Confidentiality
Noho matatapu
Sometimes it’s a big deal to trust others with what’s going on for you. Young people have told us that confidentiality is really important for them. Here’s a summary of our Privacy and Confidentiality Policy so you know exactly what to expect from us:
Privacy
Our Privacy and Confidentiality Policy ensures we comply with the Privacy Act 1993 and Health Information Privacy Code 1994. We collect and store information for the purposes of providing quality, wraparound healthcare and social support to young people. All current clinical information is stored in electronic form on Evolve’s Practice Management System (PMS), Medtech. Some clients may also have older hard copy notes stored securely at Evolve. Access to our PMS is carefully controlled and limited to those staff members who need to see information in order to perform their jobs.
Manage My Health
Evolve uses a program called ManageMyHealth (MMH) to provide an online Patient Portal and Shared Care Record. Both services are intended to provide quality and timely healthcare and health information to clients and authorised medical services. Medtech provides the following privacy statement regarding MMH for clients here.
Confidentiality
All Evolve team members including students, volunteers and contractors are required to sign a confidentiality agreement as part of their contract with Evolve.
Only when it is in the best interests of a young person will a team member at Evolve share information with another Evolve team member. Information should not be discussed by team members unnecessarily. Team members will always act with respect and discretion when discussing a young person, and ensure their conversation cannot be overheard.
Sometimes, we cannot keep everything confidential. We call these limitations of confidentiality and they include when:
the young person is at risk of harming themselves
there is a risk of others harming the young person or another young person (see also Child Protection Policy)
there is a risk of the young person harming others
a young person is diagnosed with a notifiable disease
a young person has been reported to Police as a missing person
Within the limitations of confidentiality, team members will not tell anyone outside the service that a young person has visited Evolve, or any aspect of their care, without the young person’s consent. This includes, but is not limited to, requests for information by guardians, partners, schools, authorities, or other agencies involved with a young person’s care.
Evolve believes that families are important in young people’s lives. Where appropriate, we encourage young people to discuss their health and wellbeing with their families.