When you come to Hauora Hokianga you will be asked to provide personal information which may include details about illnesses, injuries, symptoms, and information about services you have received from other healthcare providers.
Under the Health Information Code of Practice, Hauora Hokianga takes the following steps to ensure that your privacy is respected and protected:
- Only necessary information is collected
- Whenever possible we collect the information directly from you
- We have procedures in place to make sure that any information we collect is kept securely
- We have a policy to allow you to access your personal information
- If you believe that any information we hold about you is incorrect we will take steps to have it corrected; if we believe it is already correct, you have the right to have your statement about what is incorrect attached to your records
- We have to ensure that any information we hold about you is correct before we use it; this may sometimes result in different staff asking you similar questions to avoid misunderstandings and mistakes
- Any information we collect about you will be available to relevant Hauora Hokianga staff, others involved in your care and treatment (for example specialists), and those with special legal entitlement. If you have any concerns about who else will have access to your information, please discuss this with a staff member.
- As a New Zealand resident, you are provided with a unique National Health Index number. This number may be used by other health providers or agencies, but it is not shared with any other organisations or people. The number is necessary to help ensure that we do not get confused when treating people with similar names.
- Legislation requires or allows us to divulge information in the interests of an individual’s or the public safety.