I take the privacy of my clients extremely seriously. No private information including name, contact details, nature of therapy or details of what is discussed in my sessions are ever disclosed to other parties.
If I believe a phone call or letter may be required to communicate with your doctor, psychologist or other health practitioner, I will always discuss this with you and expressly ask for your permission. You are welcome to have a copy of any letter that you have given me permission to write.
There are several situations which are exempt from this policy due to legal or ethical reasons.
- If I suspect an imminent threat to life or wellbeing to yourself or others I am legally required to report this.
- I am legally required to report suspected or known abuse of a person under the age of 18.
- I am legally required to release your records if presented with a court order.
Medicare Requirements – Information required
Please arrive several minutes before your first session to give yourself time to fill out a simple form. As the consultation attracts a Medicare rebate, I need several personal details to enable Medicare to be billed.
The form requests (and Medicare requires me to ask for): Name, Date of Birth, Postal Address (need not be residential address), phone number and Medicare Number and expiry date.
I need a phone number in case there is a need to contact you for further information after a consultation or in the unlikely event of a consultation time needing to be changed.
I do not contact other people including doctors about your care. No phone contact or letter writing occurs unless I suggest that there is a need for contacting a third party and you have given your express permission.
When you meet me, please discuss any privacy questions you have.
Notes taken by Dr Marie Tudor
There is a legal requirement for a doctor billing Medicare to keep notes of consultations.
However, only I have access to the notes I write. These are taken off the premises at the end of the working day and stored in a locked cabinet in a building which has 24 hour security monitoring.
My notes are hand written. They help me to remember key facts and useful themes in the client’s own words. These are then used in the process of therapy. All clients are welcome to have a copy of the notes that I take.
Frequently, I write some analogies, points to remember and some potentially useful exercises on a separate page – this is for you to take home and refer to.
