- This Privacy Notice sets out details of the information that the MU clinician responsible for your diagnosis and/or treatment (and including our medical secretaries), may collect from you and how that information may be used. Please take your time to read this Privacy Notice carefully.
- In the event that you have any queries, comments or concerns in respect of the manner in which your personal information is or may be used by us, then you should contact your MU consultant directly using the contact number given in correspondence or on the MU website (www.manchesterurology.org.uk).
Your personal data
- We are known as the “data controller” of your personal data. The personal data we process about you will mainly relate to your medical diagnosis and/or treatment but will be likely to also include other information such as financial data in relation to billing.MU must comply with the data protection legislation and relevant guidance when handling your personal information, and so must any medical secretary who assists us in an administrative capacity. Your personal data may include any images taken in relation to your diagnosis and/or treatment which must not only be managed in accordance with the Data Protection Laws, but also all applicable professional standards including guidance from the General Medical Council and British Medical Association.
- MU will provide your treatment in conjunction with a hospital provider and, in due course, it may be necessary for the hospital provider to also process your personal data.MU will do so in accordance with the Data Protection Laws, the principles of this Privacy Notice and to the extent that it is necessary to do so.This could be where the hospital provider needs to arrange other healthcare services as part of your treatment, such as nursing or dietician advice, or support other aspects of the treatment which we provide to you.In that case, the hospital provider will become a joint data controller in respect of your personal information and it is their responsibility to provide you with a copy of their Privacy Notice which sets out how they will manage that information.
- Your personal information will be handled in accordance with the principles set out within this Privacy Notice. This means that whenever MU use your personal data, it will only do so as set out in this Privacy Notice.From time to time, we may process your personal information at a non-hospital provider site (medical or non-medical), as may our medical secretaries.
What personal information is collected and used from patients?
- MU will use “special categories of personal information” (previously known as "sensitive personal data") about you, such as information relating to your physical and mental health.
- If you provide personal information about other individuals (including medical or financial information) you should inform the individual about the contents of this Privacy Notice.MU will also process such information in accordance with this Privacy Notice.
- In addition, you should note that in the event you amend data which we already hold about you (for instance by amending a pre-populated form) then we will update our systems to reflect the amendments.Our systems will continue to store historical data.
Personal information
- As one of our patients, the personal information MU holds about you may include, but is not limited to, the following:
- The confidentiality of your medical information is important to us, and we make every effort to prevent unauthorised access to and use of information relating to your current or former physical and mental health (or indeed any of your personal information more generally). In doing so, MU will comply with UK Data Protection Laws and all applicable medical confidentiality guidelines issued by professional bodies including, but not limited to, the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
How is information collected?
- MU may collect personal information from a number of different sources including, but not limited to:
- GPs
- Dentists
- Other hospitals, both NHS and private
- Mental health providers
- Commissioners of healthcare services
- Other clinicians (including their medical secretaries)
Directly from you
- Information may be collected directly from you when:
- You enter into a contract with MU or a hospital provider
- You use those services
- You complete enquiry forms on the hospital provider website
- You submit a query to MU and its Partners/employees including by email or by social media
- You correspond with me by letter, email, telephone (incoming and outgoing calls from/to patients may be recorded) or social media.
From other healthcare organisations
- Patients will usually receive healthcare from other organisations, and so in order to provide you with the best treatment possible MU may have to collect personal information about you from them.These may include:
- We may communicate with you in a range of ways, including by telephone, SMS, email, and / or post.If we contact you using the telephone number(s) which you have provided (landline and/or mobile), and you are not available and this subsequently results in the call being directed to a voicemail and/or answering service, we may leave a voice message on your voicemail and/or answering service as appropriate,including only sufficient basic details to enable you to identify who the call is from, very limited detail as to the reason for the call and how to call us back.
- However:
- to ensure that we provide you with timely updates and reminders in relation to your healthcare (including basic administration information and appointment information only (including reminders)), we may communicate with you by SMS and/or unencrypted email (where you have provided us with your SMS or email address) [in each case where you have expressed a preference in the patient registration form to be contacted by SMS and / or email.
- to provide you with your medical information (including test results and other clinical updates) and/or invoicing information, we may communicate with you by email (which will only be if encrypted) where you have provided us with your email address and have expressed a preference in the patient registration form to be contacted by email.The first time we send you any important encrypted email that we are not also sending by post or which requires action to be taken, we will endeavour to contact you separately to ensure that you are able to access the encrypted email you are sent.
- Please note that although providing your mobile number and email address and stating a preference to be communicated by a particular method will be taken as an affirmative confirmation that you are happy for us to contact you in that manner, we are not relying on your consent to process your personal data in order to correspond with you about your treatment.As set out further below, processing your personal data for those purposes is justified on the basis that it is necessary to provide you with healthcare service.
What are the purposes for which your information is used?
- We may 'process' your information for a number of different purposes, which is essentially the language used by the law to mean using your data. Each time we use your data we must have a legal justification to do so. The particular justification will depend on the purpose of the proposed use of your data. When the information that we process is classed as a “special category of personal information”, we must have a specific additional legal justification in order to use it as proposed.
- Generally we will rely on the following legal justifications, or 'grounds':
- Taking steps at your request so that you can receive healthcare services from us.
- For the purposes of providing you with healthcare pursuant to a contract between you and us. We will rely on this for activities such as supporting your medical diagnosis and/or treatment or care and other benefits, supporting your nurse, carer or other healthcare professional and providing other services to you.
- We have an appropriate business need to process your personal information and such business need does not cause harm to you. We will rely on this for activities such as quality assurance, maintaining my business records, monitoring outcomes and responding to any complaints.
- We have a legal or regulatory obligation to use such personal information.
- We will need to use such personal information to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
- You have provided your consent to our use of your personal information.
- Note that failure to provide your information further to a contractual requirement with us may mean that we are unable to set you up as a patient or facilitate the provision of your healthcare.
- We provide further detail on these grounds in the sections below.
Appropriate business needs
- One legal ground for processing personal data is where we do so in pursuit of legitimate interests and those interests are not overridden by your privacy rights.Where we refer to use for our appropriate business needs, we are relying on this legal ground.
The right to object to other uses of your personal data
- You have a range of rights in respect of your personal data.This includes the right to object to us using your personal information in a particular way (such as sharing that information with third parties), and we must stop using it in that way unless specific exceptions apply.This includes, for example, if it is necessary to defend a legal claim brought against us, or it is otherwise necessary for the purposes of your ongoing treatment.
You will find details of our legal grounds for each of our processing purposes below. We have set out individually those purposes for which we will use your personal information, and under each one we set out the legal justifications, or grounds, which allow us to do so. You will note that we have set out a legal ground, as well as an 'additional' legal ground for special categories of personal information. This is because we have to demonstrate additional legal grounds where using information which relates to a person's healthcare, as we will be the in majority of the time.
Purpose 1: To set you up as my patient, including carrying out fraud, credit, anti-money laundering and other regulatory checks
- As is common with most business, we have to carry out necessary checks in order for you to become a patient.These include standard background checks, which we cannot perform without using your personal information.
- Legal ground: Taking the necessary steps so that you can enter into a contract with us for the delivery of healthcare.
- Additional legal ground for special categories of personal information: The use is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, and it is also in our legitimate interests to do so.
Purpose 2: To provide you with healthcare and related services
- Clearly, the reason you come to us is to provide you with healthcare, and so we have to use your personal information for that purpose.
- Legal grounds:
- Providing you with healthcare and related services
- Fulfilling my contract with you for the delivery of healthcare
- Additional legal grounds for special categories of personal information:
- We need to use the data in order to provide healthcare services to you
- The use is necessary to protect your vital interests where you are physically or legally incapable of giving consent
Purpose 3: For account settlement purposes
Accounting and coding information will be be shared with Medical Billing and Collection Ltd, who are employed to provide billing services for Manchester Urology. If your treatment is under private medical insurance this will also include your relevant insurance company. The Medical Billing and Collection Privacy Policy can be found at https://medbc.co.uk/website/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MBC-Privacy-Policy_V1.0_071218-min-1.pdf
- We will use your personal information in order to ensure that your account and billing is fully accurate and up-to-date
- Legal grounds:
- Providing you healthcare and other related services
- Fulfilling my contract with you for the delivery of healthcare
- Our appropriate business need to use your information which does not overly prejudice you
- Your consent
- Additional legal grounds for special categories of personal information:
- We need to use the data in order to provide healthcare services to you
- The use is necessary in order for us to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights
- Your consent
Purpose 4: For medical audit/research purposes
Clinical audit
- We may process your personal data for the purposes of local clinical audit – i.e. an audit carried out for the purposes of assessing outcomes for patients and identifying improvements which could be made for the future.We are able to do so on the basis of our legitimate interest and the public interest in statistical and scientific research, and with appropriate safeguards in place.You are, however, entitled to object to us using your personal data for this purpose, and as a result of which we would need to stop doing so.If you would like to raise such an objection then please contact us using the details provided in paragraph 2 above.
- We may also be asked to share information with U.K. registries for which ethical approval is not necessarily required but which form part of the National Clinical Audit programme, hosted by NHS England and who provide a list of National Clinical Audit and Clinical Outcome Review programmes and other quality improvement programmes which we should prioritise for participation. We may do so without your consent provided that the particular audit registry has received statutory approval, or where the information will be provided in a purely anonymous form, otherwise your consent will be needed and either we will seek this from you or the registry themselves will do so. The registries which we regularly share data with are National Cancer Registries, British Association of Urological Surgeons and the National eLogbook.
Medical research
- We may also be asked to participate in medical research and share data with ethically approved third party research organisations.
- We will share your personal data only to the extent that it is necessary to do so in assisting research and as permitted by law.Some research projects will have received statutory approval such that consent may not be required to use your personal data. In those circumstances, your personal will be shared on the basis that:
Legal grounds:
- We have a legitimate interest in helping with medical research and have put appropriate safeguards in place to protect your privacy
Additional legal grounds for special categories of personal information:
- The processing is necessary in the public interest for statistical and scientific research purposes
- If consent is required then either we will seek this from you, or the research agency will do so.
Purpose 5: Communicating with you and resolving any queries or complaints that you might have.
- From time to time, patients may raise queries, or even complaints, with their consultant and hospital provider. We take those communications very seriously.It is important that we are able to resolve such matters fully and properly and so we, as well as the hospital provider will need to use your personal information in order to do so.
- Legal grounds:
- Providing you with healthcare and other related services
- Having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not overly prejudice you
- Additional legal grounds for special categories of personal information:
- The use is necessary for the provision of healthcare or treatment pursuant to a contract with a health professional
- The use is necessary for us to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights
Purpose 6: Communicating with any other individual that you ask us to update about your care and updating other healthcare professionals about your care.
- In addition, other healthcare professionals or organisations may need to know about your diagnosis and/or treatment in order for them to provide you with safe and effective care, and so we may need to share your personal information with them.
- Legal grounds:
- Providing you with healthcare and other related services
- We have a legitimate interest in ensuring that other healthcare professionals who are routinely involved in your care have a full picture of your treatment
- Additional legal ground for special categories of personal information:
- We need to use the data to provide healthcare services to you
- The use is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest under UK Data Protection Laws
- The use is necessary for us to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights
- We also participate in initiatives to monitor safety and quality, helping to ensure that patients are getting the best possible outcomes from their treatment and care. The Competition and Markets Authority Private Healthcare Market Investigation Order 2014 established the Private Healthcare Information Network (“PHIN”), as an organisation who will monitor outcomes of patients who receive private treatment.Under Article 21 of that Order, we are required to provide PHIN with information related to your treatment, including your NHS Number in England and Wales, CHI Number in Scotland or Health and Care Number in Northern Ireland), the nature of your procedure, whether there were any complications such as infection or the need for readmission/admission to a NHS facility and also the feedback you provided as part of any PROMs surveys.PHIN will use your information in order to share it with the NHS, and track whether you have received any follow-up treatment.We will only share this information with PHIN if you have provided your consent for us to do so.
- The records that we share may contain personal and medical information about patients, including you. PHIN, like us, will apply the highest standards of confidentiality to personal information in accordance with Data Protection Laws and the duty of confidentiality. Any information that is published by PHIN will always be in anonymised statistical form and will not be shared or analysed for any purpose other than those stated. Further information about how PHIN uses information, including its Privacy Notice, is available at www.phin.org.uk.
Purpose 7: Complying with our legal or regulatory obligations, and defending or exercising our legal rights
- As a provider of healthcare, we are subject to a wide range of legal and regulatory responsibilities which is not possible to list fully here.We may be required by law or by regulators to provide personal information, and in which case we will have a legal responsibility to do so.From time to time, clinicians are unfortunately also the subject of legal actions or complaints.In order to fully investigate and respond to those actions, it is necessary to access your personal information (although only to the extent that it is necessary and relevant to the subject-matter).
- Legal grounds:
- The use is necessary for us to comply with our legal obligations
- Additional legal ground for special categories of personal information:
- We need to use the data for others to provide informed healthcare services to you
- The use is necessary for reasons of the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems
- The use is necessary for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims
- We are also required by law to conduct audits of health records, including medical information, for quality assurance purposes. Your personal and medical information will be treated in accordance with guidance issued by the Care Quality Commission (England), Health Inspectorate Wales and Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Purpose 8: Managing our business operations such as maintaining accounting records, analysis of financial results, internal audit requirements, receiving professional advice (e.g. tax or legal advice)
- In order to do this, we will not need to use your special categories of personal information and so we have not identified the additional ground to use your information for this purpose.
- Legal grounds:
- We have an appropriate business need to use your information which does not overly prejudice you
Purpose 9: Provide marketing information to you (including information about other products and services offered by selected third-party partners) in accordance with preferences you have expressed.
- As a provider of private healthcare services, we need to carry out marketing but are mindful of your rights and expectations in that regard.As a result, we will only provide you with marketing which is relevant to our business and only where you have specifically confirmed your consent to do so.
- Legal grounds:
- We having an appropriate business need to use your information which does not overly prejudice you
- You have provided your consent
Disclosures to third parties:
- We may disclose your information to the third parties listed below for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. This might include, but is not limited to: