Privacy Policy

1About this policy

E-ADHD is committed to protecting your privacy. We handle personal and health information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and with the health records legislation that applies in your state or territory.

Clinicians who use the E-ADHD Platform are registered health practitioners and are also bound by the confidentiality and record-keeping obligations of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and the codes of conduct of their National Boards, administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

This policy applies to our website, our booking portal, and any appointment or service we provide. It should be read together with our Terms of Service and any consent form you complete before an appointment.

2Who we are

3What information we collect

We collect only what we need to provide safe care and to run the service.

Personal information

• Name, date of birth, gender, address, phone number and email address.
• Emergency contact, and the details of a parent, guardian or authorised representative where relevant.
• Medicare number, concession card details, and payment information processed by our payment provider.
• Your GP or general practice details.

Health information

Health information is a type of sensitive information and attracts additional protection under the Privacy Act. For us it includes:

• Your ADHD assessment report and any previous assessments or reports you provide.
• Medical and psychiatric history, current and past medicines, allergies, and family history where relevant.
• Notes made by your clinician during consultations, treatment plans, and correspondence with your GP or other practitioners.
• Prescription and medicines information, including information obtained from prescription monitoring systems.
• Results of any screening questionnaires or tests you complete.

Other information

• Records of your appointments, cancellations, payments and refunds.
• Enquiries, emails and messages you send us, and notes of phone calls.
• Technical information collected automatically when you use our website (see section 13).

We do not collect information about your racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or criminal record unless it is directly relevant to your clinical care and you have consented to providing it.

4How we collect it

Wherever it is reasonable and practicable, we collect information directly from you, through the booking portal, intake and consent forms, documents you upload, your consultation, and your emails or phone calls to us.

We may also collect information about you from other people, where you have consented or where it is necessary for your care:

• your GP, referring practitioner, or another treating practitioner;
• a psychologist or other provider who prepared your assessment report;
• a parent, guardian, carer or authorised representative;
• your pharmacy or a previous prescriber, to confirm your medicines history;
• prescription monitoring systems and Medicare, where your clinician is required or permitted to access them; and
• a school, workplace or other third party, only with your written consent.

If we receive information about you that we did not ask for and do not need, we will destroy or de-identify it where the law allows.

5Why we collect and use it

We use your information to:

• assess whether we can safely provide you with care, and confirm you meet the requirements that apply in your state or territory;
• provide your assessment, consultation, treatment initiation and reviews;
• prescribe safely, including checking your medicines history;
• write to your GP and other practitioners involved in your care;
• manage your bookings, fees, payments, refunds and Medicare claims;
• keep accurate clinical records, as our clinicians are professionally required to do;
• respond to your enquiries and complaints;
• meet our legal, regulatory, insurance and accreditation obligations; and
• improve our service, using de-identified or aggregated information wherever possible.

If you choose not to give us the information we ask for, we may be unable to provide you with care. Your clinician will tell you if that is the case.

6Your consent

By booking an appointment and completing our intake forms, you consent to us collecting, using and disclosing your information as described in this policy. Your clinician will also discuss consent with you at your appointment.

You can withdraw or limit your consent at any time by telling us in writing. We will explain what that means for your care. In some cases we may be unable to continue treating you, particularly where safe prescribing depends on us communicating with your GP.

7Who we share it with

Your health information is confidential. We disclose it only for the purposes described below.

Your GP and other treating practitioners

Assessment reports, treatment plans and review letters, so that your regular doctor can continue your care. This is central to how our service works.

Our clinicians and staff

On a need-to-know basis, to deliver and administer your care.

Your pharmacy

Where a prescription is issued.

Services Australia

Where a Medicare claim is processed for your appointment.

Health regulators and government bodies

This includes state and territory health departments for medicine permits and approvals, prescription monitoring systems, and AHPRA where disclosure is required in connection with a notification or investigation.

Service providers

The organisations that operate our booking and records platform, payment processing, video consultations, prescribing and secure messaging, email and IT systems. They are bound by confidentiality obligations and may use your information only to provide those services to us.

Your parent, guardian, carer or authorised representative

Where they are lawfully entitled to receive it, or where you have authorised it.

Insurers and legal advisers

Where necessary to manage a claim or legal proceeding.

Disclosure without your consent

There are limited circumstances in which the law permits or requires us to disclose your information without your consent, including where:

• it is required or authorised by law, a court order, subpoena or statutory notice;
• there is a serious and imminent threat to the life, health or safety of you or another person;
• we have mandatory reporting obligations, including in relation to child protection; or
• a practitioner is required to make a mandatory notification under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

We do not sell your personal or health information, and we do not disclose it for advertising purposes.

Related and partner organisations

E-ADHD works in partnership with other providers, and shares a related ownership structure with Patches Integrated Health. Being related does not give another organisation access to your records. We share your information with a partner or related provider only where you have consented, or where it is otherwise permitted under this policy.

8Where your information is held

Your records are held electronically in the practice management and clinical systems we use, and in our email and document systems. Access is restricted to authorised staff and clinicians.

Some of our service providers may store or process information outside Australia, or use servers located overseas. Where that occurs, we take reasonable steps to ensure the provider handles your information consistently with the Australian Privacy Principles. If you would like to know where a particular system stores your information, contact us and we will tell you.

9How we keep it secure

We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. These include:

• individual user accounts, passwords and access controls, with access limited to what each person needs;
• encrypted connections for our website, booking portal and video consultations;
• selecting platforms with appropriate security controls, and using secure messaging for practitioner correspondence where available;
• staff and clinician confidentiality obligations, and privacy training; and
• secure destruction or de-identification of records once they are no longer required to be kept.

No system is completely secure, and email and SMS are not secure methods of communication. If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm, we will respond in accordance with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme and notify affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as required.

10How long we keep it

We keep clinical records for the minimum periods required by law. For adults this is generally at least seven years from the date of the last entry in the record. For patients who were under 18 at the time of treatment, records are generally kept until they turn 25.

Some records are kept longer where the law requires it, or where they are needed for insurance, regulatory or legal purposes. When a record is no longer required, we destroy or de-identify it securely.

11Accessing and correcting your information

You may ask for access to the personal and health information we hold about you, and you may ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete or misleading. Email dr@e-adhd.com to make a request. We will ask you to verify your identity.

We will respond within the timeframe required by law. Access is usually provided by giving you a copy of your record, or by arranging for it to be sent to another practitioner. An administrative fee may apply for retrieving and copying records; we will tell you the amount before proceeding.

In limited circumstances the law allows us to refuse access. For example, where giving access would pose a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety, or would unreasonably affect another person's privacy. If we refuse, we will explain why in writing and tell you how to complain.

A clinician's professional opinion is not a factual error. If you disagree with something recorded in your record and we do not agree to change it, you may ask us to attach a statement of your position to the record, and we will do so.

12Children and young people

For patients under 18, a parent, guardian or authorised representative usually provides consent and may access the record on the young person's behalf.

A young person who is capable of understanding and making their own decisions about their health may exercise these rights themselves, and may ask that information be kept confidential from a parent or guardian. Your clinician will assess this individually, will explain the limits of confidentiality, and will always act in the young person's best interests.

13Our website and online tools

You can browse our website without telling us who you are. Our web servers and analytics tools automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit and the date and time of your visit. We use this to keep the site secure and to understand how it is used.

We use cookies and similar technologies, including analytics and advertising cookies that help us measure and target our advertising. You can manage or block cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work properly if you do. Third-party analytics and advertising providers handle information in accordance with their own privacy policies.

If our website offers a chat or AI assistant, the messages you send it may be recorded and reviewed so we can respond to enquiries and improve the service. Please do not enter clinical details, symptoms or sensitive health information into it. It is not part of your clinical record and is not monitored for urgent matters.

Our website links to other sites, including our booking portal. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of sites we link to.

14Marketing

We may send you information about our services where you have consented or where you would reasonably expect it. Every marketing message includes an unsubscribe option, and you can opt out at any time by using it or by emailing us.

Opting out of marketing does not stop the messages we need to send you about changes or updates to the service or Platform, your appointments, forms and care. We do not use your health information to target advertising to you.

15Complaints

If you are concerned about how we have handled your information, please tell us. Email dr@e-adhd.com or call 1800 372 343. We will acknowledge your complaint, investigate it, and respond to you in writing.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can take it further at any time:

• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Privacy complaints: oaic.gov.au or 1300 363 992.
• Your state or territory health complaints body. For example, the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO) in Western Australia.
• AHPRA. Concerns about the conduct of a registered health practitioner: ahpra.gov.au or 1300 419 495.

Making a complaint will not affect the care you receive from us.

16Changes and contact

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always published on this page with its effective date. Material changes will be notified through our website.

To ask a question, request access to your records, or make a privacy complaint, contact us: