Contact Details
Please inform the reception staff if your current contact details have changed so that your information can be updated. This includes home phone number, mobile number, address, Medicare card details, Pension card details, next of kin and any other relevant information.
Cultural Status
We encourage patients to identify their cultural background to their doctor so that their doctor can do their best to offer any specialised services available, particularly as part of The Closing the Gap Health Initiative in Australian Health Policy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Language and Interpreter Services
If English is not your preferred language or you are deaf, you may require an interpreter. Please advise the receptionist at the time of making your appointment if an interpreter is required for your consultation with your doctor, your preferred language and dialect, or for deaf patients, whether your doctor requires an Auslan sign interpreter.
Follow-up Appointments
Your doctor is obligated to review their patients who have abnormal test results or if further assessment is recommended. Even patients with normal test results may need a follow up consultation with their doctor in order to assess the medical problem further, particularly if it has not resolved. If you receive notification to attend for a recall visit, please contact our reception staff to book an appointment with your doctor.
If your symptoms are not settling or if they are worsening, it is recommended that you make another appointment to see your doctor.
Repeat Prescriptions and Referrals
Your doctor is unable to issue you with repeat prescriptions or ongoing referrals without a prior appointment. Telephone consultations can be arranged online or by phoning reception on 9497 1188 to organise a time. Your doctor has implemented this policy to satisfy their own medico-legal obligations, and to ensure you receive optimal care and treatment.
Results
All results can be discussed by making an appointment with your doctor either face to face or as a Telehealth consultation. Reception staff are not able to provide or discuss specific results. Your doctor will notify you by telephone if a result requires urgent attention.
For results of x-rays or scans, patients need to make a follow-up appointment with their referring doctor.
Reminders
Livingstone Street Clinic supports doctors who are committed to preventative care. This is why we provide consulting doctors with access to a patient reminder system. If you consent to be included in this reminder system, you will receive reminders for pap smears, immunisations, blood pressure checks, skin cancer checks and health assessments on behalf of your doctor. If you do not want to be part of this system, please advise your doctor or reception.
SMS Appointment Reminders
We provide doctors with access to a clinic practice management software which sends out automatic SMS text reminder messages to patient’s mobile phones the day before their scheduled appointment or procedure. Please respond to these messages when they are received. If you do not want to be part of this system, please advise reception.
Telephone Calls
Your doctor prefers not to be interrupted during consultations, except for emergencies. Reception will take a message from you and relay them to your doctor when they are available. It is recommended that for medical matters that are of concern that an appointment is made with your doctor to assess and manage the condition appropriately.
Change of Address or Custody
Changes in your address or contact details should be provided to reception when attending Livingstone Street Clinic. It is requested that if there are any changes in child custody arrangements that court documentation is provided to your doctor at the time of the consultation.
Health Information and Privacy Policy
It is the policy of Livingstone Street Clinic to maintain strict confidentiality and security of patients personal health information at all times, and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. All staff members are trained in computer security. In compliance with the Commonwealth Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000, and the Privacy Amendment Act (2014), Armstrong Street Medical Centre has a Privacy Policy, which is available on request and which complies with the Australian Privacy Principles.
Livingstone Street Clinic uses a computerised medical record system to record your personal information and medical information, and has engaged a dedicated IT provider to maintain the computer systems. Livingstone Street Clinic has a monitored 24 hour security system to ensure the security of the premises.
Livingstone Street Clinic submits patient data to various disease specific registers (cervical, breast, and bowel screening registers) to assist with preventative health management with patient consent.
Patients have the right to access their medical records under the Privacy Act 1988 and the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic). Only written requests on the appropriate practice form for access to medical records will be accepted.
Click here: Privacy Policy 2024 to read our full Privacy Policy.
Your Rights
Despite our best intentions, complaints may arise. Our practice deals with complaints in a courteous and understanding manner. Patient satisfaction affects health outcomes and your doctor acknowledges that patient complaints are an important source of customer feedback. Your doctor welcomes your suggestion on how they can improve, or how we can improve the services we provide to support your doctor, so please feel free to speak to your doctor regarding the medical care you have received, or, if your complaint relates to our facilities, please feel free to contact reception , or the practice manager directly. If there is a need to make a formal complaint, please contact the Health Care Complaints Commission’s inquiry service toll free 1800 136 066.
Quality Improvement Activities and Initiative
Livingstone Street Clinic engages in quality improvement activities in several ways, and we update our practice policy and procedures in line with the guidelines provided by professional organisations and from feedback from the community.
Livingstone Street Clinic is passionate about supporting doctors who deliver quality medical care. There is a suggestion box at reception where you can anonymously provide feedback about the care you have received from your doctor, and this message will be passed on to them. Your doctor is also happy to receive any feedback in person, during your consultation.
As a result of feedback doctors have received from their patients, the doctors consulting at Livingstone Street Clinic have requested, and we have implemented several changes that have improved the services we provide;
- Supporting independent allied health professionals (including a psychologist, dietitian, physiotherapist, podiatrist and pathology collection), to provide services to their patients from Livingstone Street Clinic,
- Calling patients if their doctor is running late by over 30 minutes,
- Updating our website with information of new services offered by doctors we support,
- Facilitating an online booking service for the doctors we support,
- Delivering SMS notifications and confirmations on behalf of the doctors we support, to their patients who have given consent for SMS messaging,
- Delivering SMS recalls and reminders on behalf of the doctors we support, to their patients who have given consent for SMS messaging,
- Delivering health reminders on behalf of the doctors we support, in regards to preventative health measures when their patients make an online appointment or confirm an appointment,
- Supporting doctors to make home visits, and aged care facility visits.
Computerised Practice
The doctors we support keep digital medical records, and your doctor can access these as and when required.
Your doctor imports pathology and radiology results directly.
Your doctor transmits immunisations immediately to the Australian Immunisation Register.
Prescriptions are generated in a printed, crosschecked format, which reduces errors by your doctor or chemist.
Computer security is maintained by the use of a secure off-site server, protected by firewalls. Files are backed up every night.
Reception or your doctor are able to assist you with enquiries about the MyHealthRecord, and the MyMedicare program.
Cancelling Appointments
If you are unable to attend your appointment with your doctor, please let reception know as soon as possible. This will then allow your doctor to offer the cancelled appointment to other patients. Your doctor often has patients on their cancellation list waiting for earlier appointments. Your doctor will charge you a fee of $80 if you fail to notify them of your cancellation with at least 24 hours’ notice. Your doctor may choose to not offer you future appointments if you have a history of non-attendance.
Confidentiality
All information given to your doctor, either verbally or in writing, is treated in the strictest confidence. Patient medical records are confidential documents and may be provided to another person, only with the consent of the patient or on the order of a court. It is the policy of Livingstone Street Clinic to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to your doctor and authorised members of staff.
Disclaimer
None of the contents of the site or its newsletters are intended to be interpreted as professional, medical, or training advice and should not be considered as such. This site is not intended to offer medical advice, but is provided for informational purposes only.
Any person with a personal health concern is advised to seek medical opinion and management.
Livingstone Street Clinic accepts no liability for any personal interpretation of the information provided on the website or in the newsletter, or for the use or misuse of the information contained herein.
While Livingstone Street Clinic makes every effort to publish accurate information on this site, we don’t make any claims or representations about use of our content for any purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, arising directly or indirectly through any use of this site, or information included in this site.
Livingstone Street Clinic does not warrant that this site will be provided on an uninterrupted basis, or that your access to the site will be error-free, or that the site content does not contain any viruses or defects, which may damage your computer or network. You are strongly advised to take your own precautions concerning virus checking and the security of your computer in accessing the site. Furthermore, links to other sites are provided for general information and convenience only.
Livingstone Street Clinic Social Media Policy
Current as of April 23, 2021 Name of social media officers: Kay & Nita
Introduction
This policy provides guidance for members of the practice on using social media internally and externally.
The policy helps identify and mitigate risks associated with social media use.
Definition
For the purposes of this policy, ‘social media’ is online social networks used to disseminate information through online interaction.
Purpose
Regardless of whether social media is used for business-related activity or for personal reasons, the following policy requirements apply to all independent health practitioners and employed practice staff of Livingstone Street Clinic. Independent health practitioners and practice staff are legally responsible for their online activities, and if found to be in breach of this policy penalty’s could include termination for serious breaches.
Use of practice social media accounts
Livingstone Street Clinic will appoint a staff member as a social media officer responsible for managing and monitoring the practice’s social media accounts. All posts on the practice’s social media website must be approved by this staff member. The practice reserves the right to remove any content at its own discretion.
Staff conduct on social media
When using the practice’s social media, employed staff will not: ( at the moment we don’t have any social media presence but this will apply when in place)
- post any material that
- is unlawful, threatening, defamatory, pornographic, inflammatory, menacing or offensive
- infringes or breaches another person’s rights (including intellectual property rights) or privacy, or misuses the practice’s or another person’s confidential information (eg do not submit confidential information relating to our patients, personal information of staff, or information concerning the practice’s business operations that have not been made public)
- is materially damaging or could be materially damaging to the practice’s reputation or image, or another individual
- is in breach of any of the practice’s policies or procedures
- use social media to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages, or solicit other users to buy or sell products or services or donate money
- impersonate another person or entity (eg by pretending to be someone else or another practice employee or other participant when you submit a contribution to social media) or by using another’s registration identifier without permission
- tamper with, hinder the operation of, or make unauthorised changes to the social media sites
- knowingly transmit any virus or other disabling feature to or via the practice’s social media account, or use in any email to a third party, or the social media site
- attempt to do or permit another person to do any of these things
- claim or imply that you are speaking on the practice’s behalf, unless you are authorised to do so
- disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to the practice, or to any third party that has disclosed information to the practice
- be defamatory, harassing or in violation of any other applicable law
- include confidential or copyrighted information (eg music, videos, text belonging to third parties)
- violate any other applicable policy of the practice.
Monitoring social media sites
The practice’s social media channels are part of our customer service and should be monitored and dealt with regularly. At the moment we don’t have any social media presence.
Testimonials
The practice complies with AHPRA national law and takes reasonable steps to remove testimonials that advertise their health services (which may include comments about the practitioners themselves). The practice is not responsible for removing (or trying to have removed) unsolicited testimonials published on a third-party website or in social media accounts over which they do not have control.
Personal social media use
Employed staff are free to personally engage in social media outside of work hours, as long as their actions do not have the potential to bring the practice into disrepute. Employees may not represent personal views expressed as those of this practice.
Any social media posts by employed staff on their personal social media platforms must not reveal confidential information about the practice or a person who uses the practice (eg staff should not post information relating to patients or other staff, or information concerning the practice’s business operations that have not been made public).
Employed staff should respect copyright, privacy, fair use, financial disclosure and other applicable laws when publishing on social media platforms.
Breach of policy
All social media activities must be in line with this policy.
Policy review statement
We will review this document annually or if sooner if our presence on social media channel
Communication with patients by electronic means ( Email Policy)
Policy
Livingstone Street Clinic is mindful that even if patients have provided electronic contact details, they may not be proficient in communicating via electronic means and patient consent needs to be obtained before engaging in electronic communication. Electronic communication includes email, facsimile and Short Message Service (SMS).
Communication with patients via electronic means is conducted with appropriate regard to privacy
Livingstone Street Clinic’s primary reason for communicating electronically to patients is to issue appointment reminders and we verify the correct contact details of the patient at the time of the appointment being made.
Whilst not encouraged, your doctor allows their patients an opportunity to obtain advice or information related to their care by electronic means, but only where their doctor determines that a face-to-face consultation is unnecessary and that communication by electronic means is suitable. Livingstone Street Clinic will only provide information that is of a general, non-urgent nature and will not initiate electronic communication (other than SMS appointment reminders) with patients. Any electronic communication received from patients is also used as a method to verify the contact details we have recorded on file are correct and up-to-date.
Communication with patients via electronic means is conducted with appropriate regard to privacy. Before obtaining and documenting the patient’s consent, patients are fully informed through information in our privacy information brochure of the risks associated with electronic communication in that the information could be intercepted or read by someone other than the intended recipient. Any emails received into the clinic are dealt with promptly and responses sent as appropriate.
When an email message is sent or received in the course of a person’s duties, that message is a business communication and therefore constitutes an official record. Patients are informed of any costs to be incurred as a result of the electronic advice or information being provided by their doctor, and all electronic contact with patients is recorded in their health record.
All members of the practice team are made aware of our policy regarding electronic communication with patients during induction, and are reminded of this policy on an ongoing basis. They are made aware that electronic communications could be forwarded, intercepted, printed and stored by others. Each member of the practice team holds full accountability for emails sent in their name or held in their mailbox, and they are expected to utilise this communication tool in an acceptable manner. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Limiting the exchange of personal emails
- Refraining from responding to unsolicited or unwanted emails
- Deleting hoaxes or chain emails
- Email attachments from unknown senders are not to be opened
- Virus checking all email attachments
- Maintaining appropriate language within electronic communications
- Ensuring any personal opinions are clearly indicated as such, and
- Confidential information (e.g. patient information) must be encrypted.
Our practice reserves the right to check an employees individual’s work email accounts as a precaution to fraud, viruses, workplace harassment or breaches of confidence by members of the practice team. Inappropriate use of the email facility will be fully investigated and may be grounds for dismissal.
The practice uses an email disclaimer notice on outgoing emails that are affiliated with the practice stating . “This email contains confidential information intended only for the person named above and may be subject to legal privilege and confidentiality obligations imposed by legislation or be subject to intellectual property protection or copyright. If you are not the intended recipient, any use, disclosure, copying or distribution of this transmission is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by return email and delete the original email and any attachments. Livingstone Street Clinic provides no guarantee that this transmission is free of virus or that it has not been intercepted or altered.”
