MedAdvisor International Pty Limited (ABN 40 161 366 589) and its related bodies corporate (MedAdvisor, we, us, our) are committed to handling your personal information in a uniform, equitable and ethical manner. The protection of your personal information is something MedAdvisor takes very seriously.  Personal information is information about you that identifies you or from which you are reasonably identifiable. MedAdvisor is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). 

Please take a moment to read our Privacy Policy as it describes what happens to your personal information that is collected by our technology platform, which we call the MedAdvisor Service or Service. 

The MedAdvisor Service is used by pharmacies, and by patients of pharmacies.  Your personal information may be collected by the MedAdvisor Service if: 

• you are a customer or patient of a pharmacy that uses the MedAdvisor Service (a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy) - see part 1 of this Privacy Policy; 

• you register an account with the MedAdvisor Service (for example, through our Apple iOS or Android applications (including pharmacy-group branded versions) or via our web portal at https://app.medadvisor.com.au/login/create-acount-landing-page (together, our Apps) - see part 2 of this Privacy Policy; 

• you work at a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy - see part 3 of this Privacy Policy; and/or 

• you are a prescribing doctor or other health professional - see part 4 of this Privacy Policy. 

Part 7 of this Privacy Policy also contains further information about how we handle personal information that we collect, including information that is collected through the MedAdvisor Service. 

A list of MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies can be found here: https://www.mymedadvisor.com/find-a-pharmacy.  You can also look for the “MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy” sticker or other MedAdvisor promotional material when you attend the pharmacy. 

The MedAdvisor Service is accessed by: 

• Consumers (consumers, patients or users) via our Apps or appointment booking services.  The Apps provide you with various features to help you manage your medications, including a smart medication list (which is automatically updated every time you fill scripts), tap-to-refill prescription ordering, automatic reminders to take your medications and fill your recurring scripts, and access to full information for all of your medications. 

• MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies via the software application that we supply to those pharmacies (called MedAdvisor for Pharmacy). MedAdvisor for Pharmacy enables pharmacies to manage prescription and dispensing information, to deliver professional services to their patients and to communicate with their patients (including SMS reminders). 

Our Privacy Policy is divided into the following parts: 

• Part 1: Customers and patients of MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies 

• Part 2: MedAdvisor account holders 

• Part 3: MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy staff 

• Part 4: Prescribing Doctors and other health professionals 

• Part 5: Our staff 

• Part 6: Visitors to our websites and social media channels 

• Part 7: General provisions

Introduction

This Part 1 of our Privacy Policy describes how MedAdvisor handles your personal information if you are a patient or customer of a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy. 

If you choose to register an account with the MedAdvisor Service (for example through our Apps), Part 2 of this Privacy Policy will also apply to you. 

How does MedAdvisor assist MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies? 

MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies use the MedAdvisor for Pharmacy software application to manage various functions in their business, including to manage prescription and dispensing information, to deliver professional services to their patients and to communicate with their patients (including SMS reminders). 

MedAdvisor for Pharmacy shares certain data (which may include personal information) with MedAdvisor, which MedAdvisor processes on the pharmacy's behalf in order to provide the pharmacy with various functionality and services.  The MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy controls how it uses these functions and services (and your personal information). 

While the MedAdvisor for Pharmacy software application is commonly installed on the pharmacy's IT systems, MedAdvisor also offers a web-based version of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy. The web-based version of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy allows pharmacists to access MedAdvisor for Pharmacy via the Internet (for example, when they are delivering patient care in settings other than their pharmacy). When a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy uses the web-based version of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy, MedAdvisor will host certain data (including patient records and dispense history information) on behalf of the pharmacy so that the pharmacy can access that data through the web-based version of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy when they need it. 

By choosing to be a patient or customer of a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, you acknowledge and agree that MedAdvisor may receive personal information about you (which may include health or other sensitive information) from that pharmacy in connection with the pharmacy's use of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy. 

What personal information does MedAdvisor receive? 

The types of personal information that MedAdvisor for Pharmacy collects and transmits from the pharmacy’s systems to MedAdvisor's systems generally include: 

• your name, mobile number and other contact details; 

• details of your prescriptions, dispense history, scripts owing (if applicable) and any health services (including vaccinations) you have received from the pharmacy; and 

• your government identifiers (such as your Medicare number or Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) number) including where the pharmacy is using MedAdvisor to process claims and transmit updated information to a government health authority on behalf of the pharmacy.  For example, this may include using your Medicare number to provide updated vaccination records to the relevant government health authority. 

As part of MedAdvisor for Pharmacy’s functionality, MedAdvisor helps MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies to: 

• obtain relevant information about you from government systems (such as the Australian Immunisation Register) and third party services (such as online booking providers and electronic prescription exchanges); and 

• communicate (and exchange relevant information about you) with your other healthcare providers (such as your general practitioner), 

so that the pharmacy can provide you with the prescriptions and health services (such as vaccinations) that you have requested. Your pharmacist decides whether (and how) they choose to use these features to collect personal information about you. 

If you have also registered an account with MedAdvisor, additional information may be shared (as described in Part 2 of this Privacy Policy). 

Our purposes for handling your personal information 

If you have registered an account with MedAdvisor, please refer to Part 2 of this Privacy Policy.  Part 2 explains how we handle personal information that we collect about MedAdvisor account holders (including any such information we obtain about you from a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy). 
If you haven't registered an account with MedAdvisor, we will primarily use the personal information we receive from the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy or that we obtain from other sources (for example, through an online booking) in order to provide the pharmacy with the MedAdvisor for Pharmacy software services and functionality (the MedAdvisor-powered services).  These MedAdvisor-powered services include: 

• the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy SMS Service, which allows pharmacies to send their patients various types of SMS messages such as prescription refill reminders and information about their medications (for further information, please click www.mymedadvisor.com/detailsandprivacynotice); 

• professional services tools, which are software tools that support pharmacists to provide certain health services to you (including pharmacy prescribing, vaccinations and MedChecks); 

• appointment booking services, which allow pharmacies to offer an online booking platform for vaccinations and other health services; and 

• Project STOP, which is a software tool that supports pharmacists to manage their sale of pseudoephedrine-based products and comply with applicable laws and medical guidelines that apply to those products.   
  If you ask to purchase a pseudoephedrine-based product, your pharmacist may ask you to provide an acceptable form of photo identification (such as a driver’s licence or proof of age card).  Project STOP allows your pharmacist to check a national database of pseudoephedrine sales (and purchase requests).  This assists your pharmacist to confirm whether you have a therapeutic need for the relevant product.  In some States and Territories it may also be a legal requirement for your pharmacist to record your name, address, identification number and other details when they supply you with pseudoephedrine.  The Project STOP tool assists the pharmacy to meet these recording requirements.  Further information about Project STOP can be found at projectstop.mymedadvisor.com. 

The pharmacy decides how it uses these MedAdvisor-powered services to manage and interact with its patients and customers.  If you don't want your pharmacy to use these MedAdvisor-powered services to manage and process your personal information, we encourage you to discuss this with your pharmacist.  However, this may impact the types of services that your pharmacy is able to offer you (for example, if the pharmacy relies on MedAdvisor's software and technology to provide you with the relevant service).   

MedAdvisor also offers direct opt-outs for some of these MedAdvisor-powered services, such as the SMS Service.  For further information on how you can opt-out of the SMS Service, please click www.mymedadvisor.com/detailsandprivacynotice. 

Use and disclosure of your personal information 

If you have registered an account with MedAdvisor, please refer to Part 2 of this Privacy Policy.  Part 2 explains how we handle personal information that we collect about MedAdvisor account holders (including any such information we obtain about you from a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy). 
If you haven't registered an account with MedAdvisor, we will generally only use and disclose the personal information that we receive from MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies in order to allow the pharmacy to use the MedAdvisor for Pharmacy software and the relevant MedAdvisor-powered services.  This will depend on what products and services you purchase from the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy.  For example: 

• if your pharmacy uses the MedAdvisor Service to communicate with your other healthcare providers (such as your general practitioner), or participate in third party services such as electronic prescription exchanges, we will use and disclose your personal information for these purposes on behalf of your pharmacy; 

• if your pharmacy uses the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy SMS Service to contact you, we will send you the relevant SMS messages on behalf of your pharmacy; and 

• if your pharmacy uses the MedAdvisor Service to manage its vaccination bookings and record vaccinations that it has provided, we may provide the updated vaccination records to the relevant government health authority on behalf of your pharmacy. 

Some MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies are part of pharmacy groups.  If you use a pharmacy that is part of one of these pharmacy groups, please be aware that your pharmacy may use the MedAdvisor Service to share information about you with the head office / franchisor of that pharmacy group.  

We may also de-identify the personal information that we hold about you for the purposes described in the "De-identified information" section in Part 7 of this Privacy Policy. 

Introduction

This Part 2 of our Privacy Policy applies to you if: 

• you have created an account with the MedAdvisor Service to manage your own medications; and/or 

• you are a caregiver who has created a MedAdvisor Carer Mode account with the MedAdvisor Service, to assist you with managing the medications for the person under your care. 

This includes where you use our Apps, or where you use a pharmacy group-branded version of our Apps.  If you access the MedAdvisor Service via the web portal, Part 6 of this Privacy Policy also applies to you. 
If you are a customer of a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, Part 1 of our Privacy Policy also applies to you. 
 
Collection of your personal information 

MedAdvisor will collect and hold your personal information in a fair and lawful manner, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Where it is reasonably practical to do so, we will collect your personal information directly from you. However, when authorised we may collect personal information from third parties such as MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies and your caregiver. We may also collect personal information from other health related apps/websites where you have given your consent, or where your pharmacy uses authorised features of the MedAdvisor Service to access personal information about you in the course of providing you with the prescriptions and health services you have requested (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy).   

We may collect personal information about you in a number of ways, including through some of the following means: 

• when completing the registration process for the MedAdvisor Service and other related correspondence (whether in person at a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, in writing or electronically through the MedAdvisor Service), including where caregivers provide their own information or information of those they care for; 

• via any of our Apps (including any pharmacy-group branded versions of our Apps); 

• via any MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies that you deal with (the types of information we collect from such pharmacies is further outlined in the "Types of personal information we collect" section below);   

• while conducting customer satisfaction and market research surveys; 

• in the course of supporting you either directly or through any MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies; 

• when administering any of our services; and 

• as otherwise required to support or provide the MedAdvisor Service. 

We may also collect personal information automatically through some of the following means: 

• we may receive location data passed to us from third-party services or GPS-enabled devices you have set up; 

• we may collect information about how you use the Service to assist us to provide you with more tailored services, and to enable us to develop and improve our services; 

• we may also collect information from the devices and networks that you use to access our Apps to help us develop and secure our services; and 

• we may use 'cookies' to store and sometimes track information about you in accordance with our Cookie Policy (available at www.mymedadvisor.com/CookiePolicy). 

 
Types of personal information we collect 

To create an account with the MedAdvisor Service, you can register in person at a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy or directly through our Apps.  The types of personal information we collect depends on the registration method you use and the level of account creation.  If the requested personal information is not provided, you will not be able to register an account or your account may have limited functionality. 

The types of personal information we may collect are listed below.  Your pharmacy may already have the information on file and may provide it to us when creating an account on your behalf: 

• Your name, title, your date of birth and contact details (for example your email address and phone number); 
   
   

• Your Medicare number and/or DVA number; 
   
   

• Medication, prescription and dispensing information, including historical information: 

• the MedAdvisor Service will collect information about prescriptions stored through the MedAdvisor Service and your prescribed medications and dispensing records when your prescription(s) is or has been dispensed at a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, including electronically through the MedAdvisor Service. This includes details of any prescriptions you store through the MedAdvisor Service, and the medication dispensed, dates dispensed, cost of medication and repeats left.  MedAdvisor does not collect or hold information about your prescribed medications which you have filled at pharmacies that are not MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies.  If you want your MedAdvisor Service to hold information about all your prescribed medications, you must fill them all through MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies or input them yourself.  A list of MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies can be found here: https://www.mymedadvisor.com/find-a-pharmacy.  You can also look for the “MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy” sticker, or other MedAdvisor promotional material in pharmacy.  
   
   

• Photographs and associated information: 

• If you register for the MedAdvisor Service remotely through one of our Apps, the following additional information may be collected: 

• a photograph of your Medicare card or DVA card, and your residential address so that we can match you to your file held by your MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy. We will also receive any other personal information on your Medicare card or DVA card; and 

• a photograph of yourself (or if you are a caregiver of a MedAdvisor consumer user, a photograph of the consumer user) holding photo identification with your name that matches your Medicare number.  We will also receive any other personal information on that photo identification. 

• We forward this information to your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy and they are responsible for confirming that your details match those on their file in their pharmacy software system, after which an activation confirmation message will be sent to you.  Once confirmed, we will collect information about prescription(s) as outlined above. 
   
   

• Other information: 

• your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy; 

• additional information where you choose to provide or enter it, for example, in the optional health and medical profile on the application if you choose to complete the profile, or notes you may keep about each medication; 

• information that you link to or associate with your MedAdvisor account from other apps/websites or third party providers; 

• we may collect other information as part of the account creation process or in the use of our Apps, including usage data and passwords; and 

• in addition to the types of personal information identified above, we may collect personal information as otherwise permitted or required by law. 

 
Our purposes for handling your personal information 

As a general rule, MedAdvisor only processes personal information for purposes that would be considered relevant and reasonable in the circumstances.  MedAdvisor will only collect information that is necessary for the purposes as described in this Privacy Policy, or other purposes specifically communicated to you. MedAdvisor uses fair and lawful methods to collect personal information. 

MedAdvisor collects, holds, uses and discloses personal information to: 

• provide the MedAdvisor Service to you; 

• provide you with services related to the MedAdvisor Service, such as prescriptions delivery and receipt, storage and processing of electronic prescriptions; 

• enable you to access, and share information with, your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy for the purpose of assisting you in managing your MedAdvisor account and managing your medication use (also see the "Use and disclosure of your personal information" and "Value Added Messages" sections below); 

• ensure that only you, or those you authorise, are able to access your personal information; 

• enable your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy to create a file in your name in their pharmacy software system if one does not already exist.  This includes the disclosure of all personal information we collect under 'remote registration' to your MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy; 

• with your consent (or where we are authorised by your MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy on your behalf), share the information stored on the MedAdvisor Service with any nominated medical practitioner or other health professional involved in your care; 

• with your consent, enable optional access by a caregiver to the Service, via the MedAdvisor Carer Mode Consent Form or as otherwise authorised by you; 

• assist you with a support query in connection with the MedAdvisor Service; 

• allow MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies to use MedAdvisor for Pharmacy to: 

• provide you with prescriptions and health services that you request; and 

• manage and operate their pharmacy business, 

as described in Part 1 of this Privacy Policy; 

• comply with its legal and regulatory obligations, including to verify that the pharmacist confirmed your identity and matched it to an existing account in their pharmacy software system; 

• otherwise to run our business, including business development activities; and 

• contact you regarding the above, including via electronic messaging such as SMS and email, by mail, by phone or in any other lawful manner. 

 
Use and disclosure of your personal information 

We may disclose your personal information to our employees, professional advisors or contractors to help us run our business and in connection with the purposes specified in the 'Our purposes for handling your personal information' section of this this Privacy Policy. 

We may, on a confidential basis, also disclose your personal information to your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy (this includes providing any dispense data from our other MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies that you use to your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy) so that they can provide pharmacy, health and related services to you, including dispensing prescriptions. 

If you have downloaded a pharmacy group-branded version of the MedAdvisor application (Pharmacy Branded MedAdvisor App), or select a nominated pharmacy within our App that is part of a pharmacy group that has a Pharmacy Branded MedAdvisor App, we may share the personal information we hold about you (which may include health or other sensitive information) to the entity that operates the pharmacy group. 

If you use electronic prescriptions and/or the Tap-To-Refill service, your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy will be sent information to enable them to fill your prescription before you arrive at the pharmacy. If you want to disclose information on the MedAdvisor Service to your doctor or pharmacist or anyone else, you are free to do so. Please note, however, you are responsible for any breach of privacy that may arise from sharing your MedAdvisor account with others. 

Value-added messages 

We may provide you with information such as tips, advice and warnings about your prescribed medications. We may also provide you with invitations to participate in medical research relevant to the medications you are taking. We will not disclose your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. 

You may opt out at any time if you no longer wish to receive commercial messages generally or about any specific prescribed medication. You can make this request by contacting our Privacy Officer. You will be offered an option to “opt-out” of any such messaging along with each message, and generally for each medication. 

As part of the MedAdvisor Service, your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy may also send you information about products and services that may be of interest to you. Your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy may elect to disclose your personal information (such as your contact details) to us to the extent required to allow the pharmacist to submit claim forms to relevant government bodies via the MedAdvisor Service for any such products and services they provide to you (for example, so that the pharmacist can receive payment for dispensing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines to you). You can opt out at any time from receiving information sent by your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy. 

Where your nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy is part of a pharmacy group, a reference in this 'Value-added messages' section to 'nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy' should be read as including a reference to the head entity of the pharmacy group that the nominated MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy is part of. 

Introduction

This Part 3 of our Privacy Policy describes how MedAdvisor handles data that we collect about the pharmacists and other staff of participating MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies. 

Parts 1 and 2 of our Privacy Policy also apply equally to our handling of the personal information of pharmacists and other staff at participating pharmacies, and other individuals from whom we may collect personal information in the course of our business from time to time (such as our suppliers, job applicants and contractors), except for those passages that clearly relate only to patients. 

Collection of personal information of pharmacy staff 

We may collect basic contact information of pharmacy staff in the course of providing the MedAdvisor Services to your pharmacy and its patients. Basic contact information may include the name, role, email address, postal address or phone numbers of pharmacy staff. Where requested, supply of such information is optional but can assist us in providing better support and training services to your pharmacy. 

Use and disclosure of personal information of pharmacy staff 

We generally only use contact information of pharmacy staff for the purposes of providing the MedAdvisor Service to your pharmacy and patients, and in supporting and training on the use of MedAdvisor by your pharmacy staff.  This includes providing reports to the pharmacy (and any pharmacy group that the pharmacy is a part of), and providing reports and data to MedAdvisor's service providers, partners and third parties. 

Personal information of pharmacy staff may also be disclosed to third parties that MedAdvisor uses in conjunction with its pharmacy relationship management functions (for example, for email, invoicing or service request management), or in other cases where consent has been given.  This may involve the disclosure, transmission and storage of Personal Information to recipients outside of Australia (including recipients in the UK, European Economic Area and the USA). 

Credit applications and credit checks 

MedAdvisor does not offer credit to individuals for consumer purposes.  However, MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies can apply to MedAdvisor for commercial credit. 

If you have applied to MedAdvisor for commercial credit for your MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, we may exchange your personal information (or where you are a company, the personal information of each of your directors) with commercial credit bureaus or similar service providers to assist us in verifying details provided by you and to obtain a commercial credit report in respect of your activities and the activities of other companies in which you or the directors are involved, where we consider this is relevant to assessing your pharmacy's application for commercial credit. 

This Part 4 of our Privacy Policy applies to you if you are a prescribing doctor or third party health professional and you are directly or indirectly interacting with a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy in relation to a patient or participating in MedAdvisor’s GP Link service. 

Interacting with MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies 

When you deal with a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy or when a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy dispenses medication that you prescribed, we may (acting as agent for the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy) collect certain personal information about you including your name, medical clinic address, phone number, fax number, email address and prescriber number. 

MedAdvisor only uses and discloses this information to the extent necessary to support the MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy's delivery of services to the relevant customer or patient (for example, by providing a script renewal service for that customer or patient) or as otherwise directed by the relevant customer or patient. 

Participating in the GP Link Service 

GP Link allows patients to use our Apps to request a script renewal / repeat prescription or a telehealth medical consultation from an Australian certified and registered doctor. 

If you are a doctor who has registered to participate in GP Link, MedAdvisor will collect your personal information (which may include your name, contact details, medical clinic address and practitioner details) in order to register you and allow you to participate in the GP Link service.  This includes connecting you with patients that have requested script renewals / telehealth consultations and processing payments for the medical services you provide. 

This Part 5 of our Privacy Policy applies to you if you work for, or have applied to work for, MedAdvisor. 

We collect information in relation to our staff as part of their application and during the course of their employment (or other role) with us.  We may collect this information either from them (e.g. contact details and resume) or, in some cases, from third parties such as recruitment agencies, referees, government bodies (e.g. police checks, if required) and academic and professional bodies (e.g. to validate details and currency of qualifications).  Like most businesses, we also keep staff files that may contain information such as feedback from supervisors, training records and logs of the staff member's usage of our equipment (e.g. phones, computers and vehicles). 

We may also collect details of disabilities, allergies and health issues that may impact their role or which arise while on our premises or in the performance of their duties, so we can accommodate and otherwise assist our staff with any such health requirements or incidents. 

Under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), personal information about a current or former employee may be held, used or disclosed in any way that is directly connected to the employment relationship.  We handle staff information in accordance with legal requirements and our applicable policies in force from time to time.

This Part 6 applies to you if you access our websites (including www.medadvisorsolutions.com, www.mymedadvisor.com and www.medadvisor.com.au) or any of our social media pages (such as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn). 

What information do we collect through our websites? 

In general terms, we collect: 

• information that you decide to share with us through the website (for example, where you fill out a web form or post content to one our websites); and 

• data that we collect automatically through cookies and other web trackers.  For more information, please refer to our Cookies policy: www.mymedadvisor.com/CookiePolicy. 

 
Social media 

We use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to communicate with the public about our products and services.   

We may collect any information that you choose to share with us through these platforms, including photos, videos and comments and posts, and use that information for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.   

These social media platforms have their own privacy policies and may handle your information for their own purposes.  You can access the privacy policies for these platforms on their websites. 

If you choose to use these social media platforms to communicate with us or with other users, please be mindful that certain pages within these platforms may be publicly available.  We encourage you to use the privacy settings available on each platform.  If you would like to contact us directly, you can do so using the contact details on the MedAdvisor website (www.medadvisorsolutions.com). 

How do we use this information? 

Where you have provided us with the information for a specific purpose, we may use it for that purpose.  For example, if you post a question or comment to our social media page or submit an inquiry via our website, we may use that information to respond to your question, comment or inquiry.  If you subscribe to a newsletter or update service we may offer, we may use your information to send you such newsletters/updates. 

We also use the information you have provided (and any additional data that we collect through cookies and other automated data collection tools) to operate and improve our business, including: 

• to operate, monitor, develop and improve our websites, Apps and services; 

• to optimise and customise the user experience (including content and advertising) for users of our websites, Apps and services; 

• to protect the security and integrity of our websites, mobile applications and services; 

• to help us better understand who is visiting our websites and social media channels and why; and 

• to participate in online targeted advertising services that help our ads to reach you (and other people who may be interested in our products and services) on other websites, apps and social media platforms across the Internet. 

 
Links 

Our websites and social media pages may contain links to other websites operated by third parties.  We make no representations or warranties in relation to privacy practices of any third party website and we are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party website.  Third party websites are responsible for informing you about their own privacy practices and procedures. 

The following provisions apply generally to all personal information we collect, hold or otherwise deal with in our business, including to pharmacy customers and patients, MedAdvisor account holders, MedAdvisor staff, pharmacy staff and visitors to our websites and social media channels: 

Are there any other ways that MedAdvisor handles your information? 

This Privacy Policy provides a general overview of the main ways in which we collect, use and disclose personal information as part of our business. 

The purposes for which we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information may depend on the nature of our relationship with you.  In general, we collect, use and disclose your personal information so that we can do business together and for purposes connected with our business operations. 

When we collect personal information we take reasonable steps to ensure that you are aware of why we are collecting your personal information, how we intend to use that information and to whom we intend to disclose it at the time we collect your personal information. 

Once we have collected your personal information we may use or disclose it: 

• for the purposes for which we collected it; 

• for other purposes to which you have consented; and 

• as otherwise authorised or required by law. 

 
How we use third party service providers 

Like most companies, we use a range of third party service providers to assist us with running our business and providing our products and services.  Some of these service providers perform functions that require them to handle personal information on our behalf.  For example, these may include: 

• IT service providers who provide us with web hosting, cloud services, SMS service providers, IT support and cyber security services for our company systems and/or for the MedAdvisor Service; 

• organisations who help us with our marketing and advertising activities (such as call centres, mailing houses, online targeted advertising networks, social media platforms and data analytics providers); 

• outsourced staffing providers to provide augmented staffing; 

• our accountants, insurers, lawyers, auditors and other professional advisers; and 

• payment processors and other organisations that help us to process your purchases and other transactions with us. 

When we engage a third party service provider to handle your personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to require them to protect your information and handle it securely. 

Third party integrations 

The MedAdvisor Service (including MedAdvisor for Pharmacy) integrates with various technology services provided by third parties, including those specifically mentioned in this Privacy Policy. 

These third party integrations allow the MedAdvisor Service (including MedAdvisor for Pharmacy) to provide our users (including pharmacists and patients) with access to additional features and functionality. 

Using these features and functionality may require the exchange of personal information with the third party provider of that service. Some of these third party technology services may also collect additional data such as your IP address, and/or require you to create an account with the third party before you can use the relevant feature or function. 

Third party technology services are subject to any additional terms and conditions and privacy notices that are notified to you by MedAdvisor and/or the third party. By using a third party service you agree to such additional terms and conditions and privacy notices. 

Third party services may offer certain privacy controls (such as permissions settings) that allow you to manage what types of information are exchanged with that third party service. We encourage you to review these privacy controls (including the default settings) to ensure that you understand and are comfortable with how your information (or, if you are a pharmacist, your customers' and patients' information) is exchanged with the third party service.   

Collection, uses and disclosures that are required or authorised by law 

In certain situations MedAdvisor may be required or authorised by law to collect, use or disclose personal information for particular purposes.  These may include situations where we are required or authorised to provide personal information to: 

• government departments and agencies responsible for health; and 

• Federal or State law enforcement agencies and investigative agencies, courts and various other Federal or State government bodies. 

 
In these situations we will comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the applicable laws when collecting, using or disclosing such information. 

Adverse Event Reporting 

We support the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and other government health authorities in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of therapeutic goods including medications. This involves reporting any adverse events we are notified about. Adverse events are unintended and sometimes harmful occurrences associated with the use of a medicine, vaccine or medical device. Adverse events include side effects to medicines and vaccines, and problems or incidents involving medical devices. 

We may provide personal information directly to government health authorities, like the TGA, sufficient to make an adverse event report. We may also provide adverse event information, including personal information, to pharmaceutical companies to support their adverse event reporting obligations. 

Research activities 

We sometimes receive requests from research institutions, private companies and other third parties who wish to access data that we have collected through the MedAdvisor Service for research purposes.  This may include data about MedAdvisor account holders and customers and patients of MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies. 

We consider such requests on a case-by-case basis, and we only provide data to such research projects where permissible under applicable laws (or where consent has been provided) and where we are satisfied that there are appropriate safeguards in place to protect the security, confidentiality and privacy of the relevant data.  These may include de-identifying and aggregating the data so that individual patients are not reasonably identifiable from the data. 

De-identified information 

We may use your personal information in de-identified form (de-identification being a process by which a collection of data or information is altered to remove or obscure personal identifiers and personal information) to assist us in running our business (including to optimise and improve MedAdvisor's services and solutions, and for other internal MedAdvisor uses).   

We also use de-identified data to provide analytics reports and statistical information to MedAdvisor Network Pharmacies and our commercial partners (which include pharmaceutical companies that sponsor our programs).  Any such reports and statistics are de-identified to ensure that patient personal information is not disclosed. 

Where you use the MedAdvisor Service (or any Pharmacy Branded MedAdvisor App) in relation to pharmacies that are part of a pharmacy group, we may disclose your information (including prescription and dispense data) in de-identified form to the entity that operates that pharmacy group. 

We may also use de-identified data for research purposes, as described previously. 

We may also provide de-identified information drawn from the MedAdvisor Service, in aggregated form, to other third parties. This information may include (but is not limited to): 

• locations of users; 

• dispense records of prescriptions filled/not filled, and prescription filling behaviour and patterns that MedAdvisor Service users have been prescribed by their medical professional; and 

• functions accessed by users including analytics of use of the MedAdvisor Service. 

 
When referring to the use of 'aggregate data', this means the aggregate of data composed of at least 10 or more patient records. 

Accessing and correcting your personal information 

You may contact our Privacy Officer (see the section "Resolving personal information concerns" below for contact details) to request access to the personal information that we hold about you and/or to make corrections to that information, at any time. On the rare occasions when we refuse access, we will provide you with a written notice stating our reasons for refusing access. We may seek to recover from you reasonable costs incurred for providing you with access to any of the personal information about you held by us. 

MedAdvisor is not obliged to correct any of your personal information if it does not agree that it requires correction and may refuse to do so. If MedAdvisor refuses a correction request, we will provide you with a written notice stating our reasons for refusing. 

Deleting your personal information 

If you apply remotely to register for the MedAdvisor Service, we will promptly delete or permanently de-identify the personal information you provide to us in that process within 30 days. 

If you are a MedAdvisor account holder and you wish to delete your account, you may do so through the Apps.  If you have any difficulties, please contact us at support@medadvisor.com.au.   

If your account includes a MedAdvisor Carer Mode account, the details of the person(s) you are caring for will also be deleted. 

Please note that the account deletion process may take up to 5 business days, and MedAdvisor may retain certain information as required or permitted by law. 

Protection of personal information 

MedAdvisor maintains appropriate physical, procedural and technical security for its offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any misuse, interference or loss, or unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of personal information. This also applies to disposal of personal information. 

MedAdvisor further protects personal information by restricting access to personal information to those who need access to do their job (for example, to respond to your queries or provide you or your pharmacist/pharmacy with support services in relation to the MedAdvisor Service). 

Overseas transfers of personal information 

If you are a MedAdvisor account holder or a customer or patient of a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy, we do not disclose, store or transmit any of your personal information outside of Australia except to the extent required by third parties providing services on behalf of MedAdvisor. 

Where we engage overseas third parties, your personal information may be accessed in New Zealand, Philippines, India and Vietnam. Whilst we will take reasonable steps to ensure any third party complies with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, the laws and practices of the overseas jurisdiction are likely to be different and, in some cases, may be weaker than those in Australia.   

We do not disclose, store or transmit any other personal information outside Australia, except as described in this Privacy Policy or our Cookie Policy.  If you are a MedAdvisor Network Pharmacy staff member, please refer to the "Use and disclosure of personal information of pharmacy staff" section in Part 3 above.   

Resolving personal information concerns 

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this Privacy Policy, or how we handle your personal information, please email our Privacy Officer at: privacy@medadvisor.com.au. 

Once a complaint has been lodged, the Privacy Officer will respond to you as soon as possible. 

You may also lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by telephone: 1300 363 992 or email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au   

Changes 

We reserve the right to change the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time.  We will use our best endeavours to notify users of the MedAdvisor Service when we make material changes to our Privacy Policy. This may include displaying a notification on our software through which we provide the MedAdvisor Service or via email notification.  An up-to-date copy of our Privacy Policy is available at: www.mymedadvisor.com/privacy. 

This Privacy Policy was last updated 27 November 2024.