Your privacy,
and how we protect it.

Who we are

Mikko Plastic Surgery is a specialist plastic and reconstructive surgery practice with rooms at Level 1, 247 Wellington Street, Launceston TAS, and consulting sessions in St Helens. This website is mikkoplasticsurgery.com.au.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (opens in a new tab). Health service providers are covered by that Act regardless of the size of the practice, and health information is treated as sensitive information under it.

What this policy covers

This policy covers information collected through this website, including the enquiry form.

It does not set out how your medical records are handled once you become a patient. That is covered by the practice's patient privacy policy, which is available on request from our practice manager. Please ask us and we will provide a copy.

What we collect through this website

If you complete the enquiry form, we collect your name, your email address, your phone number if you provide one, and whatever you choose to write in the message field.

Like most websites, our host also records technical information each time a page is requested, such as the IP address of the device, the browser being used and the date and time of the request. This is used to serve the site securely and to understand how it is being used.

This website has no accounts to create, no member logins and no comment sections, so nothing of that kind is collected.

Health information

Please do not include detailed medical or health information in the enquiry form. Email and web forms are convenient, but they are not a secure or private way to send clinical details.

If you need to discuss a medical matter, please telephone the rooms on (03) 6388 8118 so it can be handled properly and recorded in your file.

The enquiry form is not monitored outside practice hours and should never be used for an urgent medical concern. If your concern is urgent, please follow the guidance on our Risks & Patient Safety page, and call 000 in an emergency.

How we use your information

We use information collected through this website to:

• respond to your enquiry
• arrange or reschedule an appointment
• send you information you have asked us for
• keep the website secure and working properly.

We do not sell your information, and we do not use it to send marketing you have not asked for.

Who your information is shared with

Enquiries submitted through this website are processed by our website host, which stores form submissions on its servers. Those servers may be located outside Australia, including in the United States.

Beyond that, we do not disclose personal information collected through this website to anyone else, unless you ask us to, or the law requires it.

Sharing of clinical information with your GP, a hospital, an anaesthetist, Medicare or your health fund is part of your treatment rather than part of this website, and is covered by the practice's patient privacy policy.

Cookies and analytics

A cookie is a small piece of information that a website asks your browser to store, and that your browser hands back on your next visit.

We use Google Analytics to understand how this website is used, such as which pages are read, how visitors arrive and which device they are using. It is managed through Google Tag Manager, which is a tool for loading these scripts. Google Analytics sets cookies and collects information including your IP address and approximate location.

This information is collected and stored by Google, and may be held on servers outside Australia. Google's handling of it is governed by the Google Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab).

We use analytics to improve the website, not to identify you. We do not attempt to work out who an individual visitor is, and we never combine website analytics with your patient records or anything you tell us in confidence.

Because a tag manager is used, other measurement or advertising tags may be added in future, for example to understand whether our advertising is reaching people who find it useful. If that happens, this policy will be updated to say so.

If you would rather not be counted, you can set your browser to refuse cookies, use your browser's private browsing mode, or install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on (opens in a new tab). Refusing cookies will not stop you using this website, although parts of some other websites may not work correctly without them.

Our host may also set a small number of technical cookies that are necessary to deliver the site securely.

Links to other websites

This website links to other organisations, including Ahpra, the Medical Board of Australia, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Australian Government health services. We provide those links because the information is useful and independent.

We have no control over those websites and are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit.

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold from misuse, loss and unauthorised access. This website is served over an encrypted connection.

No method of transmitting information over the internet and no method of electronic storage is completely secure, so while we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. This is why we ask that clinical details be discussed by telephone or in person rather than sent through the enquiry form.

Access and correction

You may ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask for a copy of it, and ask us to correct it if it is wrong or out of date.

Please make the request to our practice manager using the contact details below. We may need to confirm your identity before releasing information. In some circumstances the law allows a request to be refused, and if that happens we will explain why.

Making a privacy complaint

If you are concerned about how your personal information has been handled, please contact our practice manager first. We would prefer the opportunity to put things right.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can refer the matter to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Their privacy complaints information (opens in a new tab) explains how to make a complaint.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed. Please check back from time to time so that you are aware of how we handle your information.

Contact us

If you have a question about this policy or about your information, please contact us.

• Telephone (03) 6388 8118
• Email info@mikkoplasticsurgery.com.au
• Post Level 1, 247 Wellington Street, Launceston TAS

This policy is provided as general information about how this website handles personal information. It is not legal advice.