If you are experiencing chest pain that is not settling, or a medical emergency that could be life-threatening, ring for an Ambulance on 000.
Hours: Consultations are by appointment. A Receptionist answers the telephone 07 5464 6765
Monday to Friday 7.00 am ― 4.00 pm depending on the availability of our doctors.
Sunday ― ring to hear our recorded message.
Our last booked appointment on a weekday is usually 4.30 pm.
Closed on Saturdays and Public Holidays.
Appointments: Emergencies are given priority. If you have multiple issues to discuss with the doctor please book a long consultation. If for any other reason you know you require a long consultation, please inform our Receptionist when making your appointment or choose a Long Consultation when booking online.
We do our best to offer a range of appointment times but our consultation hours may not necessarily suit your work schedule. If you need to take time off from work for a consultation, you can ask the doctor for a certificate to explain that you needed to be seen by a doctor.
We are an appointment-based practice and do not normally have the capacity to see walk-ins/patients who have not booked an appointment. Our appointment-based system does not necessarily suit all people. We recommend that anyone who does not wish to be a part of our appointment-based system seek treatment at a walk-in / non-appointment-based service.
Telehealth appointments: Telehealth consultations are done at the doctors’ discretion. They are not bookable online. Patients wishing to book a telehealth appointment need to call the practice on 0754646765.
When telehealth appointments are offered, it is to those patients for whom it is very difficult to attend the practice in-person. The practice policy is that patients need to have recently attended an in-person consultation. The patient’s medical history needs to be well documented and available to their doctor.
The number of telehealths available each day is very limited and our doctors prefer patients to attend appointments in-person.
Each doctor has their own policy on how they schedule Telehealth appointments. Some doctors have Telehealth appointments booked in to specific times during their working day and others have a list of patients wishing to have a telehealth and they will call the patient when they can during the day or possibly the following day. Our Receptionists can discuss how a particular doctor manages telehealth consultations. Please ring 07 5464 6765 to speak to a Receptionist for more information.
Results given to a patient as a telehealth consultation constitute an appointment and the time is billed accordingly.
Home visits: Available for patients with specific medical conditions at the discretion of our doctors and within a limited geographical radius from our surgery. Please ring 07 5464 6765 to speak to a Receptionist for more information.
Fees: On 1 November 2023 we became a mixed billing practice. On 1 March 2026 all consultations on SUNDAYS by Dr Shi (CC) Zhuge are fully private billing for all patients including children and concession card holders. Other doctors working on Sundays are mixed billing.
Please see our Billing page for more information.
Fees are payable on the day of consultation.
In the event of a patient not paying for their consultation on the day, the patient will be unable to make further appointments until the outstanding fee is paid.
Did Not Attend/Did Not Arrive Policy: We have a Did Not Attend / Did Not Arrive (DNA) Policy applicable to both Concessional and Non-Concessional patients. The current Did Not Attend /Did Not Arrive fee is $45.00 plus an EFTPOS transaction surcharge paid by the patient. There is no Medicare rebate for a Did Not Attend/Did Not Arrive fee.
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre is an appointment-based general medical practice.
If you book an appointment at the Flinders Peak Medical Centre you are agreeing to the Did Not Attend/Did Not Arrive policy.
The term “Did Not Attend/Arrive” (DNA) means when a patient does not attend for a booked appointment and does not contact the practice with at least 2 hours in advance of the booked appointment time to cancel or change that appointment. Please read below for our policy, the reasons we have this policy and how we try to help patients manage their appointments.
A booked appointment system does not necessarily suit all people. We recommend that anyone who does not wish to be a part of our appointment-based system seek treatment at a walk-in / non-appointment-based service.
Patients who do not attend an appointment have this noted in their medical record as “Did Not Attend/Arrive” or the abbreviation “DNA”. The policy applies to intermittent Did Not Attend/Arrive appointments by the same patient, meaning that the total number is considered not just consecutive Did Not Arrives/Attends.
Our policy is:
1. The first time a patient Does Not Arrive/Attend there is no charge, unless the consultation was for a Long Consultation, Procedure or a New Patient appointment. The patient will be advised of the practice’s Did Not Attend/Arrive policy. The Did Not Attend/Arrive will be noted in the patient’s medical record.
2. In the event of a second and subsequent DNA the practice will charge the patient a $45.00 fee and Did Not Attend/Arrive will be noted in the patient’s medical record.
3. In the event of a third DNA the practice reserves the right to decline to book new appointments for the patient until the cancellation fees have been paid. This will not apply to emergency appointments.
4. In the event of multiple, unpaid DNA fees the patient’s doctor and practice management will discuss and decide whether the patient is able to continue to attend the practice. The practice or the doctor can terminate the doctor – patient relationship if there is continuous patient non-compliance with presenting for scheduled appointments.
5. In the event of a DNA for a Long Consultation, Procedure or New Patient appointment the practice will charge the patient a $45.00 fee and the DNA will be noted in the patient’s medical record if one has been created. In these cases the practice reserves the right to decline to book a new appointment for the patient until the fee has been paid.
6. There are occasionally exceptional circumstances that prevent patients from being able to attend their appointments and Did Not Attend/Arrive fees may be waivered at the practice’s discretion if those circumstances are brought to the practice’s attention.
Why we have this policy: We often have a large waiting list of people wishing to see our doctors. If a patient misses an appointment with short notice, or gives no notice that they cannot attend, then this means we do not have enough time to offer the appointment to another patient on the waiting list. The issue of Did Not Attend/Arrive is a continued frustration for both patients waiting to get an appointment with a doctor and for those working in the practice.
The effect of DNAs are:
* The vacant appointment slot could have been used by another patient who needs to see a doctor.
* DNAs add to the overall waiting time for appointments.
* If the practice gives the patient who did not attend an appointment, or cancelled their appointment late, a second appointment, then this new appointment also contributes to the overall wait for others to see a doctor.
* The time and staff required to follow-up and rebook patients diverts the practice team from other duties.
* DNAs contribute to the surgery operating costs, which the practice then has to absorb. The higher the operating costs for a practice the higher the Mixed Billing fees become.
What we do to try and help:
* We have different ways for patients to amend or appointments. This can be done in person, on the phone, via the HotDoc app or by replying to the HotDoc text reminder.
* If appointments are booked in person we may provide appointment slips that act as a reminder of the appointment and has contact details if the appointment needs to be amended or cancelled.
* If we have a patient’s mobile number a text message will be sent prior to their scheduled appointment time. Therefore, it is important to let us know if you have changed your mobile telephone number.
Communication Policy – Telephone Calls From Patients: Please make an appointment to speak with a doctor in person or by telehealth to discuss any matter. This includes requests for prescriptions, medical forms, sick certificates or any other matters.
Doctors do not routinely take telephone calls from patients. Staff do not normally transfer a patient’s call to a doctor.
In an exceptional case you wish to leave a message for a doctor, outside of a booked appointment, a staff member will ask for your name and contact details and for the information about the nature of your request or problem. Our practice policy is that we require information about why you wish the doctor to call you and what the issue is about.
Staff will pass the message on to the doctor. We cannot guarantee the timing of the doctor’s return call, and the doctor may decide that it is more appropriate for you to have an in-person consultation or book a telehealth consultation. In this case, a staff member will advise you that you need to make an appointment.
If your matter is critical, phone an ambulance on 000 or present to the Ipswich Hospital Accident and Emergency Centre or one of the private billed accident and emergency centres listed here.
Telephone Calls from Other Medical Providers: It may be necessary for doctors to take phone calls from hospitals or other medical practitioners during the time of your consultation. Your doctor may leave the consultation to take this call.
Emails: We do not accept questions or requests for doctors via email unless the requesting patient is deaf, or Deaf (identifies as part of a Deaf Culture and Community), or hard of hearing and/or non-verbal.
Doctors may email general health information, referrals or results to a patient during that patient’s consultation rather than print this information on paper. This information is not emailed without a consultation.
Text Messages: If you have provided us with your mobile phone number, we may send you a text (SMS) message to try and contact you. We may use a text message to contact you regarding an appointment, medical recall, health reminder, Medicare or billing issue or request that you update your contact details. We do not request your banking details on a text message. Please contact us if you have any concerns or questions about a text message that you receive.
Results, Recalls, National, State and Territory Reminder Systems:
It is your responsibility to get your medical results and reports.
Please book an appointment with the doctor who requested your test(s) to discuss your results. We do not give results over the phone or by email outside of a consultation. Our Nurses and Receptionists do not give out results unless in an exceptional circumstance at the request of a doctor.
It is also your responsibility to inform us of changes to your contact details and keep your contact details up to date with relevant National and State reminder systems for routine preventative health procedures (such as Pap Smear and Bowel Cancer test reminders). Patients will automatically be placed on the National, State and Territory Reminder systems (for example National PAP Smear, Diabetes, Bowel Cancer registries) unless you specify otherwise.
Prescribing Policy: We do not prescribe drugs of dependence to patients at their first appointment with a doctor. It is also our policy to consult Queensland’s real-time prescription monitoring system ‘QScript’ and our doctors may also phone Medicare’s Prescription Shopping Information Service before prescribing drugs of dependence under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. These Information Services will advise if you have already been prescribed the requested medications. Please do not take offence.
Our doctors have a one doctor policy for prescribing any drugs of dependence. (Special arrangements will be made if the usual doctor is on leave).
Dressings: The surgery will supply patients their first dressing if the patient presents with a condition that the doctor feels needs dressing for the first time. Patients who have been discharged from hospital and who need dressings will need to bring in dressings – either supplied by the hospital or purchased privately. Patients who have an ongoing condition that needs dressing will need to bring in dressings purchased privately. Our Registered Nurses will give a list of what materials a patient would need to buy and bring to their next wound management appointment.
Patient Agreement: Patients are asked to sign a Patient Agreement. This is to give consent for the appropriate use and restricted disclosure of your personal health information in the course of your health care. This consent allows those involved in your health care access to the information necessary to continue the high standard of health service you have come to expect of us. If a patient has records held at a hospital and wishes for a copy of those records be sent to us, we are required to fax a signed Patient Agreement to the hospital records department. Please refer to the Patient Agreement at Reception for detailed information.
Dealing with us anonymously: You have the right to deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals. If you wish to be treated as a patient anonymously or under a pseudonym you will need to pay in full yourself on the day of your treatment for your consultation(s) and you will not receive a Medicare rebate. This is because we are only able to bill consultations to Medicare for patients who provide us with Medicare-recognised and registered details.
Waiting Times: Doctors and staff work hard to provide a service that runs as smoothly as possible. When there are waiting times it is usually due to patients needing more time with the doctor than they realised when they made their appointment. We also occasionally have walk-in patients who arrive with emergency needs. These patients are given priority and the doctors will often send them to hospital in an Ambulance. This necessarily means that scheduled patients will experience some wait to be seen. If you have been waiting for more than 45 minutes, we ask that you come to the Reception desk and let us know. When our Receptionists are aware of unusually long waiting times or emergencies that have presented, they will update patients on the expected waiting time and offer an alternative doctor if available. This includes trying to contact patients who have not yet arrived at the surgery. Please help us by keeping your contact details up to date.
Code of Conduct: Our clinical and administrative staff treat patients with respect and expect to be treated with respect in return. We understand that it can be difficult for some people to manage illness, pain and worry. We ask that while you are in our building or grounds, or talking with us on the telephone, that you communicate with us if you are finding something too difficult to manage. Our doctors, staff and patients have the right to be in a safe environment and for this reason we do not accept antisocial or intimidating behaviour, physical violence or verbal abuse.
Transfer of Patient files: Your patient file cannot be transferred to other surgeries without the patient’s or guardian’s signed permission. If you wish to transfer a copy of your medical records from this surgery to another surgery, please ask your new surgery to send a formal request with your signature. The administrative cost to prepare your medical records for your new surgery is $44.00 (fee current as 19 February 2014) or $20.00 for a summary. If you wish to have a summary of your file you can request that a nurse upload a Shared Health Summary to your My Health Record if you have not opted out of the My Health Record system.
Policy on the retention and destruction of health records: The Flinders Peak Medical Centre securely destroys medical records that have not been accessed for specific time periods:
● medical records where the last entry relates to the patient age as an infant are kept from 25 years from that child’s birth;
● medical records where on the last entry relates the patient was aged under 18 years are kept until the patient turns / would have turned 25 years of age;
● medical records where on the last entry the patient was 18 years of age or over are kept until 7 years from the date of that last entry.
A secure register is kept of all patient files that have been destroyed.
How can you access and / or correct your personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to / updating of / correction of your personal information if we have this in a health record. This right applies to records that we hold and not to those which we have deleted in accordance with our policy outlined above about record retention and deletion. If you wish to have access to and/or correct your personal information we require you to put your request in writing to our Practice Manager who will respond within 30 days from receipt of your request. The administrative cost to prepare your medical records is $44.00 (fee current as 19 February 2014) or $20.00 for a summary. If you wish to have a summary of your file you can request that a nurse upload a Shared Health Summary to your My Health Record if you have not opted out of the My Health Record system. Our practice will take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is correct and up to date.
Complaints and Comments: Please address in writing to:
The Feedback Manager, Flinders Peak Medical Centre, Suite 1/355 Ipswich-Boonah Road, PURGA QLD 4306.
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre aims to respond to formal complaints within 21 business days.
Alternatively, please contact the Office of the Health Ombudsman, telephone 133646, website: www.oho.qld.gov.au or for matters related to privacy contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), telephone: 1300363992, website: www.oaic.gov.au or to the Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland, telephone: 07 3234 7373, website: www.oic.qld.gov.au .
Privacy and duty of care: Your medical record is a confidential document. It is the policy of this practice to maintain security of personal health information at all times and to ensure that this information is only available to authorised members of staff. Our Practice Privacy Policy is available from our Reception desk and is listed on this site below.
Information accuracy: The information presented here is subject to change without notice. The Flinders Peak Medical Centre doctors and staff recommend that you make direct contact with the Flinders Peak staff or the listed external contacts before acting upon any of this information, particularly concerning costs, opening times and contact details.
________________
Flinders Peak Medical Centre Privacy Policy, Reviewed 21 February 2026.
The objective of this policy is to provide you, our patient, with clear information on how your
personal information is collected and used within the practice. Occasionally we also need to share your
personal information to involve others in your healthcare and this policy outlines when, how, and why we
share your information.
Who can I contact about this policy?
For enquiries concerning this policy, you can contact the Flinders Peak Medical Centre Practice Manager.
Flinders Peak Medical Centre
Attention Practice Manager
Suite 1 / 355 Ipswich-Boonah Road
Purga QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 5464 6765
Fax: (07) 5464 6888
Email: contact@fpmc.com.au
When and why is consent necessary?
When you register as a patient of this practice, you provide consent for the GPs and practice staff to access and use your personal information to facilitate the delivery of healthcare. Access to your personal information is restricted to practice team members who require it for your care. If we ever use your personal information for purposes other than outlined in this document, we will obtain additional consent from you. It is important to us that as our patient, you understand why we collect and use your personal information. By acknowledging this Privacy Policy you consent to us collecting, holding, using, retaining and disclosing your personal information in the manners described below.
Why does the practice collect, use, store, and share a patient’s personal information?
The practice collects, uses, stores, and shares your personal information primarily to manage your health safely and effectively. This includes providing healthcare services, managing medical records, and ensuring accurate billing and payments. Additionally, we may utilise your information for internal quality and safety improvement processes such as practice audits, accreditation purposes, and staff training to maintain high-quality service standards.
What personal information is collected?
The information we will collect about you includes your:
- names, date of birth, addresses, contact details;
- medical information including medical history, medicines, allergies, adverse events, immunisations, social history, family history, cultural background, emergency contacts and risk factors;
- Medicare number and/or Department of Veterans Affairs number and/or other Government Concession Card details when applicable for identification and claiming purposes;
- healthcare identifier numbers;
- health fund details;
- medical test results;
- notes from consultations, data collected from observations and conversations with you;
- details obtained from other health care providers (eg: specialist and allied health correspondence, After Hours doctor services, hospital discharge summaries).
Policy review statement
Our privacy policy is regularly reviewed to ensure compliance with current obligations. If any changes are made the printed policy, available at Reception, will include the date the policy was last formally reviewed. and the date will appear on this web page.
Can someone be treated using a pseudonym or anonymously?
You can deal with us anonymously or under a pseudonym unless it is impracticable for us to do so or unless we are required or authorised by law to only deal with identified individuals. If you wish to be
treated as a patient anonymously or under a pseudonym you will need to pay in full yourself on the day of your treatment for your consultation(s) and you will not receive a Medicare rebate. This is because we are only able to bill consultations to Medicare for patients who provide us with Medicare-recognised and
registered details.
How is personal information collected?
The practice may collect your personal information in several different ways:
When you make your first appointment, the practice team will collect your personal and demographic
information via your registration. We may also collect your personal information if you send us an email,
telephone us, make an online appointment, or communicate with us using social media.
Our practice will collect your personal information:
● when you make your first appointment our practice staff will collect your personal and demographic
information via your registration which may be by paper or electronically by an online registration form;
● we may also collect your personal information when you telephone us or send us information;
● when a medical specialist, allied health professional or community health professional sends us your
information on your behalf.
In some circumstances, personal information may also be collected from other sources. Often this is
because it is not practical or reasonable to collect it from you directly – for example in a situation in
which you were unconscious or otherwise incapable of providing that information. This may include
information from:
● your guardian or responsible person;
● other involved healthcare providers, such as specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals,
community health services and pathology and diagnostic imaging services;
● Medicare, your private health fund, the Department of Veteran’s Affair, the Australian Immunisation
Register if relevant;
While providing medical services, further personal information may be collected via:
● electronic prescribing ;
● My Health Record ;
● online appointments.
Various types of images may be collected and used, including:
● Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage: Collected from our premises for security and safety
purposes;
● photos and medical images: These are taken within the practice using the practice’s iphone camera. The
images are moved from the iphone to the patient record using a data cable. Once saved in the patient
health record, the image is deleted from the iphone.
When, why and with whom does the practice share your personal information?
We share your personal information:
● with hospitals or other treatment facilities as necessary to obtain your medical records to be able to
continue your treatment at this practice;
● with other healthcare providers as relevant in referral letters, test requests;
● in the diagnosis and treatment of any health condition including the communication of relevant
information to practice staff, specialists and other healthcare providers to ensure quality care is provided;
● for use when seeking treatment by other doctors in this practice;
● to include you in National, State and Territory recall and reminder systems for treatment and
preventative healthcare;
● if required to assist in locating a missing person;
● when it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to a patient’s life, health or safety or public
health or safety, or it is impractical to obtain the patient’s consent;
● when it is a statutory requirement to share certain personal information (e.g. some diseases require
mandatory notification);
● when it is required or authorised by law (e.g. court subpoenas);
● to establish, exercise or defend an equitable claim;
● for the purpose of confidential dispute resolution process;
● with third parties for business purposes such as accreditation agencies and information technology
providers. These third parties are required to comply with Australian Privacy Principals and this policy;
● when it is provision of medical services, through electronic prescribing;
● in an upload to your My Health Record, in a Health Summary and/or Event Encounter, if you have a
My Health Record;
● for the purposes of research only where de-identified information is used;
● to allow medical students and staff who have signed confidentiality agreements to participate in
medical training/teaching.
Only people that need to access your information will be able to do so. Other than in the course of
providing medical services or as otherwise described in this policy, our practice will not share personal
information with any third party without your consent.
We will not share your personal information with anyone outside Australia (unless under exceptional
circumstances that are permitted by law) without your consent.
Our practice will not use your personal information for marketing any of our goods or services directly to
you without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by
notifying our practice in writing.
Disclosure of your health information to third parties
With patient consent: If we receive a request to disclose your health information to a third party for
purposes such as insurance or employment we will only act if the request includes the same name, date of birth and address that we have recorded in our files together with your signature. If your information is to be used for a secondary or unrelated purpose, such as data analysis or research, we will obtain your
informed consent and respect your right to refuse such use or disclosure.
Without patient consent: We will only disclose personal information without consent where such
disclosure is required by law (for example the mandatory reporting to the Public Health Unit of notifiable
diseases as required under the Queensland Government legislation Public Health Act 2005), or for law
enforcement, or in the interests of the patient’s or the public’s health and safety. We keep records of any
such use and disclosure.
For teaching purposes: The Flinders Peak Medical Centre may from time-to-time train medical students.
Our receptionists will inform patients who may be affected by the presence of students and request their
consent to have them present in consultations and/or access their records for teaching purposes.
Implied consent: If a patient has a My Health Record (MHR), the My Health Records Act 2012
authorises a health care professional to contribute information to that record without requiring the
atient’s consent. This is commonly referred to as “implied consent”. While in most cases an individual
will consent to their personal information being shared, there may be times when the individual does not
wish details of treatment to be uploaded to their My Health Record. The My Health Records Act 2012
requires that a patient notifies their health care professional if they do not wish to have a particular record
sent to their MHR. If a patient notifies a health care professional that they do not want a record to be
uploaded to their MHR, the health care professional is legally obliged under the My Health Records Act
2012 to take reasonable steps to comply with this request, which is commonly referred to as ‘withdrawal
of consent’.
What is a Patient Health Record / Medical Record?
A patient health record or medical record or file is a compilation of information about an individual’s
health history, including past and present medical conditions, illnesses, treatments, tests, immunizations,
and notes from visits to a health care provider. It can be written or electronic. It is used for continuity of
care and to make health decisions. It is also known as a medical record.
How can a patient health record be sent to another practice?
Patient medical records cannot be transferred to another surgery or doctor working outside the practice
without your or your guardian’s signed permission. If you wish to transfer a copy of your medical records
from this surgery to another surgery, please get your new surgery to send a formal request.
There is an administrative cost to prepare and copy your records for your new surgery if you wish to have
a full file transfer or a summary. Please ask the Flinders Peak receptionist for the current fees.
Alternatively, or in addition to this, a nurse can upload a Shared Health Summary to a patient’s My
Health Record at no cost to the patient. Please discuss this with a receptionist or nurse.
What is the practice policy on the retention and destruction of health records?
The practice securely destroys medical records that have not been accessed for specific time periods in
accordance with the Medical Indemnity Insurer Avant’s guidelines. The destruction of these records is
being undertaken because the practice has no reason to keep patient health information of people who
have not had entries in their files for specific time periods.
Specifically:
● medical records where the last entry relates to the patient age as an infant will be kept from 25 years
from that child’s birth;
● medical records where on the last entry relates the patient was aged under 18 years will be kept until the patient turns / would have turned 25 years of age;
● medical records where on the last entry the patient was 18 years of age or over will kept until 7 years
from the date of that last entry.
A register will be kept of all patient files that are destroyed showing the Patient name, date of birth, date
of the first entry in the record, date of the last entry in the record and the date the record was destroyed.
Will patient information be used for marketing purposes?
The practice will not use your personal information for marketing any goods or services directly to you
without your express consent. If you do consent, you may opt out of direct marketing at any time by
notifying the practice in writing.
How is patient information used to improve services?
The practice may use your personal information to improve the quality of the services offered to patients
through research, analysis of patient data for quality improvement and for training activities with the
practice team. We may provide de-identified data to other organisations to improve population health
outcomes. If we provide this information to other organisations patients cannot be identified from the
information we share, the information is secure and is stored within Australia. You can let reception staff
know if you do not want your de-identified information included.
At times, general practices are approached by research teams to recruit eligible patients into specific
studies which require access to identifiable information. You may be approached by a member of our
practice team to participate in research. Researchers will not approach you directly without your express
consent having been provided to the practice. If you provide consent, you would then receive specific
information on the research project and how your personal health information will be used, at which point you can decide to participate or not participate in the research project.
How are document automation technologies used?
Document automation is where systems use existing data to generate electronic documents relating to
medical conditions and healthcare. The practice uses document automation technologies to create
documents such as referrals, which are sent to other healthcare providers. These documents contain only
your relevant medical information. These document automation technologies are used through secure
medical software. All users of the medical software have their own unique user credentials and password
and can only access information that is relevant to their role in the practice team. The practice complies
with the Australian privacy legislation and APPs to protect your information. All data, both electronic
and paper are stored and managed in accordance with the Royal Australian College of General
Practitioners.
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre uses a software called Best Practice Premier. This medical software
automates certain aspects of referrals, consultation notes and prescription writing by automatically
incorporating information contained in the patient’s medical records into relevant fields in a document.
For example, the patient’s name, date of birth, address and any known drug allergies are automatically
inserted into a referral.
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre also uses HotDoc software to contact patients for recalls and reminders
and allows patients to book consultations online. HotDoc is integrated with the Best Practice appointment
diary, lists of patients to be recalled and reminded and the name, date of birth and mobile number of
patients.
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre also uses secure, electronic referral systems such as Queensland
Health Smart Referrals which utilize information fields from the patient record in Best Practice to
generate a referral to a Queensland public hospital if needed.
Some of our doctors use Better Consult software, which is a pre-consultation screening/questionnaire
tool that patients have the option of filling out before they see their GP. Better Consult does not disclose a patient’s personal information to any third party located outside of Australia or allow any third party
located outside of Australia to access personal information. If a patient chooses not to do a Better Consult
pre-consultation questionnare it will not negatively impact their care. However, using Better Consult
allows the patient to provide information before the consultation that can make the time spent with the
doctor more efficient.
How does the practice use electronic media and digital interaction?
The Flinders Peak Medical Centre uses secure electronic transfer system whenever possible to receive
specialist reports and correspondence. If electronic transfer is not available, we use fax, mail or email
with a password to protect any attached document.
We may send patients a SMS (text message) to the mobile phone number recorded on the patient file but
our system does not receive incoming SMS.
We ask that patients do not send us emails. We do not normally use email to return communication with
our patients.
We do not collect personal information via our website or Social Media account.
We use the HotDocs patient appointment booking software and the HotDocs software to send recalls and
reminders when appropriate. HotDocs has its own information about how it handles patient information
in accordance with Australian Privacy laws and this is available at: https://practices.hotdoc.com.au/privacy-policy .
How does the practice use Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribe tools?
Some of our doctors use an AI scribe tool to support their note taking during their consultations with you.
The AI scribe uses an audio recording of your consultation to generate a clinical note for your health
record. The practice AI scribe service they use is called “Lyrebird”.
Lyrebird listens to the consultation and transcribes what is discussed in real-time. Once the notes have
been created, all audio files are destroyed.
Lyrebird data is stored on Lyrebird’s Australian Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. The default
to save Lyrebird-created notes and documents is 7 days to allow the doctor to copy and paste those notes into the medical record. If needed, the GP can delete the information earlier.
If a patient chooses not to allow Lyrebird to be used during their consult, it will not negatively impact
their care. However, using Lyrebird helps a GP focus on the patient more effectively. The practice only
uses the data from Lyrebird to provide healthcare to the patient.
How is personal information stored and protected?
Your personal information may be stored at our practice in various forms: as electronic records including
X-rays, CT scans, as medically relevant images and occasionally some paper records. We store hardcopy
and electronic format information in a secure environment. Our computers are password protected. We
use confidentiality agreements for all staff, contractors and medical observers. Our practice has CCTV
cameras located inside and outside the building, but excluding consulting rooms and toilet cubicals. The
footage is stored on a secure server and accessed only by authorized practice staff.
How can a patient access and / or correct personal information at our practice?
You have the right to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.
This right applies to records that we hold and not to those which we have deleted in accordance with our
policy outlined above about record retention and deletion.
The practice acknowledges patients may request access to their medical records. Please ask a
Receptionist for a Request to Access Medical Records form which you can complete and submit to the
practice with a form of identification (Drivers licence or passport). The practice will respond within 30
days from receipt of your request.
There is an administrative cost to prepare and copy your medical record for you to review the contents.
Please ask a Receptionist for the current fee.
If there are significant corrections you wish to make to your medical record you will need to book an
appointment with a GP to correct medical matters or book a time with a Receptionist to correct non
medical information.
We take reasonable steps to correct your personal information where the information is not accurate or up to date. From time-to-time, we will ask you to verify your personal information held by our practice is
correct and up to date. Our arrival kiosks are set to verify that your address and contact phone number are current.
How to lodge a privacy-related complaint?
We take complaints and concerns regarding privacy seriously. You should express any privacy concerns
you may have. We will then attempt to resolve it in accordance with the resolution procedure. You
should express any privacy concerns you may have in writing to:
Flinders Peak Medical Centre
Attention Practice Manager
Suite 1 / 355 Ipswich-Boonah Road
Purga QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 5464 6765
Fax: (07) 5464 6888
Email: contact@fpmc.com.au
We will respond within 30 days from receipt of your request. We will then attempt to resolve it in
accordance with our resolution procedure.
If you do not feel we have resolved your issue you may also contact:
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
GPO Box 5288
Sydney NSW 2001
www.oaic.gov.au
Telephone 1300 363 992
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will require you to give them time to respond
before they investigate.
The Office of the Health Ombudsman (Queensland)
PO Box 13281 George Street
Brisbane QLD 4001
www.oho.qld.gov.au
Telephone: 133 646
Email: complaints@oho.qld.gov.au .