PATIENT HEALTH PRIVACY
Your Privacy
Gore Medical Centre respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal and health information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.
- provide safe and appropriate healthcare
- support continuity of care
- meet legal, funding, and professional obligations
Access to health information is restricted to authorised staff and healthcare providers involved in your care or in the lawful operation of the practice.
You have the right to access your health information and request correction of information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
Gore Medical Centre does not sell, trade, or rent personal or health information to third parties.
Patient Enrolment Information
When you enrol with Gore Medical Centre, the information you provide may be:
- securely held by Gore Medical Centre
- used by Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora and the Ministry of Health to allocate or update your National Health Index (NHI) number
- shared with our Primary Health Organisation (PHO) and Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora for the purpose of providing publicly funded healthcare services
- used to determine eligibility for publicly funded health services
- included in practice, PHO, and National Enrolment Service (NES) registers
Your information may also be compared with information held by other government agencies where authorised or permitted by law.
HealthOne
Gore Medical Centre contributes to and accesses healthcare information through HealthOne to support coordinated patient care.
What is HealthOne?
Gore Medical Centre contributes to and accesses healthcare information through HealthOne to support coordinated patient care.
HealthOne is a South Island-based secure electronic record that allows registered healthcare providers directly involved in your healthcare, to quickly access information such as your test results, allergies, medications, GP summaries and hospital information. HealthOne adheres to the principles of the Privacy Act 2020 as well as the Rules set out in the Health Information Privacy Code 2020. Access is only possible via an approved highly secure healthcare information network which is regularly audited and tested. Privacy auditing is used to check that only those directly involved in your care are accessing your information.
To find out more about HealthOne please visit https://healthone.org.nz/. Please note that you are entitled to restrict the sharing of your healthcare records by contacting 0508 837 872 or emailing HealthOne.privacy@pegasus.health.nz.
Visiting Another General Practice
If you receive care from another healthcare provider or general practice, you may be asked for consent for information from that visit to be shared with your regular doctor to support continuity of care.
Where Gore Medical Centre provides care to patients who are not enrolled with the practice, relevant information from that visit may be shared with the patient’s regular healthcare provider where consent is given or where permitted or required by law.
If you hold a High User Health Card (HUHC) or Community Services Card (CSC) and visit another general practice, subsidy-related information may be shared between practices in accordance with funding and privacy requirements.
Information from Third Parties
To support the provision of healthcare services, Gore Medical Centre may receive personal or health information about you from other healthcare professionals, organisations, or individuals involved in your care. This may include information from hospitals, specialists, laboratories, pharmacies, insurers, HealthOne, or support persons acting on your behalf.
Information received in this way may be used to assist with your care and treatment, coordinate referrals and healthcare services, maintain accurate clinical records, and meet legal, funding, and professional requirements.
Under the Privacy Act 2020, including Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A), healthcare providers are required to take reasonable steps to inform patients when information may be collected indirectly from third parties involved in their care.
This Patient Privacy Statement is intended to help ensure patients are aware that information may be collected in this way, including the types of information that may be collected, how it may be used, and the circumstances in which it may be shared.
Where authorised or permitted by law, relevant health information may also be shared with other healthcare providers or organisations involved in your care.
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information at any time.
Audit and Use of Health Information
In some circumstances, patient health information may be reviewed as part of audits, quality assurance activities, or funding checks carried out by authorised organisations.
Where health information is accessed for audit purposes:
- only information relevant to the audit will be reviewed
- audits are conducted under confidentiality requirements
- clinical information will only be reviewed by appropriately authorised or qualified personnel where required
Patients may be contacted as part of an audit process to confirm services received.
Health Programmes
If you participate in health programmes such as immunisation, screening, diabetes, or long-term condition management programmes, relevant information may be shared with the PHO or external organisations responsible for administering those programmes.
Other Uses of Health Information
Health information that does not directly identify you, but may include your NHI number, may be used by Health New Zealand / Te Whatu Ora, the Ministry of Health, or our PHO for purposes including:
- health service planning and reporting
- monitoring and improving service quality
- funding and payment processes
This information is not published or used in a way that identifies you personally.
Except as outlined in this statement, your health information remains confidential unless:
- disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to life or health
- you provide consent
- disclosure is required or permitted by law
Storage and Retention of Health Information
Gore Medical Centre takes reasonable steps to protect health information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, or alteration.
Access to health information is restricted to authorised staff and healthcare providers involved in your care or the lawful operation of the practice.
Health records are retained securely in accordance with legal, professional, and health record retention requirements.
Raising a Concern or Complaint
All patients have the right to raise a concern or make a complaint about privacy, care, or services received at Gore Medical Centre. Raising a concern will not affect your access to care.
If you have any concerns relating to your health information, please speak with our Privacy Officer, Kerry Harrington.
Contact details
Phone: 03 208 9222
Email: email@goremedical.co.nz
Address: 12 Eccles Street, Gore 9710
Privacy Concerns and Complaints
If your concern is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
Freephone: 0800 803 909
If your concern relates to care or service quality, you may contact the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC).
Freephone: 0800 11 22 33
You do not need our permission to do so.