Booking Policy
When you make an appointment with us you enter into a contract which includes the following terms and conditions:
Mahila Women’s Clinic is a private billing practice. We DO NOT prescribe drugs of addiction to patients new to our clinic.
Bookings can be made over the phone, in person, or via our online booking system. We do not accept booking requests through social media.
Prior to attending your appointment, or upon arrival, please notify us if you are experiencing any chest pain, cold or flu symptoms, difficulty breathing, or bleeding.
Full payment of your consultation fee is required at the time of appointment and Medicare rebates will be processed as per your individual arrangement. An Accounting fee will be added to the invoice if the account is not paid on the day of service.
Please note: All appointments with our Dermal Clinician are privately billed. There may be extra private fees for products or equipment used during your appointment with the GP. This will be discussed with you at the time of your appointment.
SMS appointment reminder service is available. However, patients remain responsible for their appointment time and will be charged a cancellation fee for non- attendance whether they have or have not received the SMS reminder even if explicitly requested. It is also the patient’s responsibility to advise us about changes to their mobile phone numbers.
We require at least 12 hours’ notice if you cannot keep your appointment. A cancellation fee applies to non-attendance or late cancellations (less than 12 hours prior to your appointment). This fee is not re-batable through Medicare. This can be paid over the phone or via our online portal. An invoice will be emailed to you and our reception staff will call you to follow up if necessary. No further appointments can be made until the outstanding balance has been paid.
Nobody likes waiting, however on some occasions your doctor may be running late. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. We will do our best to notify you if there is an extended wait time.
If you are more than 5 minutes late for your designated appointment time, it is at the discretion of your clinician as to whether they are able to see you or not.
We are unable to give results over the phone, so a follow up appointment with your clinician is required to attain these. For repeat scripts, medical certificates and referrals, you will also need to make an appointment.
Please speak to our reception staff for further information.
Privacy Policy
Current as of: May 2025
Introduction
This privacy policy is to provide information to you, our patient, on how your personal information (which includes your health information) is collected and used within our practice, and the circumstances in which we may share it with third parties.
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 may collect your personal information in several different ways.
1. When you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic information via your registration.
2. During the course of providing medical services, we may collect further personal information. Information may also be collected through My Health Record and electronic transfer scripts.
3. 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.
4. 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 Veterans’ Affairs (as necessary).
When, why and with whom do we share your personal information?
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 eTP, My Health Record (eg via Shared Health Summary, Event Summary).
Only people who 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.
Our practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services we offer to our patients through research and analysis of our patient data.
We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health outcomes. The information is secure, patients cannot be identified and the information is stored within Australia. You can let our reception staff know if you do not want your information included.
How do we store and protect your personal information?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms. These include in our Booking System ZedMed, and paper copies of consultation forms. All paper forms are shredded after being entered into ZedMed. Images may be kept on Clinic phones and our Clinic computer under password protection.
Our practice stores all personal information securely, on password protected computers and cloud based password medical booking and storage systems.
How can you access and correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
Our practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. We require you to put this request in writing by completing a Medical Records Request Form and emailing it to info@mahilawomensclinic.com and our practice will respond within a reasonable time of no more than 30 days.
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 that your personal information held by our practice is correct and current. You may also request that we correct or update your information, and you should make such requests in writing to info@mahilawomensclinic.com
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 you may have in writing to info@mahilawomensclinic.com or 2,796 Burke Road, Camberwell, 3124. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with our resolution procedure. You may also call us to discuss your complaint or concerns at any time on 03 7071 3779. We will attempt to resolve all complaints and concerns within 30 days.
You may also contact the 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 363 992
Policy review statement
This policy will be reviewed regularly to ensure it is in accordance with any changes that may occur. We will notify patients of any changes via email and it will be noted on our website.