Confidentiality
Dr Tim takes confidentiality very seriously and considers it a crucial aspect of providing a psychological service. All psychology sessions are confidential and clients can be confident Dr Tim will not discuss the details of their concerns with others. For example, Dr Tim cannot disclose to parents what their teenage children discuss with him. Similarly, he cannot disclose to young people what their parents discuss with him.
There are however, three important exceptions:
- Dr Tim will discuss content if permission is first given.
- If he has reason to believe that someone is at risk of harm, Dr Tim is required to raise his concerns in order to reduce that risk. Where appropriate, he will first discuss ways of doing this with the person concerned.
- If a court requires content to be shared, Dr Tim must abide by relevant court orders. In the unlikely event that this occurs, Dr Tim will take reasonable steps to ensure only the specific information required by the court is made available.
Note that where rebates are claimed from Medicare or other agencies, Dr Tim may be required to provide summary reports to GPs and/or agencies regarding progress.
Psychological Services
As part of providing a psychological service, Dr Tim will need to collect and record relevant information from you. This information will be a necessary part of the psychological assessment or therapy. Information may be recorded in the following way:
Case files:
Local electronic information is maintained on an encrypted harddrive that can be remotely wiped. Paper documents are kept securely onsite. Archived paper files will be scanned for electronic storage and the original then securely shredded.
Online: Online electronic information is securely managed by Halaxy. Halaxy provides a range of services including booking, email & SMS reminders, invoicing, credit card billing, clinical notes, correspondence and Medicare claim processing. Telehealth services are provided by Halaxy and Coviu. Secure online backup and file sharing is provided by sync.com.
Access to recorded information
You may view and/or have copies of the material recorded in your file on request, subject to the exceptions contained in the National Privacy Principal 6 (e.g., actual test scores, proformas, etc.) of the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act* (2000). In these instances, summaries can be provided. Further information about these laws can be found on the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
Further information about your rights can be obtained from the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner (HCC). You may also submit a complaint to the HCC if you are dissatisfied with the use of, or access to, your personal information. The HCC can be contacted online or by telephone on 1300 582 113.