How we look after your information.

01Who we are

Vin’s Clinic is a telehealth medical practice operated by Dr Vinay Patel, an AHPRA-registered medical practitioner (registration number MED0002635284), based in Bondi Beach, New South Wales. Our contact email is dr@vins.clinic.

02What information we collect

We collect personal information necessary to provide you with medical care. This may include:

• Your name, date of birth, address, email, and phone number.
• Your Medicare number and healthcare identifiers.
• Your medical history, current medications, allergies, and relevant family history.
• Consultation notes, clinical assessments, and treatment plans.
• Pathology results, imaging reports, and referral correspondence.
• Payment information processed through our third-party payment provider (Stripe, via Tacklit).
• Any information you provide during intake forms, consultations, or correspondence.

03How we collect your information

• Directly from you during intake, consultations, and correspondence.
• Through our practice management platform (Tacklit).
• Through third-party providers such as pathology laboratories, pharmacies, and referring practitioners where you have provided consent or where disclosure is required for your care.
• Through our payment processor (Stripe) for billing purposes.

04Why we collect your information

• To provide you with medical care, including assessment, diagnosis, prescribing, and ongoing management.
• To communicate with you about appointments, results, and treatment plans.
• To process payments for consultations and services.
• To meet our legal and regulatory obligations, including record-keeping requirements under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW) and the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.
• To facilitate prescriptions through pharmacies.
• To meet the requirements of the Australian regulatory frameworks administered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) where these apply to a particular therapy.
• To comply with mandatory reporting obligations.

05Who we share your information with

We will only share your personal and health information where it is necessary for your care, where you have given consent, or where we are required to by law. This may include:

• Pathology laboratories for blood tests and investigations you have consented to.
• Pharmacies for dispensing prescriptions.
• The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) where required under Australian regulatory requirements.
• Other treating practitioners where you have provided consent or a referral is clinically appropriate.
• Our practice management platform (Tacklit) and payment processor (Stripe), which store and process data on our behalf.
• Medicare and the Department of Health where required for billing or rebate purposes.
• Professional indemnity insurers in the event of a complaint or claim.
• Any person or body where disclosure is required or authorised by law.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.

06How we store and protect your information

Clinical records are stored in our practice management system (Tacklit), which uses encryption in transit and at rest. All phone consultations are documented within this system. Payment information is processed by Stripe and is not stored on our systems. Access to your records is limited to Dr Patel and any authorised clinical staff involved in your care. We take reasonable steps to protect your information from misuse, interference, loss, and unauthorised access.

07How long we keep your information

Medical records are retained for a minimum of seven years from the date of last consultation for adult patients, or until the patient turns twenty-five, whichever is later, in accordance with the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). Records relating to patients who were minors at the time of treatment are retained until the patient turns twenty-five or for seven years from the date of last entry, whichever is later. Financial records are retained for the period required by the Australian Taxation Office.

08Your rights

You have the right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you. You have the right to request correction of any information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. You may request access or correction by emailing dr@vins.clinic. We will respond within thirty days. In some circumstances we may refuse access or correction where permitted by law, and we will provide written reasons if we do so.

09Complaints

If you believe we have breached the Australian Privacy Principles or mishandled your information, please contact us at dr@vins.clinic. We will investigate and respond within thirty days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or by calling 1300 363 992.

10Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website with the date of last update shown above.

11Contact