Privacy policy

Dandenong Skin Cancer Clinic is the skin cancer service of Dr Wagdi Nagib. Dr Nagib sees patients at Langton Medical Centre, 37 Langhorne Street, Dandenong VIC 3175.

Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, and how we keep it safe. It also tells you how to see your records or make a complaint.

We follow the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), including the Australian Privacy Principles. We also follow the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and its Health Privacy Principles.

What information we collect

When you become a patient, we collect the information we need to look after your health. This may include:

• Your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email
• Your Medicare number, and your concession or DVA card details if you have them
• Your medical history, medicines, allergies and family history
• Notes, test results and images from your visits, such as photos of skin spots
• Your next of kin or emergency contact

How we collect it

We usually collect information from you directly. This happens when you book, fill in a new patient form, or see your doctor.

Sometimes we collect information from others, but only when we need it for your care. This may include:

• Other doctors, specialists or hospitals involved in your care
• Pathology and imaging services, such as St Vincent's Pathology
• Medicare, or My Health Record if you have one
• A family member or carer, if you can't give the information yourself

Booking online

Online bookings are made through HotDoc. When you book, HotDoc collects your details and passes them to the practice so your appointment can be arranged. HotDoc may also send you booking confirmations and reminders by SMS or email. HotDoc has its own privacy policy, which you can read on the HotDoc website.

Our website

This website does not ask for your health information. It has no forms and no patient login.

Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how people use the website, such as which pages they visit and which buttons they click. This helps us make the website better. Google Analytics uses cookies. These are small files saved by your web browser. They collect information such as your device type, browser, rough location and the pages you visit. This information does not tell us who you are.

Google may store this information on servers outside Australia, including in the United States. You can read Google's privacy policy at policies.google.com/privacy. You can stop Google Analytics from collecting data in three ways:

• Turn off cookies in your web browser settings
• Install the Google Analytics opt-out add-on from tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
• Use your browser's private mode

Advertising. We advertise on Google and on Meta (Facebook and Instagram). We don't put Google or Meta advertising tools on this website. If you click one of our ads, Google or Meta may collect information about that click under their own privacy policies.

Hosting. The website is hosted by Webflow, which may record basic technical information, such as your IP address, to keep the site secure and working.

Why we collect, use and share your information

We use your information to:

• Give you safe, good-quality health care
• Book appointments and send you reminders
• Claim Medicare benefits (bulk billing)
• Contact you about your results or follow-up care
• Run the practice, for example for billing, accreditation, training and quality checks

We only share your information when we need to, for example with:

• Other health providers involved in your care, such as specialists, hospitals and pathology services
• Medicare and other government bodies, when needed to process claims or when the law requires it
• My Health Record, if you have one, unless you ask us not to upload information
• Service providers, such as IT, software and booking services, who must keep your information private
• Anyone you agree to, or anyone the law allows or requires us to tell, such as a court, or to prevent a serious threat to someone's life or safety

We do not sell your information. We do not use your health information for marketing.

Information sent overseas

We don't send your health information overseas unless you agree or the law allows it. Some service providers, such as software and booking services, may store data outside Australia. If they do, we take reasonable steps to make sure they protect it to Australian standards. Website analytics may be stored overseas, as explained under "Our website".

Staying anonymous

You can ask to use a different name or to stay anonymous. For most health care, though, we need to know who you are to treat you safely. To bulk bill through Medicare, we must have your correct name and Medicare details.

How we keep your information safe

Your records are stored in secure, password-protected systems. Only staff who need your information for their work can see it, and all staff must keep it confidential. Paper documents are kept secure and destroyed safely when no longer needed.

We keep health records for at least seven years after your last visit. For patients under 18, we keep them until the patient turns 25. These are the minimum times set by Victorian law.

If a data breach is likely to cause someone serious harm, we will tell the people affected and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, as the law requires.

Seeing and correcting your information

You can ask to see the information held about you. You can also ask for it to be corrected if it is wrong, out of date or incomplete.

Please ask in writing. You can hand your request to reception or post it to the Practice Manager at the address below. We will reply within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying your records. We will tell you the fee before we start. In rare cases the law allows us to refuse access, for example if it could put someone's health or safety at serious risk. If we refuse, we will tell you why in writing.

Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about your privacy, please contact the Practice Manager first:

• Phone: (03) 9791 8888
• In person: reception, Langton Medical Centre
• Post: Practice Manager, Langton Medical Centre, 37 Langhorne Street, Dandenong VIC 3175

We take every concern seriously and treat it confidentially. We will reply within 30 days.

If you are not happy with our response, you can contact either of these free, independent bodies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated.