Privacy Policy

We collect health information about you when:

• You enroll with this practice
• You attend an appointment or receive care
• We receive information about you from other health services involved in your care

We may collect the following information:

• Demographic information – such as your name, date of birth, gender, address, ethnicity, citizenship status, and National Health Index (NHI) number
• Health information – such as medical conditions, medications, allergies, immunisations, test results and clinical notes
• Information about health care and treatment you have received, are receiving, or have been referred for
• Information about financial transactions with the practice

Information collected directly from you
We usually collect information directly from you. We will explain why the information is needed,
how it will be used, and any choices you have about its use.

Information collected from other sources
We may also collect health and personal information about you from other sources where this is
lawful, appropriate, and necessary for your care.
These sources may include:

• Other health care providers involved in your care (such as hospitals, specialists, urgent care
  centres, telehealth services, midwives, allied health providers, Well Child/Tamariki Ora
  providers, laboratories, and radiology services)
• National health information systems, such as the National Enrolment Service (NES),
  Aotearoa Immunisation Register, National Screening Unit (cervical, bowel, breast and
  newborn screening programmes), and e-prescribing systems
• Pharmacists and pharmacy services, including information about medicines prescribed or dispensed
• Public health authorities, where reporting is required by law (for example, notifiable conditions)
• Whānau, carers, or support people, where you have given consent or where this is necessary for your care and safety
• Government agencies or authorised organisations, where collection is permitted or required by law (such as police notification of firearms license)

If you provide a service with our details as your medical centre (for example, audiology, optometry, dentistry, or physiotherapy), we may receive information about your health care from that service.

If we receive information about you indirectly that is not included in the scenarios above, and it isn’t clear you know it has been shared with us, then we will take reasonable steps to inform you about what we have received.

Your health information may be used to:

• Provide you with safe and effective health care
• Assign and manage your National Health Index (NHI) number
• Check eligibility for publicly funded health services
• Support and delivery of PHO and publicly funded health programmes (such as screening, immunsation, and chronic condition management)
• Support health service planning, funding, reporting, and quality improvement
• Process funding claims and payments

We may share relevant health information with:

• Other health providers involved in your care, such as pharmacies, hospitals, specialists, laboratories, and radiology services
• Tū Ora Compass Health PHO, Health New Zealand, Ministry of Health for planning, funding, and delivery of health services
• ACC, with your consent or where it is permitted by law
• Government agencies that assess eligibility for publicly funded services
• Auditors, to confirm services and funding claims
• Other organisations at your request, such as insurers or agencies requiring medical reports
• Other parties where sharing is required or permitted by law under the Health Information Privacy Code

Information shared for planning, funding, or statistical purposes is not allowed to be published in a way that could reasonably identify you.

Health information that does not identify you may be used for research that has been approved by an Ethics Committee.

Masterton Medical contributes to an electronic shared health record system, which allows authorised healthcare providers to access a summary of your health information when needed for your care.
You can choose to:

• Opt off the shared record entirely
• Exclude information from specific providers
• Exclude specific information (e.g. a condition or medication)

Please talk to us if you would like to limit what is shared in this record. Opting out may mean clinicians have less information in urgent situations.

We may use AI-supported tools for administrative or clinical support tasks (such as transcription or summarising clinical notes).

• AI tools do not make decisions about your care
• Information processed by AI is encrypted and remains within secure systems
• All AI‑supported outputs are reviewed by a clinician before being added to your record

If you do not want AI tools used during your consultation, or would like more information, please tell your clinician.

You can talk to us if you want to limit how your information is used. Some uses are required by law or necessary for safe care, and we will explain any impacts on your care or access to services.

For people under 16, we follow health and privacy laws to decide when information can be shared with parents or caregivers. Information may be withheld if sharing would place a young person at risk.

If you are under 18, or have a High User Health Card, or Community Services Card, and you visit a GP/NP who is not your regular clinician, the place you are enrolled with for usual care will be informed of the date of that visit. The name of the practice you visited and the reason for the visit will not be disclosed unless you have agreed to this.

You have the right to:

• Access the health information we hold about you
• Request corrections if information is incorrect or incomplete

We may need to confirm your identity before releasing information.
If we cannot make a requested correction, we will explain why and add a note to your record.
If you ask for a second copy of the same information within 12 months, there may be an administration fee.

Your health information is stored in our practice management and IT systems. When information is shared with organisation such as the PHO, shared health records, or Health New Zealand, we use secure systems that meet the HISO 10029:2022 Health Information Security Framework.

We keep your information for as long as required by law. Paper records may be securely destroyed once they have been safely digitised.

We may at times seek advice from legal or indemnity advisors and may release relevant and health information to them in order for us to be able to access appropriate advice.

Masterton Medical partners with Practice Plus to provide after-hours and urgent care consultations.

• Practice Plus clinicians can access relevant health records held by our practice to support safe and continuous care.
• When you consult with Practice Plus, their clinician may view relevant information from your file here.
• Practice Plus handles your information in accordance with the Health Information Privacy Code.

You can read Practice Plus’s privacy policy at: https://practiceplus.nz/privacy-policy
After-hours care:
📞 0800 7722 7587
🌐 https://practiceplus.nz

If a privacy breach occurs that could affect you, we will notify you and, where required, report the breach to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

If you have questions or concerns about how your information is handled, please talk to our staff.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner
📞 0800 803 909
🌐 https://www.privacy.org.nz

Further Information
For more information about privacy law in New Zealand, visit:

• www.legislation.govt.nz
• www.privacy.org.nz