Introduction

This notice explains how Healthdirect Australia Ltd (Healthdirect) collects, uses, protects and shares your information when you access virtual healthcare services through our digital platforms. These services currently include, but are not limited to:

• Queensland Virtual Emergency Care Services

Why your information is being collected

Healthdirect collects and uses personal and health information to provide you with health advice and triage services. Our Virtual Healthcare Pathways collect health information for two purposes:

• Enabling Healthdirect Australia to collect and hold a record of your health interaction with Healthdirect’s digital platforms, for example, Healthdirect’s Symptom Checker.
• Facilitating your access to virtual healthcare service providers by sharing this information with the healthcare service provider that you have requested access to.

Note that if you withdraw your consent once this data has been shared with the relevant healthcare service provider, Healthdirect will be unable to direct the virtual healthcare service provider to delete your information. In that instance, you will need to contact the virtual healthcare service provider directly.

How information is collected

We generally collect information directly from you during your interaction with Healthdirect. Occasionally, we may collect information from a representative or other authorised source (for example, a family member or referring health service). If you choose not to provide certain information, we may only be able to offer limited services or be unable to offer you certain virtual healthcare pathways.

The types of information we collect

The following list includes the different types of information that we may collect from you, during your interaction with Healthdirect’s digital platforms or when you provide your information as part of registering to access a virtual healthcare service provider, including:

• Your name, date of birth and contact details (for example, email address, phone number)
• Socio-demographic information (for example, age, postcode)
• Sensitive health information from your Symptom Checker result, including:
  • Illnesses, symptoms you have experienced, any disabilities
  • Other health services you are receiving or will receive in the future
  • Medications you may be taking
  • Where clinically relevant, sensitive information about your ethnic background or sexual practice
• Government-issued identifiers such as your Medicare number, Veteran Card details and other healthcare identifiers

Healthdirect also uses certain technologies to understand how users interact with our website, including the collection of:

• technical information such as IP address, browser type, operating system and device identifiers to ensure that the site operates correctly and to diagnose technical issues
• usage analytics, including monitoring of pages visited, the time spent on the site, and interactions with content to analyse performance and enhance user experience

How your information will be used

We use your information to:

• Provide health advice and triage services
• Facilitate referrals and access to virtual healthcare pathways
• Support continuity of care with health services (for example, Queensland Health)
• Conduct surveys, quality assurance, service monitoring and reporting to improve our services, consistent with our Privacy Policy and service specific collection notices.

How your information may be disclosed

1. Healthdirect acts as a connector in your healthcare journey. By engaging with our services, you acknowledge that your information will be shared with relevant health services and providers as part of delivering care (for example, where we refer you to a jurisdictional virtual healthcare service).
2. We may also disclose information to companies that conduct surveys for us to seek your feedback on the service you have received. Survey partners are bound by confidentiality and privacy obligations.

Where to find service-specific notices and policies

• Healthdirect Privacy Policy: healthdirect.gov.au/privacy-policy
• Queensland Health — privacy information: metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/about-us/information-access-privacy
• Other jurisdictional virtual care services: Links to partner privacy pages will be provided when you are referred to those services.

Please note that privacy policies of virtual care service providers may differ from Healthdirect’s. Once you enter a partner service, their privacy policy will apply to the management of your information.

How we keep your information secure

Healthdirect has an obligation to ensure that the personal and sensitive information that you provide is appropriately protected from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

Further information

Our Privacy Policy for members of the public explains in more detail how we process personal information, including how you can access or correct information we hold about you and how to contact us.