Email Policy

Our patients will be given the option of being contacted by electronic means such as via email and/or SMS.

All new and existing patients in the practice have access to an information sheet on our electronic communication policy and are asked to provide signed consent to agree or disagree to be communicated with in this manner.

It is acknowledged by the practice that consent is implied if the patient initiates electronic communication with the practice.

Reception staff are to check each patient has this information on their record on arrival to the practice, along with the verification of their name, date of birth and address.

The signed consent will be scanned and recorded in the patient electronic record and their response recorded on the practice software.

The consent form will state that the practice may use this mode of communication:

• to send reminders for a scheduled appointment.
• when the patient needs to make an appointment to review a test result.
• as a reminder that a generic preventative screening test (for example, flu vaccine, skin-check, cervical screening) is due.
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Further information will state that the practice:

• cannot guarantee confidentiality of information transferred via email (if using encryption, please state how your encryption works).
• will comply with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988.
• communications will not contain sensitive information, due to the risk of confidential information being accessed inadvertently or intentionally by a third party.
• communications will not contain results that only the general practitioner should be divulging in a follow-up appointment, ie abnormal results, education concerning a new diagnosis, etc
• communication will not entail promotion of any product and/or preventative health care (as some patients can interpret this as an advertisement)

Patients will be advised through the consent form that:

• emails will be answered within forty-eight hours (also included in the automatic email response).
• patients should not use email to contact the practice in an emergency (also included in the automatic email response)

Our practice email account for patients and stakeholders for non-urgent communication with our practice is victoriapark.pa@grove-medical.com.au

This email account will be routinely checked throughout the business day by the delegated authority, Patient Advocates.

• at the start of business
• midday 
• one hour before end of business