Sugestions
We welcome all suggestions and appreciate you help in improving the practice. The easiest way to hand on your suggestions is probably talk to one of the reception staff, or your doctor at your next visit.
There is also a "Suggestions Box" on the front desk and you can simply slip a note in the box at any time. Here is a downloadable form for suggestions if you want to write your suggestion down now and give it to us: Quacks Suggestion Form
Complaints
We reserve the right to forward any significant complaint to the health Rights Commissioner, The Australian Health Practioners Board, Queensland Police or the National Privacy Commissioner. It is difficult to resolve anonymous complaints - without finding out more specific details. We will accept anonymous complaints but may not be able to take any action on such complaints. Please include your contact details.
Download complaints form (pdf 68kb) here: Quacks Complaints Form
Privacy
We take patient privacy very seriously. We will not generally disclose information to anybody but the patient without consent, either expicit or implied. Please understand, and don't become irritated with the staff when we cannot provide results, or even confirm that you have an appointment to see a doctor, over the phone to your husband, wife, mother, father, without your prior approval, or a reasonable belief that you have provided your consent. See the information under "Data Collection" below.
One of our biggest concerns is the Government "My Health Record". All patients in this area were "enrolled" into the program unless they took specific action to opt out. All prescriptions, pathology results, hospital attendences, and visits re-imbursed by Medicare are now visible online - and most people have not accessed their settings and limited access to specific carers, etc. You can never have this government held information about you removed, only hidden from view. The government has mandated that all medical software in Australia will send this data by default. Our software has a provision to block the sending of individual test results and prescriptions to the "My Health Record" but you need to requst or mark this on each occassion.
Data Collection
This website does not collect or store any personal information.
As a patient of Quacks, you have rights to access the information we hold concerning you. The primary purpose for collecting health information is to provide you with appropriate health care. The information is also being collected for secondary purposes that are related to the primary purpose of collection. These secondary purposes include:
- sharing information with other health providers to deliver appropriate patient care (e.g. Referral letters);
- activities or processes necessary for the functioning of the practice such as:
- providing an individual with further information about treatment options;
- billing or debt recovery;
- Quacks management, funding, service-monitoring, complaint-handling,planning, evaluation and accreditation activities,
- disclosure to a medical expert (only for medico-legal opinion), insurer, medical defence organisation, or lawyer, solely for the purpose of addressing liability indemnity arrangements, for example in reporting an adverse incident;
- disclosure to a lawyer for the defence of anticipated or existing legal proceedings;
- Quacks quality assurance or clinical audit activities, where they evaluate and seek to improve the delivery of a particular treatment or service; and
- disclosure to a clinical supervisor by a psychiatrist, psychologist or social worker.
We are also required by law to disclose information to a court on supoena and under certain circumstances to police (e.g. child abuse).