Privacy Policy

IHMS Privacy Statement

Last Updated: May 2023

International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) manages health information on behalf of governments and international organisations. We provide healthcare in both remote and urban settings, delivering a high standard of care even in physically and culturally challenging environments. We deliver healthcare in a professional manner that is:

  • medically appropriate.

  • without any form of discrimination.

  • with appropriate dignity, humanity, cultural and gender sensitivity; and

  • with respect for privacy and confidentiality as defined by relevant law.

IHMS can be contacted by either;

Post:                    International Health & Medical Services

                             PO Box 5103

                             Kingston   ACT   2604

Telephone:          +61 (2) 9372 2500

Email:                  corporateaffairs@ihms.com.au

 

IHMS has adopted the Australian Privacy Principles (“APPs”) contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“the Privacy Act”). The APPs govern the way in with IHMS collects, uses, stores, secures and disposes of Personal Information.

1. TYPE OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT

Personal Information is information that is about an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Sensitive Information is a subset of Personal Information that includes information relating to an individual’s race, religion, beliefs, sexual orientation, criminal record, or health.

IHMS will only gather Personal Information that is relevant for the purposes for which it will be used and will not gather excessive or unnecessary information unless you provide us with information that we have not otherwise asked for yet we believe that it may be relevant to our use.

2. HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

IHMS collects Personal Information when you:

  • visit our clinics; or

  • seek a consultation with our medical professionals; or

  • contact us as part of a health assessment; or

  • make enquiries, requests or complaints.

We may also receive information about you from other sources when this data is given to IHMS by third parties such as, but not limited to, medical service providers, government departments, and institutions that are permitted to share this personal information.

3. HOW DO WE USE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED

IHMS will use your Personal Information to provide you with medical services in line with our contractual, medical or legal obligations under applicable laws We will ensure to have an appropriate lawful basis to process this information.

In compliance with the Privacy Act and other applicable  laws, your Personal Information may be provided to service providers that offer medical services to you, or to local clinics or doctors who we arrange to treat you or provide you with a health assessment. We may also disclose your Personal Information to local authorities if necessary to assist in arranging emergency medical care for you.

Your Personal Information may be disclosed to government department and institutions but only when permitted by applicable laws and regulations or by lawful contract. It is unlikely that IHMS will disclose your Personal Information outside of Australia and Nauru (where IHMS operates as part of its contract with the Commonwealth of Australia). 

4. HOW DO WE PROTECT THE INFORMATION COLLECTED

IHMS shall take reasonable steps to ensure that data is reliable, accurate, complete, and current, bearing in mind its intended use. You have a responsibility to keep the data you provide to us updated and we will take reasonable steps to facilitate this.

IHMS takes precautions to protect your Personal Information. IHMS has implemented policies that forbid its employees from using or disclosing Personal Information in an inappropriate or unlawful manner and maintains security measures to safeguard the Personal Information from unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, loss or destruction.

The Information Security Policy, Procedures and Processes

All IHMS employees undergo training relevant to Data Protection and Data Security and are required to follow relevant procedures. Training modules and policies are periodically reviewed and updated, as the information security landscape is in a constant state of flux. Employees also have confidentiality obligations in their contracts of employment with IHMS.

Security of Premises and Other Physical Security Measures

Physical access to all IHMS offices, medical services sites and other facilities are security controlled which include locks that are opened by keys, and/or by using security cards and security card readers that record the identity of employees and visitors entering or leaving the facilities. Registers of visitors are kept and sign-in sheets are used in locations that require additional security. All employees at IHMS facilities are given unique ID photo badges which they are required to wear and clearly display.

Information systems and communications equipment are placed in secure areas and protected by additional physical security measures that permit access only to the employees who need access, operational processes, environmental controls and fire detection and suppression systems to safeguard against accidental loss, theft or unauthorized removal, misuse, damage or unauthorized access.

IHMS engages external consultants to conduct security reviews of its environment. These reviews help IHMS understand any security gaps and ensure that its infrastructure and applications are able to meet and mitigate new network and internet security threats and risks.

5. HOW CAN I ACCESS MY PERSONAL INFORMATION

You can request access to the Personal Information that IHMS has collected from you by submitting a request to the IHMS clinic at your site or by following the instructions on our website (www.ihms.com.au). In the event that you are provided with access to your Personal Information (IHMS will not withhold access to you unless there is a lawful or clinical requirement to do so) then it is incumbent on you to ensure that any error in your Personal Information is brought to the attention of IHMS.

Should you need our assistance to access your Personal Information, or should you wish to request that your Personal Information be changed, please submit your request to the IHMS clinic at your site or by following the instructions on our website (www.ihms.com.au).

In making your request to review, update or amend your Personal Information, you will be required to provide IHMS with details of the Personal Information requested and the reasons why the Personal Information needs correction. IHMS will ask for proof of your identity. IHMS may ask you to assist in verifying the accuracy of the updates and the amendments to the Personal Information. IHMS will then review your request to ensure that any change to your Personal Information is appropriate and lawful.

IHMS will strive to address your request as soon as practicable and usually within thirty (30) calendar days from the date your request is received and understood.

6. HOW DO I RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH IHMS RELATING TO PERSONAL INFORMATION?

If you are unsatisfied with the manner in which your question or concern was addressed, you may submit a complaint by completing the complaint form and submitting it to IHMS through the complaint box at your site. If you are not at site, you can email your complaint to corporateaffairs@ihms.com.au.

All complaints will be managed in a timely manner, observing procedural fairness. IHMS will investigate all concerns and complaints and will address them within a reasonable timeframe. You have the right at any time, to raise your issues with a privacy authority.

7. COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

IHMS uses cookies or similar technologies to analyse trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. You can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level, but if you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functions on our website or service.

A cookie is a piece of data stored on your hard drive containing information about you. IHMS uses cookies in order to identify a user session, but usage of a cookie is in no way used to link to any personally identifiable information while on the IHMS website. IHMS also uses ‘analytical cookies’. These allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors logging into our web site and to see how visitors move around the site when they are using it. This helps us make sure sites are meeting users’ needs and to find out how we could improve. The analytical cookies do not capture any personally identifiable information.  Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. Though most cookies expire after a certain period of time, you can choose to delete a cookie file at any time. You can do so by resetting your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is sent. (you can find more information here on ‘how to enable or disable cookies’ https://allaboutcookies.org/how-to-manage-cookies) However, some IHMS features or services may not function properly without cookies. Some of our service providers (e.g. IHMS's service providers monitoring our satisfaction survey) use cookies on the IHMS site. IHMS has no access to or control over these cookies. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by the IHMS site only and does not cover the use of cookies by anyone else

8. CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY

IHMS reserves the right to change this policy at any time by notifying users through its website of the existence of a new privacy statement prior to the change becoming effective. This statement and the policies outlined herein are not intended to and do not create any contractual or other legal rights. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.