Pain Management and Rehabilitation Services (PMARS) Privacy Statement

We respect the confidentiality of our clients’ personal information and take privacy seriously. We set out in this privacy statement:

• Types of personal information we collect and how we collect it
• How we use personal information
• Who we share personal information with 
• How we make sure information we have is correct and up to date 
• How you can contact us to find out more about the personal information we hold 
• How you can contact us if you think the information, we have on file is not correct 
• How to complain
• How we treat other information we collect that is not personal information

 

Purpose

PMARS may collect, use, and disclose personal information relating to its customers, contractors, suppliers and employees in the performance of its business activities.

This statement sets out the standards that will enable personal and health information in our care to be managed as carefully and respectfully as if it were our own.

It will ensure PMARS complies with the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020 (“Privacy Act”), other relevant legislation and the Information Privacy Principles (“IPP”) in relation to the collection, storage, use and disclosure of records containing individuals’ personal Information.

 

Scope

This privacy statement applies to PMARS (or a person acting on behalf of PMARS). It serves to clarify how we collect, use, store, disclose, update, and destroy individual’s personal information in New Zealand. PMARS represents Pain Management and Rehabilitation Services Ltd, New Zealand Company Number 9429036728732. PMARS is a subsidiary company of Habit Health Holdings Ltd, New Zealand Company Number 5748387.

This privacy statement is subject to and must be read in conjunction with our Terms and Conditions.

Anyone who collects Personal Information on behalf of PMARS must also comply with this statement and the requirements of the Privacy Act.

 

Definitions

Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual.

 

Collection of personal information

• PMARS may collect Personal Information for a lawful purpose connected with a function or activity of PMARS. Personal Information must not be collected in an unreasonably intrusive way.
• A person who collects Personal Information on behalf of PMARS must comply with this statement and the requirements of the Privacy Act, Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and other relevant legislation.
• Collecting personal information allows us to confirm the identity of our clients, the people we communicate with for business. This information allows our clients to securely access our online services, book services with ease and communicate. If we are unable to confirm your identity, we may be unable to provide the full level of service and we will also be unable to keep you updated on services you’re using or may be interested in using.

 

Type of personal information collected

Personal information collected by us generally includes:

• Contact information – name, date of birth, address, email address, telephone numbers, next of kin information, membership details.
• Unique identifiers – an identifier assigned to an individual by another agency such as claim numbers, NHI numbers, employee numbers etc.
• Employment information – employment history, work performance.
• Financial information (bank account details).
• ‘Sensitive information’ (health and medical history).
• Information to assist with management of client and business relationships.

 

How we collect information

Personal information may be collected through the following means:

• Face to face and over the phone from you
• When you complete a form on our website or online
• When you enquire about a service through our website
• When you send an email or enquiry to us
• We may also collect information about you from another source if:
• You have given authority for us to collect your information from another source; or
• You have given consent/authority to another source to share the information with us, e.g., as part of your rehabilitation or pre-employment assessment (ACC, third party insurers, other rehabilitation providers); or
• The information will not be used in a form that identifies you; or
• The Privacy commissioner has authorised the collection of information in this manner.

In addition to collecting and storing necessary information to communicate with our clients about their health concerns, PMARS also stores names, addresses and contact details of contractors, suppliers, employees and other parties we interact with related to business activities. The same privacy statement applies to this information.

By engaging with PMARS, you consent to this privacy statement. We only collect personal information when users of PMARS agree to our terms of service or our end user licence agreement.

 

How we use personal information

Collecting personal information allows us to confirm the identity of our clients the people we communicate with for business. This information allows our clients to securely access our online services, book services with ease and communicate. If we are unable to confirm your identity, we may be unable to provide the full level of service and we will also be unable to keep you updated on services you’re using or may be interested in using.

Personal information will be used under the following conditions:

• When you provide an email address to enquire about a service, the email address you provide will be retained and may be used by the company to contact you regarding services related to your enquiry or completed online form.
• When you provide a phone number to enquire about a service, the phone number you provide will be retained and may be used by PMARS to contact you regarding services related to your enquiry or completed online form.
• When you enquire about a service, the email address or phone number you provide may be used to inform you of updates to a service you used or showed interest in or may reasonably have interest in.

We also collect, use and store personal information to enable us to;

• Comply with various contractual, and legal obligations
• Assess and manage risk to the health, safety and wellness of our workers, customers, and wider community
• Provide services including;
  • Injury Rehabilitation and Assessment
  • Psychology and Counselling

The function or activity of PMARS and the delivery of our services, as well as those of our contracted providers, may vary from time to time.

 

Who will we share or disclose personal information with

PMARS will only share personal information if we are using it for the reason we collected it, if you’ve given your authorisation, or where there is other legal or compliance reasons.

We will only disclose your personal information where we reasonably believe one of the following applies:

• The disclosure is in connection with, or directly related to, one of the purposes for which it was obtained; or
• The information was obtained from a public source; or
• Disclosure is to you; or
• Disclosure is authorised by you; or
• Disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to public health or safety, or the life or health of any individual;
• Disclosure is necessary to facilitate the sale of a business as a going concern; or
• The information is to be used in a form in which you are not identified; or
• Disclosure is necessary for court proceedings; or
• Disclosure is necessary to uphold or enforce the law; or
• Disclosure is authorised by the Privacy Commissioner.

Examples of disclosures of personal information we have collected include disclosures to:

• Your authorised health practitioners.
• Our related companies and their staff.
• Our professional advisors (such as accountants and lawyers).
• Government or third-party service partners (such as ACC, MSD, Apex NZ) in relation to carrying out the service you’ve requested and take actions connected to the purpose of collection.

We may de-identify personal information we have collected for use and disclosure to organisations outside of PMARS for the purposes of analysing our service quality and timeliness, research, marketing and compilation or analysis of statistics comprised of, or related to the information you provide us. De-identified information may also be used internally for business analysis and educational purposes. We will not disclose personal information we have collected to a party outside of New Zealand unless we have taken steps to confirm they will comply with a standard equal of protection regarding personal information that is equal to that offered under New Zealand legislation.

 

How we make sure personal information remains safe and secure

Health related information that we collect for the purpose of treating clients is stored securely in specialised software and may include details on specific injuries or treatments. Information is only accessed for the purposes related to the services provided or anonymised reporting.

• PMARS will take all reasonable steps to protect the Personal Information it holds from misuse and loss and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
• PMARS will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal information (such as a job applicant’s resume) if it is no longer needed.
• PMARS are governed by various legislations that mandate certain time periods that we must hold your information for.

e.g., The Health (Retention of Health Information) Regulations 1996 say that health agencies must keep any health records they hold for a patient for 10 years from the last time they provided services to that client.

PMARS take all reasonable steps to implement and maintain generally accepted standards of technology and operational security to protect Personal Information from loss, misuse, alteration or destruction. Any person acting on behalf of PMARS must not transfer Personal Information to an individual without first establishing the identity of the recipient through the use of a personal identifier and/or cross check.

 

How we make sure the information we have is correct and up to date

PMARS will take reasonable steps to make sure that the Personal Information we collect, use or disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. If PMARS holds Personal Information about you, we will comply with legislative obligations to let you know what information we have on record. If you want us to change or update personal information about you, in some cases, we may require evidence that the information we have is inaccurate, incomplete or out-of-date.

If the information we have on record for you is not accurate, complete and up to date, we will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date. And, if for any reason, we cannot provide information on the details we hold about you or are unable to make changes to those details, we will provide a reason.

 

How you can contact us to find out more about the personal information we hold

If PMARS holds Personal Information about an individual, it will comply with legislative obligations to provide the individual with access to the information on request by the individual.

• If PMARS holds Personal Information about an individual and the individual is able to establish that the information is not accurate, complete and up to date, PMARS will take reasonable steps to correct the information so that it is accurate, complete and up to date.
• PMARS will provide reasons for denial of access or a refusal to correct Personal Information.

You can contact us to request access to:

• Your personal information.
• Someone else’s personal information if you have the correct authority.

By

• Phoning us on: 06 353 8722
• Completing the online inquiry form here.
• If any concerns regarding the above, you can email admin@painrelief.co.nz

You will be asked to submit the below form with photo identification:

• Request to Access Personal Records Form

Or you can lodge your request through the Privacy Commissioner About Me Tool here.

We must be able to verify your identity to be able to provide you access to your information.

There are instances under the Privacy Act where we may refuse access to your information, such as if any of the following legislation applies. Click here. Or if we believe the request is frivolous or vexatious.

If we do not agree to provide access to your information, PMARS will provide you with the written reasons for the refusal and information on how to complain about the refusal.

 

How you can contact us to correct your information

If you believe the personal information, PMARS hold on file is incorrect, you can request us to change it.

• Phoning us on 06 353 8722
• Completing the online inquiry form here.
• If any concerns regarding the above, you can email admin@painrelief.co.nz

PMARS will respond and check our information.

If the information we’re holding is factually incorrect we will:

• Update the information on your file.
• Send the corrected information to any third party who may have received the incorrect information.
• Let you know we’ve made the change.

Sometimes we may not be able to make the change you’ve requested. This is usually because it relates to opinion-based information e.g., clinical or medical assessment. In this instance we will:

• Provide you with written explanation why we can’t make the change and provide you with information on how to complain.
• You can choose to provide a written statement of correction which we will attach to your file. This will record your request for correction, but that we haven’t made the change.

 

Complaints

If you think we have breached the Privacy Act, Information Privacy Principles or Health Information Privacy Code 2020 you are entitled to complain to PMARS below.

• Completing the online inquiry form here.
• Phoning us on 0800 115 477
• If any concerns regarding the above, you can email feedback@painrelief.co.nz

PMARS will provide written acknowledgement of your complaint within 5 working days.

PMARS will investigate the complaint and attempt to resolve it within 10 working days after the complaint was received. If we cannot conclude the complaint within this timeframe, we will provide you with information on how long we think it will take to investigate and respond to and keep you updated regularly.

You can refer to PMARS External complaint handling process here.

Alternatively, you can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner here.

If you have any questions regarding the Privacy Statement or privacy generally, please do not hesitate to contact PMARS on admin@painrelief.co.nz

 

Openness

• This Privacy Statement will be made available to anyone who asks for it.
• On request by a person, PMARS will take reasonable steps to let the person know, generally, what sort of Personal Information it holds, for what purposes, and how it collects, holds, uses and discloses that information.

 

Other information we collect that is not personal information

To monitor and improve our service, we collect information on website activity such as the number of users who visit our website, dates and times of visits, number of pages viewed, navigation patterns and systems used to access our site and when entering our site from another site, the address of that site. This information does not identify an individual, but it does provide PMARS with statistics that we can use to analyse and improve our website.