GDPR Policy
At Balfron Eyecare we take our data protection obligations seriously. This privacy notice describes the type of personal information we hold, why we hold it and what we do with it. Our data protection officer is responsible for keeping secure the information about you that we hold. Those at the practice who have access to your information include opticians and other eyecare professionals involved with your care and treatment, and the reception staff responsible for the management and administration of the practice. The data protection officer ensures that the practice complies with data protection requirements to ensure that we collect, use, store and dispose of your information responsibly. You can contact our data protection officer in writing using the address and contact details available on this website.
Information That We Hold
We can only keep and use information for specific reasons set out in law. If we want to keep and use information about your health, we can only do so in particular circumstances. Below, we describe the information we hold and why, and the lawful basis for collecting and using it.
Contact Details - We hold personal information about you including your name, date of birth, national insurance number, NHS number, address, telephone number and email address. This information allows us to fulfil our contract with you to provide appointments. We will also use the information to send you reminders and recall appointments as we have a legitimate interest to ensure your continuing care and to make you aware of our services.
Eyecare Records - We hold information about your eyecare and general health, including:
Clinical records made by opticians and other professionals involved with your care and treatment.
Medical histories.
Treatment plans and consent.
Notes of conversations with you about your care.
Dates of your appointments.
Details of any complaints you have made and how these complaints were dealt with.
Correspondence with you and other health professionals or institutions.
We collect and use this information to allow us to fulfil our contract with you to discuss your treatment options and provide eyecare that meets your needs. We also use this information for the legitimate interest of ensuring the quality of the treatment we provide.
Financial Information - We hold information about the fees we have charged, the amounts you have paid and some payment details. This information forms part of our contractual obligation to you to provide eyecare and allows us to meet legal financial requirements. Where your eyecare is provided under the terms of the NHS, we are required to complete statutory forms to allow payments to be processed. This is an NHS requirement.
How We Use Your Information
To provide you with the eyecare and treatment that you need, we require up-to-date and accurate information about you. We will share your information with NHS Scotland in connection with your eyecare treatment. We may contact you to conduct patient surveys or to find out if you are happy with the treatment you received for quality control purposes. We will seek your preference for how we contact you about your eyecare. Our usual methods are telephone, email or letter. We may use your contact details to inform you of products and services available at our Practice. We have CCTV at the practice for the purposes of patient and staff safety.
Sharing Information
Your information is normally used only by those working at the practice but there may be instances where we need to share it – for example, with:
• Your doctor.
• The hospital or other health professionals caring for you.
• Specialist medical services to which we may refer you.
• NHS payment authorities.
• The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies, where you are claiming exemption or remission from NHS charges.
• Debt collection agencies.
We will only disclose your information on a need-to-know basis and will limit any information that we share to the minimum necessary. We will let you know in advance if we send your medical information to another medical provider and we will give you the details of that provider at that time. In certain circumstances or if required by law, we may need to disclose your information to a third party not connected with your health care, including HMRC or other law enforcement or government agencies.
Keeping Your Information Safe
We store your personal information securely on our practice computer system. Your information cannot be accessed by those who do not work at the practice; only those working at the practice have access to your information. They understand their legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality and follow practice procedures to ensure this. We take precautions to ensure security of the practice premises, the practice filing systems and computers. We use software to record and use your personal information safely and effectively. Our computer system has a secure audit trail and we back-up information routinely. We keep your records for 10 years after the date of your last visit to the Practice. At your request, we will delete non-essential information (for example some contact details) before the end of this period.
Access To Your Information & Other Rights
You have a right to access the information that we hold about you and to receive a copy. We do not usually charge you for copies of your information; if we pass on a charge, we will explain the reasons. You can also request us to:
• Correct any information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. If we have disclosed that information to a third party, we will let them know about the change.
• Erase some of the information we hold. For legal reasons, we may be unable to erase certain information (for example, information about your eyecare treatment). However, we can, if you ask us to delete some contact details and other non-clinical information.
• Stop using your information - for example, sending you reminders for appointments or information about our service. Even if you have given us consent to send you marketing information, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
• Stop using information if you believe the information is inaccurate or you believe we are using your information illegally.
• Supply your information electronically to another optician.
If we are relying on your consent to use your personal information for a particular purpose, you may withdraw your consent at any time and we will stop using your information for that purpose. All requests should be made to our data protection officer in writing using the address and contact details available on this website.
If You Do Not Agree
If you do not wish us to use your personal information as described, you should discuss the matter with your optician. If you object to the way that we collect and use your information, we may not be able to continue to provide your eyecare. If you have any concerns about how we use your information and you do not feel able to discuss it with your optician or anyone at the practice, you should contact The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website for further details - https://ico.org.uk