Your privacy

About this policy

Remi Menopause Clinic ("Remi", "we") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, store and share your personal and health information, in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles and the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW).

For questions about this policy, contact our Practice Manager on 02 6610 9547 or hello@remi.com.au.

Your consent

When you register as a Remi patient, you consent to our doctors and team accessing and using your personal information to provide your healthcare. Access is limited to team members who need it for your care. If we ever want to use your information for another purpose, we'll ask for your consent first.

What we collect

We collect the information we need to provide your care, including:

• your name, date of birth, address and contact details
• your Medicare number and Individual Healthcare Identifier (IHI), for identification, claiming, electronic prescriptions and My Health Record
• your medical history, symptoms, medicines, allergies, family and social history, test results and other health information
• notes from your appointments, and letters and results from other health professionals
• payment details, which are stored securely by our booking system

Dealing with us anonymously

You can deal with us without giving your name, or using a different name, unless it isn't practical or the law requires us to identify you. Because we provide medical care, prescriptions and Medicare claims, we usually need to know who you are.

How we collect it

• When you book and before your first appointment, through our online booking system and secure health questionnaire.
• During your appointments, in person, by telehealth or by phone.
• When you contact us, by phone, email, text message or social media.
• From other people involved in your care, such as your GP, specialists, hospitals, pathology and imaging services, or your guardian or responsible person, with your consent or where the law allows. If you apply for our Healthy Midlife Program because of a health condition or your medicines, we may download a health summary from your My Health Record or contact your regular GP to confirm your eligibility.
• Through our website, for example when you join our Priority List, take our hormone quiz or buy a gift card.

We use electronic prescribing (eScripts) for all patients, and we sometimes access your My Health Record. Occasionally, a doctor may take a clinical photo for your health record. We have CCTV at our clinic for security and safety.

When we collect information from other sources, we do so openly, get any consent needed, keep it accurate and secure, and use it only for the purposes described here.

How we use it

We use your information to provide and coordinate your care, manage bookings and payments, process Medicare claims, communicate with you, and meet our legal and professional obligations.

With your consent, we send your regular GP a summary of your assessment and treatment.

We may also use information that has been de-identified, so it no longer identifies you, for quality improvement, audits, accreditation and team training.

Marketing

We won't use your personal information to market goods or services to you without your consent.

When you take our hormone quiz, we use your email address to send your results, and you're added to the Remi mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails.

Who we share it with

We only share your information when it's needed for your care, when you consent, or when the law requires or allows it. This may include:

• other health professionals involved in your care, such as your GP, specialists, pathology and imaging providers (for example in referral letters)
• Services Australia, to process Medicare claims
• the services we use to run the clinic, such as our practice management and booking system, telehealth video service, website and online store, online forms and quiz, email newsletter provider, and AI tools that support our doctors and team
• when the law requires or allows it, for example a court subpoena, a mandatory notification of certain diseases, or to lessen or prevent a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety

Healthy Midlife Program. We don't share any information that identifies you with Healthy North Coast, the North Coast PHN that funds the program. We use information from the program, without your name or details, to report on its outcomes and make recommendations.

Outside Australia. Some of the services we use are based overseas, so information you give them, such as through our quiz or website, may be stored outside Australia.

How we use AI tools

AI scribe. Our doctors may use an AI scribe to help write clinical notes during your consultation. It listens to the consultation to draft a note for your health record. The scribe may receive details that identify you, such as your name, Medicare number and Individual Healthcare Identifier. Our provider doesn't keep the audio recording, says it doesn't use health information to train its AI, and may use services outside Australia when needed. If you'd prefer we don't use the AI scribe, just tell your doctor and we'll turn it off.

AI assistant. Our team also uses an AI assistant for administrative tasks. When it's used in our web browser, it may be able to see information shown on screen in our systems, such as booking details in our practice management system.

How we keep it safe

Your health records are stored electronically in secure, password-protected systems, with access limited to team members who need it to provide your care. We don't keep paper records. When you're no longer a patient, your records are archived rather than deleted.

Accessing and correcting your information

You can ask to see or get a copy of the information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it if it's wrong or out of date. Please email hello@remi.com.au or write to us. We may ask you to confirm your identity. There's no charge to make a request, and we'll respond within 30 days.

Often the most useful option is a summary of your care for your regular GP. Your doctor usually prepares this alongside a short phone consultation with you, which is bulk billed, so there's no cost to you. If you'd like a full copy of your clinical notes, there's a $40 admin fee to cover the time it takes. We'll always let you know before we start, and you can talk to us if cost is a barrier. We don't charge for other requests.

Questions and complaints

We take privacy concerns seriously. If you have a question or complaint, please email our Practice Manager at hello@remi.com.au. You can also call us on 02 6610 9547, or write to us at Shop 6, 44 Links Ave, East Ballina NSW 2478. We'll acknowledge your complaint within 7 days and aim to respond within 30 days.

If you're not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992, or the NSW Information and Privacy Commission at ipc.nsw.gov.au.

Our website

Information you share with us through our website, email or social media is handled securely and confidentially. Our website uses cookies and analytics to understand how it's used and to improve it.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly. Any changes will be published on this page, and we may tell patients about significant changes by email.