staff for further details.
Test Results
To obtain your pathology and/or x-ray results all patients are required to make an appointment with their doctor.
Recalls & Reminders
Follow-up & Preventative Health Care are important services we provide. Your Doctor will initiate recall letters to follow up on abnormal results and ongoing health checks. Please advise Reception if you do not wish to participate in this service.
We also report to State & Federal reminder systems for Diabetes Management, Pap Smears.
Communication Policy
Our reception staff are happy to take messages or assist you with any general questions regarding your healthcare. Our Doctors may be contacted by telephone during normal surgery hours. However, when they are consulting with a patient a message will be taken & your call returned. In an emergency, your call will be transferred to either the Practice Nurse or the Doctor immediately.
Communicating with patients with special needs
We have several staff members who speak more than one language. Where appropriate the staff member will communicate with our patients in a language the patient can understand.
Our staff use a range of communication assistance services to assist patients with either a language barrier or patients with a disability. Some of the services used are :
- National Relay Service (07) 3815 7600
- National Auslan Interpreters 1800 246 945
- Translation and Interpreter Service (TIS) Doctors Priority Line 1300 131 450
Feedback
Should you have any feedback regarding your care, we have a suggestion box in the waiting room. Alternatively, you may speak with our practice manager. If you have any concerns about the care from your doctor, please immediately discuss this with your doctor so that your concerns can be managed. Should you have ongoing concerns, then we are happy to offer you a second opinion from another doctor at the practice. We are always trying to improve our service and are happy to address any written complaints from our patients.
Lost Property Policy
Whilst our clinics are unable to accept liability for lost or stolen property, it is our policy to reunite lost property with its original owner where possible. Items cannot be securely stored indefinitely and will be retained for a maximum period of one month (depending on the property).
Property Retention Periods
Clothing/miscellaneous items – 10 days
Books/stationary – 10 days
Jewellery/money/other valuable items – 1 calendar month
Reclaiming items
Any person reclaiming property will be asked for information about the item. They must show their id card or other photographic identification before the item is returned.
Disposal of unclaimed items
Where it is not possible to return an item to its original owner within the nominated period, it will be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner where possible. This includes donations to registered charities.
After Hours Doctors
If you have a medical emergency, please dial 000 or go directly to your nearest hospital.
Algester Medical Centre offer after-hour appointments and is open till 10:00pm weekdays and Saturday & Sunday 8:00am – 2:00pm. Please call the National Home Doctor Service, which is an After Hours Home Visit Service, on 13 74 25 to arrange for a Doctor to visit you at home. National Home Doctor Service will send a report of their visit to our surgery, which will be stored in your electronic health file.
Complaints
We take your concerns, suggestions and complaints seriously. Please direct all concerns to the Practice Manager who will assist in resolving the issue.
If you have any complaints or concerns that cannot be resolved in this practice, you can contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman.
Office of the Health Ombudsman
GPO Box 13281
George Street, Brisbane QLD
Telephone: 133 646
Email: [email protected]
Medical certificates
If you require a medical certificate, you must make an appointment with a doctor. Legally, doctors cannot backdate medical certificates to cover times that they have not seen you.
Email Policy
This practice does not accept e-mails as a legal form of contact. Any e-mails received regarding medical symptoms or conditions will be answered with, “Please call the surgery on 07 3711 2880 to make an appointment at your earliest convenience.”
This practice takes every precaution possible to ensure that the patient’s electronic communication with the practice (i.e. email) remains private and confidential. However, patients need to be aware of the risks associated with electronic communication, in that the information could be intercepted or read by someone other than the intended recipient. For this reason, we do not transmit health information by email. We do not offer electronic consultations. When an email message is received in the course of a person’s duties, that message is a business communication and therefore constitutes an official record.
We will not disclose any of your personal or health information on our website or on our Facebook page.
Privacy Policy
Policy
Algester Medical Centre is committed to protecting the privacy of our patients within our practice. We handle your personal information in a responsible manner in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and practice within the guidelines and standards set by the Australian Privacy Principles and RACGP standards. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and circumstances in which we may share it with a third party.
Why and when your consent is necessary
When you register as a patient of our practice, you provide consent for our GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information so they can provide you with the best possible healthcare. Only staff who need to see your personal information will have access to it. If we need to use your information for anything else, we will seek additional consent from you to do this.
Why do we collect, use, hold and share your personal information?
Our practice will need to collect your personal information to provide healthcare services to you. Our main purpose for collecting, using, holding and sharing your personal information is to manage your health. We also use it for directly related business activities, such as financial claims and payments, practice audits and accreditation, and business processes (eg staff training).
What personal information do we collect?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
- names, date of birth, addresses, contact details
- medical information including medical history, medications, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history and risk factors
- Medicare number (where available) for identification and claiming purposes
- healthcare identifiers
- health fund details.
Dealing with us anonymously
You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals.
How do we collect your personal information?
Our practice will collect your personal information:
- When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
- During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information.
Information can also be collected through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), MyHealth Record, eg via Shared Health Summary and an Event Summary.
- We may also collect your personal information when you visit our website, send us an email or SMS, telephone us, make an online appointment or communicate with us using social media.
- In some circumstances personal information may also be collected from other sources.
Often this is because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly. This may include information from:
- your guardian or responsible person
- other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services
- your health fund, Medicare, or the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (as necessary).
Who do we share your personal information with?
We sometimes share your personal information:
- with third parties who work with our practice for business purposes, such as accreditation agencies or information technology providers – these third parties are required to comply with APPs and this policy
- with other healthcare providers
- when it is required or authorised by law (eg court subpoenas)
- when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent
- to assist in locating a missing person
- to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim
- for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process
- when there is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (eg some diseases require mandatory notification)
- during the course of providing medical services, through Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (eTP), MyHealth Record system (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
Only people that need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal information with any third party without your consent.
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt-out of direct marketing at any time by notifying our practice in writing.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. These forms may be as an electronic record, paper records visual x-rays.
Our practice stores all personal information securely.
All Staff and third parties have confidentiality agreements in place. Algester Medical Centre store and manage patient data electronically in accordance with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) standards and Computer and Information Security Standards.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to access and correct your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing, please see reception staff to access form. Our practice will respond within a reasonable time. You will receive a response within 14 days. There is a fee applicable, this fee will vary depending on the size of your health file.
Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up-to-date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is correct and up-to-date. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests either in person or via email at [email protected].
How can you lodge a privacy related complaint, and how will the complaint be handled at our practice?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns to the Practice Manager, you may do this in person, via telephone (07 3711 2880) or in writing. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. You can expect for your concern to be dealt with within 30 days of lodgement.
Privacy Officer
Algester Medical Centre
1/34 Algester Road
Algester QLD 4115
If you are still concerned, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Generally the OAIC will require you to give them time to respond, before they will investigate. For further information visit www.oaic.gov.au or call the OAIC on 1300 336 002.
Policy review statement
Algester Medical Centre will notify any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting an updated version of the policy on its website. Current as of 10th March 2019.
Patient Code of Conduct
Help us make our clinic a safe place for everyone
Algester Medical Centre and Acacia Ridge Family Practice requests all patients and visitors to the centre help us to make our clinic a safe place for everyone. We request that all parties treat everyone with respect. We will not accept:
- Swearing at staff or in the presence of staff/other patients
- Shouting or making offensive remarks
- Making verbal or physical threats
- Racism
- Attending when intoxicated with alcohol and/or drugs
- Damaging or stealing property
- Acting in a manner that is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to others in the general practice
Anyone who carries out the above behaviour/s will be asked to leave and their future attendance at the practice may be discontinued resulting in having to seek health care elsewhere.
Staff Code of Conduct
The doctors at Algester Medical Centre and Acacia Ridge Family Practice have a professional responsibility to be familiar with the Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct For Doctors In Australia. This code describes what is expected of all doctors and sets out the principles that characterise good medical practice and makes explicit the standards of ethical and professional conduct expected of doctors by their professional peers and the community.
We care about the safety of our patients and staff
The staff at Algester Medical Centre and Acacia Ridge Family Practice care about the safety of our patients and staff, we are committed to following our Code of Conduct where all employees will behave in a courteous and professional manner whilst maintaining the levels of service and care which the practice and our patients expect.
If you would like to discuss this code of conduct further, please don’t hesitate to contact the Practice Manager on (07) 3711 2880 or (07) 3272 7330.