Privacy Policy

MEDICAL RECORDS: RETENTION AND DISCLOSURE

I keep complete medical records, which include personal and sensitive data. The records are stored electronically and encrypted whilst in transit and during storage. 

You are entitled to review your medical records at any time, unless I am of the opinion that, by viewing them, your emotional or physical wellbeing would be jeopardised. If you wish to view your records, I recommend that we review them together, in order to minimise any confusion or misinterpretation of medical terms. Time spent collecting, printing, copying and summarising the medical record will be charged at the appropriate fee. The information will be provided to you within 30 calendar days.

Your information is retained for the time necessary to provide the service requested; however, outside of this time, I will hold your clinical records for a period of up to 20 years following the end of assessment and / or treatment, in order to comply with the recommendations of the Information Governance Alliance with regard to mental health records. After this date, all data will be securely deleted, unless requested otherwise.

CONFIDENTIALITY

The security of your sensitive information and confidentiality are of utmost importance to me. In addition to the ACP guidance I follow the GMC guidelines on confidentiality and sharing information. Please read the following documents for details:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/consent—english-0617_pdf-48903482.pdf

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/0_18_years___English_1015.pdf_48903188.pdf

There are exceptions to this duty of confidentiality – disclosure is mandatory when anyone is at risk:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/protecting-children-and-young-people—english-1015_pdf-48978248.pdf

https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/confidentiality

Information sharing, records retention and disclosure

I keep complete medical records, which include personal and sensitive data. The records are stored electronically and encrypted whilst in transit and during storage. 

You are entitled to review your records at any time, unless I feel that by viewing your records, your emotional or physical well-being will be jeopardised. If you wish to view your records, I recommend that we review them together to minimise any confusion or misinterpretation of clinical terms. Time spent collecting, printing, copying, and summarising the record will be charged at the appropriate fee. Information will be provided to you within 30 calendar days.

Psychotherapy services are provided in strict adherence to the Association of Child Psychotherapists’ (ACP) Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

As part of our agreement, you will already have signed a ‘Consent to Hold Data’ form. The sharing of any information will be done strictly on a ‘need to know’ basis: for example, if the health or wellbeing of a child is at risk. Should information need to be shared, clients and parents will be notified in the first instance.

For the purposes of professional practice, psychotherapy notes are made and retained during the course of therapy. These notes are anonymised, with no identifying features, and are kept securely for the duration of therapy. Notes may be retained securely for a limited period after therapy ends for the purposes of client care – for example, should a child need or wish to return. After this date, all notes will be securely deleted, unless you request otherwise.

As part of ordinary professional practice, a young person may be discussed in clinical supervision, which also strictly adheres to the rules of practice and code of practice of the ACP.

Consent may be sought to provide information to GPs or schools, if necessary. If so, the request will be discussed, agreed and a separate form will be provided for your consent.

COMMUNICATION

I send all sensitive information using encrypted emails. Any forms for you to complete will be sent to you electronically or via email. I use an email encryption service.

Emails are checked only intermittently, so please do not send any urgent enquiries via email. Instead, please call 07810 122313 if you would like to leave a message or book a follow-up appointment.

I do not provide a service for medical emergencies. If there is an emergency, please contact the emergency services.

COMPLAINTS

I take complaints very seriously. If a patient complains, they will be treated courteously and promptly, so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. If you wish to make a complaint you can do so verbally to me or email drnesic@childandfamilymentalhealthpractice.com

 

PRIVACY POLICY

I take the security of personal data and other confidential information very seriously and am committed to complying with applicable data protection legislation and confidentiality guidelines. Personal data is any information that can be used, either by itself or together with other information, to identify an individual. I treat all information I hold about you as confidential information, whether it falls within the definition of personal data or otherwise. Please read the privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how I collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your personal data and confidential information whether acquired through the medium of this website or otherwise through your engagement with myself.

Any questions regarding this policy and my privacy practices should be sent by email to: drnesic@childandfamilymentalhealthpractice.com

Important: By submitting personal data to me and / or by using this website, you give your consent that all personal data that you submit may be processed by me in the manner and for the purposes described below.

Who do I collect personal data from?

I collect personal data from the following categories of people:

–  Patients and customers, and prospective patients and customers

–  Referring professionals and other third parties involved in the provision of care, eg GPs, family members, psychologists, psychotherapists, paediatricians, solicitors, schools, fee payers etc.

–  Prospective referring professionals, eg doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists, speech and language therapists, solicitors and other professionals who may make enquiries about my services

–  Any other professionals who may be involved in your care.

What personal data do I collect?

As set out in further detail below, I process two categories of personal data about you (where this applies):

Standard personal data (for example, information I use to contact you, identify you or manage my relationship with you)

Special categories of data (for example, health information, information about your race, ethnic origin and religion that allows me to tailor your care).

When you are using or considering using my services, I may ask for your contact details and other basic personal data, including name, address, email, telephone number and date of birth, as well as medical records and other clinical, legal, financial and social information. This may be collected directly from you or passed to us by third parties whom you have authorised to share this information with me, such as your GP, school, therapist, solicitor or a family member.

Examples of clinical, legal, financial and social information I may request from you or third parties on your behalf include:

– Official medical records from GPs or other professionals

– Educational records

– Social services records

– Family background, history, housing situation, details about your family life, social life, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race and nationality etc.

When requesting further information through emailing me or calling me, you may be asked to provide your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, relationship to the patient or prospective patient, or other details to enable me to respond to you, as well as to provide basic information regarding your enquiry.

When dealing with prospective referring professionals, as well as basic contact details, I may request your job title and area of specialism.

What legal ground(s) do I rely on?

I have to identify which legal grounds I am relying on when I process personal data. Please note that I may process your personal data on more than one lawful ground, depending on the specific purpose for which I am using your data.

Consent – I do not process any special category data (for example, health information, information about your race, ethnic origin and religion that allows me to tailor your care) without your explicit consent, unless I have a legal obligation to do so or there is a vital interest in me doing so because someone’s life is at risk or there are issues relating to safeguarding.

I follow the ACP and GMC guidelines on confidentiality and sharing information. Please read the following documents for details:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/consent—english-0617_pdf-48903482.pdf

https://www.gmc-uk.org/ethical-guidance/ethical-guidance-for-doctors/confidentiality

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/0_18_years___English_1015.pdf_48903188.pdf

There are exceptions to this requirement for confidentiality, where disclosure is mandatory when anyone is at risk:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/protecting-children-and-young-people—english-1015_pdf-48978248.pdf

Legal compliance – if the law requires me to do so, I may need to collect and process your personal information. For example, I am obliged to pass on details of people involved in criminal activity to law enforcement.

Legitimate interest – in specific situations, I require your data to pursue my legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running my practice and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests, including managing all aspects of my relationship with you, to help me improve my services, and in order to exercise my rights or handle claims.

How do I use your information?

I may use the information I collect in the following ways:

  • To provide highly bespoke clinical care to my customers and patients, and support to families and carers. In order to deliver my services to the highest quality, I take a holistic approach and meet my patients’ and customers’ needs in a tailored and specific way, and this requires me to have sufficient background information about my patients and customers
  • To allow me to provide the specific services to you that I have been requested to provide
  • To request feedback about my services, to enable me to improve and to better provide services to my patients and customers
  • To respond to customer / patient feedback or enquiries
  • I do not send any marketing or promotional communications to customers or patients. I never sell the data I hold to any third parties or use the data to help third parties market to you in any way.

How do I store and protect your information?

Clinical records are stored electronically and encrypted whilst in transit and during storage. Any paper records, including consent forms, letters and external medical records, will be scanned and disposed of appropriately.

Who do I share your personal data with?

As part of the services I provide, I may be required to share certain personal data with third parties, for example:

patients’ / customers’ data may be shared with GPs as part of the prospective or ongoing provision of clinical care

patients’ / customers’ data may be shared with solicitors as part of any legal proceedings regarding your health or medico-legal care.

I may also release information when its release is appropriate to comply with the law, to enforce our policies or to protect ours or others’ rights, property or safety.

How long do I keep your personal data for?

I am committed to my legal obligation to retain your personal data for only as long as is reasonably necessary. In some instances, I am required by law to retain certain personal data for a minimum period of time.

With regards to prospective patients and customers, I may retain your contact details for up to two years, as this is generally the maximum period during which an enquiry from a prospective patient / customer leads to their becoming an actual patient / customer.

How can you access and update your information?

The accuracy of your information is important to me. If you wish to review and/or correct the information that I hold about you at any time, please email me: drnesic@childandfamilymentalhealthpractice.com

Please contract me by emailing drnesic@childandfamilymentalhealthpractice.com if you have any queries regarding our Privacy Policy.

Practice Location

London

South Woodford

Marylebone

Phone
+44 7810 122313

Please get in touch and we will answer all your questions