Protecting your privacy 
WISE ACUPUNCTURE is committed to providing clients with the highest levels of service, including the protection of client privacy. The following is the information that the Privacy Act requires Wise Acupuncture to communicate to clients. 
 
Your personal information 
Personal information held by Wise Acupuncture may include your name, date of birth, current and previous addresses, telephone/mobile numbers, email addresses and occupation. Information about current and past health issues will also be held. If you choose not to provide such personal information (if required), Wise Acupuncture may not be able to provide you with the services you require, or the level of service on which we pride ourselves. 

In WA, patient health records for Allied Health practitioners are recommended to be kept for 7 years after the last treatment. All patient files at Wise Acupuncture are kept in a hard copy in locked filing cabinets. All other personal information is kept in both hard copy and online in data protected Cloud based storage. 
All HICAPs charges made signed copies, are required to be kept for 18-24 months in case of dispute. These are kept offsite in locked storage as required by HICAPS health funds.

How personal information is collected 
Wise Acupuncture collects personal information in a number of ways, including: 
  • Directly from you, when you provide information in documents such as an in-take form or health reports 
  • From the organisations identified below under ‘When we disclose your personal information’ 
  • From a complaint to Wise Acupuncture (note that complaints and any associated information is handled in line with our Chinese Medicine Board Practitioner Code of Conduct and complaints handling procedures), or
  • From our own records of how you use Wise Acupuncture services.
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How we use your personal information 
Your personal information may be used by Wise Acupuncture in order to: 
  • Provide the services you require 
  • Administer and manage those services, including charging, billing and collecting debts 
  • Inform you of ways the services provided to you could be improved 
  • Gain an understanding of your needs in order for us to provide you with a better service, and
  • For identification purposes.

When we disclose your personal information 
For the purposes set out above, Wise Acupuncture may disclose your personal information to other organisations. The organisations to which Wise Acupuncture may disclose information include: 
  • Other Practitioners for practitioner referrals (such details being limited to name, address, phone number and health information as agreed by you for release) 
  • Various health funds for client recognition 
  • Government and regulatory authorities, as required or authorised by law. 
  • In such cases the provision of information is on an individual client basis and restricted to that necessary to confirm identification.

When we do not disclose your personal information 
Wise Acupuncture has a policy of not providing member lists to outside parties, other than health funds, or if legally required to, unless the supply of that information has been directly or impliedly authorised. When advertising material is forwarded to you it is done so on behalf of Wise Acupuncture only. 

Help us to Ensure Information Held is Correct  
Wise Acupuncture takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information it collects, uses and discloses is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, the accuracy of that information depends to a large extent on the information you provide. Wise Acupuncture therefore recommends that you:
  • Advise the clinic of any errors in your personal information in writing 
  • Keep Wise Acupuncture up-to-date with changes to personal information such as your name, address or phone contact details.

    Should you require further information, please contact Wise Acupuncture on 9295 1778, [email protected] or PO Box 32 Chidlow, WA 6556.