Privacy

The Communication Toolbox values your privacy and has created a Privacy Policy and Health Collection Statement that explains why the practice collects your information, what it is used for and how it is stored. It also provides important information for clients and for people interacting with The Communication Toolbox online.

Privacy Policy and Health Collection Statement

The Communication Toolbox is an independent practice under the ownership of Elizabeth A Lea. You may contact The Communication Toolbox by writing to The Communication Toolbox, 215 Sandhurst Boulevard, Sandhurst, Vic 3977, by emailing enquiries@thecommunicationtoolbox.com.au or by calling Elizabeth Lea on 0424 426 697. You have the right to gain access to the information about you that is held by The Communication Toolbox (herein referred to as “the practice”).

The practice needs to collect information about you for the primary purpose of providing quality treatment and if you do not provide this information, we may be unable to treat you.

The practice will use the information you provide to:

  • Provide a full assessment of your communicative strengths and difficulties (where appropriate)
  • Provide you with a diagnosis (if applicable)
  • Conduct administration tasks associated with running the business e.g. billing you or through an insurer or compensation agency
  • Create and develop session plans
  • Inform discussions between speech pathologists working at the practice e.g. during case conferencing when speech pathologists discuss treatment ideas and strategies with each other or in the event where your therapy plan will be managed by another speech pathologist within the practice
  • Inform discussions with other professions e.g. your paediatrician, doctor, carer or teacher (you will be asked to provide verbal consent for this prior to contact being made)

 The practice may also use non-identifying information about you during discussions with speech pathologists and other professionals who do not work at the practice. This assists the practice in delivering an innovative and dynamic therapy plan.

The practice will only disclose information regarding diagnosis or treatment to your doctor or other treatment providers after obtaining your explicit consent. In the case of insurance or compensation claims, it may be necessary to disclose information and/or collect information that affects your treatment and return to work. The practice will not disclose your personal information to commercial companies or overseas recipients, however specific service or product information as deemed suitable for your speech pathology management may be forwarded to you by the practice, unless you instruct the practice not to forward this type of information. Your written consent will be obtained at the start of your treatment in order to carry out the above activities.

The practice will create both a paper-based and electronic file to manage your data and these are kept securely at the practice. They may be stored on the practice’s password-protected computers, password-protected iOS devices, external data storage devices and USB storage devices. Your files may contain session plans, notes made during sessions, details of phone calls and emails made to you or about you with other professionals, and other information that relates to your assessment and treatment plan.

 Information at the practice is stored securely and only practice staff has access to it. The practice takes all reasonable steps to ensure that information collected about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date. You may access your information on request and if you believe that any of the information is inaccurate it will be amended accordingly. In some circumstances, the practice may not agree to changing your personal information or providing you access to your information for legitimate purposes and if this occurs, you will be provided with the reason(s) for this decision. If you do not provide relevant personal or health information, in part or in full, to the practice it may result in incomplete assessment. This may impact on the diagnosis and the therapy that is provided. The practice completes a yearly internal audit of current clients’ details to check that clients’ information is accurate and up-to-date.

Accessing and Contributing to The Communication Toolbox’s Website

The practice maintains an online presence through its website (www.thecommunicationtoolbox.com.au). Any information posted by individuals online can be viewed and commented upon by others. Contributions by others do not necessarily reflect the views of the practice. The practice’s website may contain links to other websites and the practice takes no responsibility for the content or management of information from other websites. This Privacy Policy and Health Information Collection Statement does not apply to websites linked to the practice’s website.

If you choose to contribute material to the website, your content must adhere to the relevant guidelines outlined by the website software developer WordPress’s Terms of Service, Responsibility of Contributors (available viahttp://en.wordpress.com/tos/), namely:

◦                the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;

◦                if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;

◦                you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;

◦                the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;

◦                the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);

◦                the Content is not pornographic, does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;

Contributions must not contain profanity or demean others. Any contributions that are deemed offensive or inappropriate may be removed at the discretion of the website administrator, Elizabeth Lea. By accessing any part of the website, you agree to these conditions and acknowledge that you understand the above information.

Accessing and Contributing to The Communication Toolbox’s Facebook Page

The practice maintains a Facebook page designed to provide “followers” with information about the business and topics that relate to speech pathology. It can be accessed via www.facebook.com/thecommunicationtoolbox. After joining Facebook, you are bound by Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms?ref=pf. By pressing the “Like” button on the practice’s page, your Facebook profile and information about you may be visible to others, as per your Facebook privacy settings. By “Liking” the practice’s page, you agree to receive Facebook updates from the practice and any information posted by individuals online can be viewed and commented upon by others. Contributions must not contain profanity or demean others. Any contributions that are deemed offensive or inappropriate may be removed at the discretion of the page administrator, Elizabeth Lea. Contributions do not necessarily reflect the views of the practice. You can opt out of receiving Facebook updates from the practice at any time by visiting www.facebook.com/thecommunicationtoolbox and clicking “Unlike”.

Programming Electronic Communication Devices (ECDs) or Communication Apps

As part of your therapy plan, the practice may select vocabulary items for you and provide programming updates for your Electronic Communication Device (ECD) or Communication App. These programming updates constitute the intellectual property of the practice and while we encourage clients to create backup copies of their programming, copies must not be passed to a third party without obtaining prior written consent from Elizabeth Lea at the practice.

The Use and Storage of Recordings, Photos and Video

For clients seeking programming updates from the practice, the practice may create a pictorial copy of your original programming and any subsequent programming that the practice adds to your ECD / Communication App. Electronic data may be stored on the practice’s password-protected computers, password-protected iOS devices, external data storage devices and USB storage devices, all of which are kept securely. Data may be used throughout the process of session planning and your ongoing management.

In order to record baselines, track your progress over time and record goals that you have achieved, your speech pathologist at the practice may record audio and/or video parts of your sessions and/or take photographs. Verbal consent will be requested prior to this occurring. The recordings, footage and/or photographs may be listened to and/or viewed by you and anyone who accompanies you to your session. Recordings, footage and photographs may be stored on the practice’s password-protected computers, password-protected iOS devices, external data storage devices and USB storage devices, all of which are kept securely. Recordings, photographs and videos of you will not be used in any other way than what it outlined in this document without your written consent.

Requesting Assistance to Understand The Communication Toolbox’s Privacy Policy and Health Information Collection Statement or Consent Form

If you experience difficulty understanding any part of the practice’s Privacy Policy and Health Information Collection Statement or Consent Form, you can request assistance in the form of further explanation, written material in Easy English or visual supports from Elizabeth Lea at The Communication Toolbox,either by:

Contacting the Practice and Complaints Procedure

If you have any concerns about this policy or your management, or if you believe that you privacy has been breached, please contact Elizabeth Lea at The Communication Toolbox either by:

The practice will endeavor to resolve your issue promptly.

 

This document has been based in part on “Private Speech Pathology Practice Privacy Guide” by Speech Pathology Australia, 2014, accessed via http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/library/PrivatePracticeResources/SPAs%20Privacy%20Guide%202014%20FINAL.pdf  “Privacy Guidelines for Private Practitioners” by Speech Pathology Australia, 2005, accessed via http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/library/Private Practice Resources/Privacy_Guidelines_for_Private_Practitioners.pdf

and Speech Pathology Australia’s Privacy Policy http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345&Itemid=280

 

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