Privacy Statement
How we collect, use, and protect your information
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
West Gippsland Healthcare Group (WGHG) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal and health information. We comply with all relevant Victorian Government legislation and policy to ensure your information is collected, used, and stored appropriately.
Applicable legislation includes:
- Health Records Act 2001 (Vic)
- Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic)
- Public Records Act 1973 (Vic)
- Health Services Act 1988 (Vic)
Information Collected Through This Website
What we collect
When you interact with this website, we may collect:
- Personal information you provide, such as your name, email address, and phone number when contacting us via online forms or email.
- Non-identifying visitor log data (such as pages visited and time spent on the site). This data cannot identify you individually and is used only to improve the website and for statistical purposes.
How we use website information
Information collected through this website is used only for the purpose for which it was provided, and may also be used for:
- Website operation, administration, and improvement
- Service planning, research, and development
- Detecting or preventing fraud or unlawful activity
- Any purpose required or authorised by law
We will not share your personal information without your consent, unless required by law.
Promotional communications
WGHG may contact clients, donors, and supporters about services or items of interest. If you do not wish to receive promotional materials such as our newsletter, please contact our Public Relations Manager:
Phone | (03) 5623 0611 |
Your Health Information
Why we collect health information
We collect information about you to provide safe and effective healthcare. Your health record may include:
- Personal details (name, date of birth, address, contact information)
- Medicare and health insurance details
- Your General Practitioner (GP) and referring doctor details
- Your current and past health history, including information from other healthcare providers where necessary for your care
Who can access your health information
Only staff directly involved in your care can access your health record. This may include:
- Doctors, surgeons, nurses, and allied health professionals
- Administrative staff involved in your billing and accounts
- Authorised external health providers involved in your ongoing treatment
All WGHG staff are bound by strict privacy and confidentiality obligations.
Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
WGHG uses an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to store and manage your health information securely. The EMR enables your healthcare team to:
- Access a complete and up-to-date picture of your care across WGHG services
- Use clinical alerts, prompts, and reminders to support safe decision-making
- Use equipment such as mobile workstations and barcode scanners to deliver and record care accurately
When you are admitted to hospital, you will wear a wristband with a barcode. This is used to verify your identity and ensure safe care, such as the correct administration of medications.
My Health Record
WGHG automatically uploads relevant clinical information to your My Health Record (where you have consented). This may include discharge summaries, pathology results, and radiology reports.
All Medicare-registered patients have a My Health Record unless they have opted out. If you do not want WGHG to upload your information, please speak to your treating team as soon as possible.
CareSync Exchange
WGHG shares information with CareSync, the Victorian Government’s secure digital health sharing system. This allows authorised clinicians across the Victorian public health system to access relevant information about your care. Information shared may include your personal details, care episode summaries, test results, and clinical documents.
For more information, visit: www.health.vic.gov.au/quality-safety-service/caresync-exchange
Sharing with family and next of kin
Where appropriate and unless you have requested otherwise, WGHG may provide general updates about your condition to your family or next of kin.
Disclosures required by law
In some circumstances, WGHG may be required to disclose your information without your consent, including:
- Where required by a court subpoena or warrant
- Mandatory child protection or family violence notifications
- Reporting notifiable diseases to the Department of Health
- Quality and safety oversight by bodies such as Safer Care Victoria or the Victorian Agency for Health Information
Security of Your Information
WGHG takes all reasonable steps to protect your personal and health information from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. Measures include:
- Secure electronic systems with password protection and access controls
- Access restricted to staff based on their role and responsibilities
- Regular audits to detect and prevent unauthorised access
- Secure storage and disposal of records in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic)
Please note that while we take every precaution, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed as completely secure. If you are concerned about transmitting sensitive information online, you are welcome to contact us by phone or mail instead.
Accessing and Correcting Your Information
Accessing your records
You have the right to request access to your personal information held by WGHG under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic).
For general records or a summary to be sent to your GP or specialist, please contact our Health Information team:
Phone | (03) 5623 0611 |
Website |
For formal Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for comprehensive records (such as full admission notes), your written request must:
- Be submitted in writing
- Clearly identify the documents you are seeking
- Include the application fee, or evidence that the fee would cause financial hardship
Correcting your records
If you believe information in your record is incorrect, incomplete, or out of date, you have the right to request a correction. Please contact us in writing, clearly describing what needs to be amended and why.
Links to External Websites
This Privacy Statement applies only to the WGHG website. When navigating to third-party websites via links on our site, we recommend reading the privacy statement of each site, as we are not responsible for their privacy practices.
Questions, Concerns, or Complaints
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal or health information is being managed, please contact us:
Phone | (03) 5623 0611 |
Online form | |
In person | Speak with any WGHG staff member |
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may refer your complaint to the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC) at www.ovic.vic.gov.au.
The West Gippsland Healthcare Group is committed to protecting your privacy.
We must follow laws which keep your personal and health information private. Some examples of Victorian laws that relate to confidentiality and privacy are:
- Health Services Act 1988 (Vic)
- Health Records Act 2001 (Vic)
- Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)
- Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic)
Health Information
Why Do We Collect Your Health Information?
Your health information is used in planning your care and shared decision making.
How Do We Protect Your Health Information?
WGHG staff have a legal duty to keep information about you private. We have policies and procedures to make sure we meet privacy laws. These laws are about how we collect, use, share and store your health information. Patient health information can only be read by authorized staff in line with WGHG’s Privacy of Personal and Health Information Policy.
Click here for the How My Health Information is Kept Private brochure or you can get a copy at any WGHG site.
Personal Information
We collect information of clients, donors, suppliers and customers of our non-medical services.
We may use this information to let you know about our services or other things of interest.
We will not share information about you without your consent, unless for a legal reason.
If you don’t want to receive promotional materials, such as our newsletter, please notify us.
Call the Public Relations Manager on (03) 5623 0611.
How Can You Get A Copy Of Your Information?
You can apply under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 1982 to see your health information. To apply you must complete a FOI Application form.
You can find out more and get the form on our Freedom of Information page.
Electronic Medical Records
West Gippsland Healthcare Group is transitioning to a new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system to improve the way we document your care resulting in better patient outcomes.
This roll out kicks off on Monday 24th of October. Patients may experience longer than usual wait times while the transition to the electronic system takes place. We ask for your patience and understanding while our staff navigate through the new process change.
Your hospital information will be secure in the EMR and only access by staff involced with your care and treatment.
The EMR will make it quicker and easier for your healthcare team to find the information they need to provide the best care to you and your family.
How an EMR can improve patient care
- A complete picture of your care and treatment across the West Gippsland Healthcare Group services.
- Access to your most up-to-date information at all times.
- Equipment, such as mobile workstations, handheld devices and barcode scanners, to help them deliver and record your care.
- Support to make the best clinical decision with the help of prompts, alerts and reminders in the system.
- Immediate notification if you for you any reason need urgent care.
If you are coming to hospital for appointments you will:
- Find that your information will be in the system so you won’t have to repeat your story or fill out unnecessary paperwork.
- Wear a barcode on your wristband so your information can be checked – this will help to safeguard your care with processes such as providing medications.
CareSync Exchange
What is CareSync Exchange?
CareSync Exchange is the Victorian Electronic Patient Health Information Sharing System. CareSync allows West Gippsland Healthcare Group and other participating Victorian public health services to securely view and share your health information at the point of care.
When you attend WGHG, our clinicians can see relevant information from your visits to other participating Victorian public hospitals. Similarly, when you attend another participating service, their clinicians can access relevant information from WGHG to support your care.
Information entered into our electronic systems (iPM and EMR) at registration and during your care flows into CareSync Exchange, where it becomes accessible to authorised clinicians across the network.
What are the benefits?
- Faster, safer clinical decisions, your treating clinician can access your history without delays or phone calls
- Less need for you to repeat your medical history at each health service
- Reduced chance of duplicate tests, procedures, or conflicting treatments
- Better continuity of care if you attend multiple hospitals across Gippsland or Victoria
- More time for clinicians to focus on your care rather than chasing records
What information is shared?
CareSync Exchange may include information such as:
- Your name, date of birth, contact details, and emergency contacts
- Records of visits to public hospitals (inpatient, outpatient, emergency)
- Clinical documents, test results, discharge summaries, medical letters
- Diagnoses, including when they started and a description
- Gender identity, if you have consented to this being visible across services
CareSync Exchange does not include information from private hospitals, GP clinics, or aged care providers. Your information is not used for research, planning, or any purpose unrelated to your care.
Who can access your information?
Only staff who need your information to do their job can access CareSync Exchange:
Treating clinicians
Doctors, nurses, and allied health staff directly involved in your care
Health information staff
Staff who manage your records or respond to privacy enquiries
Privacy & audit staff
Staff who verify the system is being used appropriately
Technical staff
Staff keeping the system running safely, they do not view patient records
Private hospitals and GP clinics do not have access to CareSync Exchange.
Privacy protections at registration
WGHG takes extra steps to protect your privacy at the point of registration:
- Gender identity: we will ask whether you consent to your gender identity being visible to other Victorian public health services through CareSync Exchange. You may choose to decline, this will not affect your care at WGHG.
- Safety concerns: if you have a safety risk such as family violence or are a victim of assault, please tell our staff. We can apply additional protections to your record and discuss options including registration under a pseudonym. This may mean your record does not match across services, but you will be told about this trade-off before any decision is made.
- Public-profile patients: if you are a staff member, a public figure, or have other privacy concerns about who can see your record, please advise our Patient Services team. Your record can have access controls applied.
If a concern is not raised at registration it can still be addressed later. Contact Health Information Services at any time, access controls can be applied retrospectively.
Requesting a User Activity Report
You have the right to see a record of when your CareSync Exchange information was accessed. This is called a User Activity Report. It shows:
- The role of the person who accessed your information (e.g. doctor, nurse)
- The date and time of each access
- The type of activity performed (e.g. viewing a discharge summary)
To protect staff privacy, reports do not include staff names, only their role, the date and time, and the activity performed. The report covers access across all participating Victorian public health services, not just WGHG.
To request your report, contact Health Information Services:
Email or write to us
Email healthinformation@wghg.com.au or write to: Health Information Services, WGHG, PO Box 283, Warragul VIC 3820
Include in your request
Your full name, date of birth, the date range you want the report to cover, and a copy of your photo identification showing your full name and date of birth (e.g. driver licence or passport). If your photo ID does not show these details, you may also provide a Medicare card.
We will respond
Health Information Services will process your request and provide the report, usually within 30 days. If you have concerns about the access shown, we can investigate further on your behalf.
More information
CareSync Exchange is managed under a Privacy Management Framework developed by the Department of Health. This includes:
- Privacy obligations under Victorian law, including the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) and the Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023 (Vic)
- Extra protections for sensitive health conditions and vulnerable individuals
- Strict access conditions for clinicians and health services
- Compliance with the Victorian Protective Data Security Standards (VPDSS)
You can read more about how WGHG protects your health information in our Protection and Use of Your Health Information brochure and our Privacy Policy.
Protecting your privacy
For more information:
- Click here for the Consumers’ Rights and Responsibilities brochure
- Ask to see our “Privacy of personal and health information Policy”
- Contact us on (03) 5623 0611