ASERNIP-S Privacy Policy

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 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.

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

The Australian and New Zealand Gastric and Oesophageal Surgical Association (ANZGOSA) Audit collects the name, date of birth and postal address of patients. These identifying details are encrypted and not available to audit staff.

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.

Use of 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) in annual reports and peer-reviewed research, details of which are available on this 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