Privacy and Website Disclaimer
General Privacy Information
The Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional
Procedures – Surgical (ASERNIP-S) has developed a policy to
protect your privacy in compliance with privacy legislation. Our
statement is to inform you of the following:
- what personal information is being collected
- who is collecting your personal information
- how your personal information is being used
- to whom your personal information is being disclosed
- how your personal information is being stored.
Introduction
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons ASERNIP-S Program is
committed to ensuring the privacy of individuals. As of 21 December
2001, ASERNIP-S is bound by the National Privacy Principles which are
set out in the Australian Privacy Act 1998. This policy details
the information handling practices of ASERNIP-S.
Collection
ASERNIP-S will only collect information from individuals when it is
necessary for the performance of its activities.
The ASERNIP-S mission is to provide quality and timely assessments of
new and emerging surgical technologies and techniques. Services provided
include systematic and accelerated systematic reviews of the
peer-reviewed literature, the establishment and facilitation of clinical
and research audits, the identification and assessment of new and
emerging techniques and technologies by horizon scanning and the
production of clinical practice guidelines. Our ultimate aim is to
improve the quality of health care through the wide dissemination of our
evidence-based research to surgeons, health care providers and
consumers, both nationally and internationally. We collect, use and
disclose information for these purposes.
Use
ASERNIP-S only uses personal information for the purpose for which it
was collected, having regard to the functions and activities of
ASERNIP-S, and as required by law.
Consent
By participating in ASERNIP-S activities you consent to the collection,
disclosure and use of your information in accordance with this
statement.
Disclosure
ASERNIP-S does not sell any of the personal information it collects, and
will only disclose personal information for the purpose for which it was
collected. This may include disclosure, on a de-identified basis, or
where necessary and in accordance with the purpose for which it was
collected, on an identifying basis to ASERNIP-S staff, researchers,
contractors and participants in ASERNIP-S activities. Disclosure may
also be required by law, where applicable although many ASERNIP-S
activities are registered under state or federal qualified privilege
legislation which may limit or prohibit disclosure.
Access
You may contact the Privacy Officer on +61 8 8363 7513 or at privacy.asernip@surgeons.org
at any time to discuss access to personal information we hold about you.
We may require you to fill out a form to access this information. Access
with be provided unless the request is unreasonable or is not possible
for legal reasons. As permitted by law, a fee may be requested to cover
the cost of access.
Security
ASERNIP-S endeavours to protect your personal information from
unauthorised use, access, disclosure and alteration. Employees are only
provided with access to personal information that is relevant to their
roles and responsibilities, and we seek to ensure that staff comply with
ASERNIP-S policy on the handling of personal information. We will hold
your information until there is no longer a business or legal need to
retain it.
Correction
ASERNIP-S seeks to maintain the accuracy of your personal information.
We encourage you to contact us if the information we hold about you is
incorrect or to notify us if your personal information has changed.
Complaints and Concerns
If you have any concerns about the way ASERNIP-S handles your personal
information, please contact the Privacy Officer on +61 8 8363 7513 or at
privacy.asernip@surgeons.org.
We may ask that you put your request in writing and will seek to resolve
your concern as promptly as possible.
All privacy enquiries will be taken seriously and we will endeavour
to deal with them promptly. In most cases, we may require that your
concerns be put in writing.
If you would like to access or update personal information, or
exercise your rights under the privacy legislation, please contact our
Privacy Officer. It is our policy that all requests for access be made
in writing. Our Privacy Officer will arrange for an access form to be
sent to you, and can assist with any enquiries you may have about the
process. We will respond to all requests for access within 30 days; in
most cases we will be able to respond well before that time.
Changes to ASERNIP-S Privacy Policy
ASERNIP-S reserves the right to modify or amend this privacy policy at
any time, provided that those modifications or amendments comply with
the Privacy Act.
Issues Relating to
the ASERNIP-S Website
Information collected -
De-identified
The usage analysis software used by the College records:
- Unique visitors and sessions
- Requested pages, downloads, search terms used, posted forms, status
and errors, hits and bytes downloaded per directory, file, and file
type
- Entrance pages, exit pages, click paths, click to and click from and
length of session
- Domains, Countries, and IP addresses
- Browsers, platforms, and robots
The statistics are de-identified at the time of recording. This
information is used to monitor usage patterns on our site in order to
improve navigation and design features - helping you to get information
more easily.
Information Collected – Identifiable
ASERNIP-S may collect identifiable information, such as contact details
for use in our mailing list. You will only be added to the mailing list
that you have agreed to by checking the appropriate box on forms
submitted through this website.
Access to Information Collected
ASERNIP-S will not make an attempt to identify users or their browsing
activities. However, in the unlikely event of an investigation, a law
enforcement agency or other government agency may exercise its legal
authority to inspect our Internet Service Provider's logs, and thus gain
information about users and their activities.
Use and Disclosure of Information Collected
Any information you provide will only be used for the purposes for which
you have provided it. It will not be disclosed to third parties without
your consent.
Cookies
A cookie is a file created by an Internet site in order to
store information on your computer. This website does use
cookies.
Issues Relating to
Audits
ASERNIP-S audits surgical procedures in order to increase knowledge
relating to safety and efficacy and surgical practice in Australia.
Information obtained in the course of an audit may contain patient
information that is identifiable, semi-identifiable or non-identifiable.
Identifiable information includes the collection of patient name,
address and hospital. Semi-identifiable information may include patient
initials, date of birth and hospital; non-identifiable information is
where the patient's name is replaced by a coded number known only to the
submitting surgeon.
As of September 2003 ASERNIP-S is undertaking three audits:
- Endoluminal repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms
- Trans-urethral Needle Ablation for urinary outflow obstruction
- National Breast Cancer Audit for the treatment of early breast
cancer.
Ethics approval has been obtained for all audits from the Royal
Australasian College of Surgeons Ethics Committee. Patient information
sheets and consent forms for the audits are made available to patients
by their surgeons and are also available on the ASERNIP-S website.
Information Collected – Identifiable
For the audit of Endoluminal Repair of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms,
surgeons submit the name, date of birth, postal address and hospital
number of each patient, in addition to providing information relating to
the procedure and its outcomes. Copies of the blank data sets can be
downloaded from the Audits
section of the ASERNIP-S website.
Information Collected – Semi-Identifiable
The National Breast Cancer Audit collects information relating to the
surgical treatment of early breast cancer. For this audit surgeons send
the patient initials, date of birth and hospital. The audit of
Trans-urethral Needle Ablation also requires that the surgeon submit
patient initials, date of birth and hospital at which the procedure took
place.
Use of Information
ASERNIP-S collects identifiable personal information where there is a
long-term requirement to collect follow-up information. ASERNIP-S does
not use personal details for any other purpose than that intended by the
collection. Audit results are submitted in summary form (i.e. in a
non-identifiable form) to the Australian Government Department of Health
and Ageing at regular intervals. No identifiable information is
submitted, with respect to patients or surgeons. Copies of the reports
are available from the ASERNIP-S website.
Contact Details
ASERNIP-S welcomes your comments about our Privacy Policy and any
questions can be directed to:
The Privacy Officer
PO Box 553
Stepney SA 5069
Telephone: +61 8 8363 7513
Email: privacy.asernip@surgeons.org
Website Disclaimer
1. Disclaimer
Please read carefully and completely the terms of the agreement which
follows. By accessing the ASERNIP-S website you agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement. If you do not wish to be bound to the terms of
this agreement, you must not access the site.
ASERNIP-S accepts no liability or responsibility to any person as a
consequence of any reliance upon the information contained in this
Website.
2. Legal Disclaimers
2.1 Accuracy
Every effort is made to provide information that is accurate. However,
materials contained in this website are subject change at any time by
appropriate action of ASERNIP-S.
We give no assurance or warranty that information on this site is
current, and take no responsibility for matters arising from changed
circumstances or other information or material which may affect the
accuracy or currency of information on this site.
2.2 Copyright
Copyright in this website rests with ASERNIP-S unless otherwise
stated.
We authorise you to print, copy, reproduce, download and view
materials on the website, subject to:
- The material being used in the intended manner;
- The material being used exclusively for personal and educational
use; and
- The material not being modified in any manner.
2.3 No Warranties
This website is provided on an "as is", "as available" basis without
warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited
to, those of TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE or
NON-INFRINGEMENT or any warranty arising from a course of dealing,
usage, or trade practice. No oral advice or written information provided
shall create a warranty; nor shall members or visitors to the site rely
on any such information or advice. This publication is not intended to
be a contract, explicit or implied, and ASERNIP-S reserves the right to
make changes in the information contained.
2.4 Disclaimer of Liability
The user assumes all responsibility and risk for the use of this website
and the Internet generally. We accept no liability or responsibility to
any person as a consequence of any reliance upon the information
contained in this site. Under no circumstances, including negligence,
shall anyone involved in creating or maintaining this website be liable
for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages,
or loss profits that result from the use or inability to use the website
and/or any other websites which are linked to this site. Nor shall they
be liable for any such damages including, but not limited to, reliance
by a member or visitor on any information obtained via the website; or
that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files,
viruses, errors, defects, or failure of performance, communications
failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access. States or Countries
which do not allow some or all of the above limitations of liability,
liability shall be limited to the greatest extent allowed by law.
2.5 Online Conduct
Visitors agree to use the website only for lawful purposes and are
prohibited from posting on the website any unlawful, harmful,
threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or obscene material of any
kind, including, but not limited to, any material which encourages
conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, give rise to civil
liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or
international law. Although in the absence of a specific complaint the
postings are monitored for compliance with this provision, in an effort
to discourage such conduct, please note that all postings in a forum
area will list the author's name and institution – no anonymous
postings are permitted.
2.6 Third Party Content
We are distributors (not publishers) of the content supplied by visitors
and other third parties. Accordingly, we have no more editorial control
over this content than does a public library. Any opinions, advice,
statements, services, offers or other information or content made
available by members, visitors and other third parties are those of the
respective author(s) and we are not responsible for any material posted
by third parties. We cannot and do not endorse it in any way, we
expressly disclaim any liability associated with material posted by
third parties.
2.7 Disclaimer of Endorsement
Reference to any products, services, hypertext link to the third parties
or other information by trade name, trademark, supplier or otherwise
does not constitute or imply its endorsement, sponsorship or
recommendation by us. Nor is endorsement of us implied by such links.
They are for convenience only, as an index in a public library.
2.8 Information Subject to Change
Any information on this website may include technical inaccuracies or
typographical errors. Furthermore, the information may change from time
to time without any notice.
2.9 Links to Other Sites
The Site may contain links to other sites on the internet ("Linked
Sites"). We are not responsible for the accuracy, legality, decency of
material or copyright compliance of any Linked Site or services or
information provided via any Linked Site.
2.10 Security of Information
No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as totally
secure. Whilst we strive to protect such information we do not warrant
and cannot ensure the security of information which you transmit to us.
Accordingly, any information which you transmit to us is transmitted at
your own risk.
2.11 Governing Law
These terms and conditions will be constructed according to and are
governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia.
This webpage was modified on 18 October 2005
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