DermaLink NZ Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 2025

Reviewed: June 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how our DermaLink NZ teledermatology service (“we”, “our”, “the Service”) collects, uses, stores, and discloses personal and health information. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code 2020, the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) guidelines on telemedicine, and the New Zealand Dermatological Society Incorporated (NZDSI) standards.

1.     Purpose of Collecting Information

We collect personal and health information to:

  • Provide store-and-forward dermatology consultations

  • Communicate with patients and their general practitioners (GPs)

  • Prepare and deliver dermatology reports

  • Manage billing and payments

  • Meet our legal, regulatory, and professional obligations

2.     Information We Collect

  • The information we may collect includes:

  • Personal details: name, date of birth, address, phone, email

  • Health information: referral details, clinical history, photographs of skin conditions,

  • GP notes, and any additional information supplied

  • Administrative information: payment records, consent documentation, and correspondence

3.     How Information is Collected

  • From GPs: through secure referral upload (via SR Referrals)

  • From Patients: directly when confirming consent, providing history, or making payment

  • Automatically: limited technical information (e.g., IP address) to ensure website security and performance

By accepting health care services from us, you agree we can collect information about you from other agencies for the purpose of maintaining an up-to-date health record and providing safe and quality health care. This may include:

  • From other health providers and shared health records:

  • Receipt of laboratory, radiology or other results

  • Accessing authorised national or regional health information systems to support your care by checking your medical history, laboratory or radiology results and current prescribing

  • Receipt of correspondence from hospitals, emergency departments, after-hours providers, specialist services, allied health providers or other secondary and community care providers – including discharge summaries, outpatient or specialist letters

  • Proactively contacting a hospital or specialist service to follow up on a referral or seek advice or an update on your care, where that contact results in information about you being shared with us

  • Receipt of letters from screening programmes (such as bowel, breast or cervical screening), including results, or notifications regarding attendance or non-attendance

  • From non-health agencies and organisations

  • Contact from or correspondence with Police, legal representatives, Oranga Tamariki, insurance companies, Ministry of Social Development (Work and Income New Zealand) and the Accident Compensation Corporation

  • Receipt of correspondence from employers, regarding, for example, fitness to work

  • Information from the New Zealand Police regarding firearms licences

Complaints

If concerns are raised about the care or services we provide, we may disclose relevant health information to our regulators, insurers, indemnity providers, or legal advisers for the purpose of managing and responding to the concerns.

4.     How Information is Used

We will only use health information for the purpose of providing dermatology care and related administrative processes. Specific uses include:

  • Preparing and issuing dermatology reports

  • Sharing reports with the referring GP and patient

  • Quality assurance and clinical governance

  • Financial management and record-keeping

  • Service improvement and future research (de-identified data only, with ethics approval where required)

5.     Disclosure of Information

We may disclose information to:

  • Referring GPs, for continuity of care

  • The patient, with consent

  • Other health professionals, if clinically necessary and authorised

  • Regulatory or legal authorities, where required by law

We will not sell or share identifiable health information with third parties for marketing purposes.

6.     Storage and Security

All health information is stored securely in our Patient Management System (Elixir) and protected by encryption, password protection, and access controls
Access to information is limited to authorised staff and dermatologists involved in your care
Records are retained in accordance with the Health (Retention of Health Information) Regulations 1996 (minimum 10 years)

7.     Patient Rights

Under the Privacy Act and the Health Information Privacy Code, patients have the right to:

  • Request access to the health information this practice holds about you, and request correction of that information, if you believe it to be inaccurate.

  • Withdraw consent for non-essential data use

  • Make a complaint about privacy concerns

8.     Consent

Before a teledermatology consultation proceeds, patients will:

  • Receive information about the service, its limitations, and alternatives

  • Be asked to provide informed consent for sending a copy of their DermaLink report containing health information to them via the email address provided

  • Be provided a link to DermaLink NZ’s privacy policy

9.     Website Privacy

Our website uses cookies only for essential functionality and security. We do not track or profile users for advertising purposes.

10.  Compliance

This service complies with:

  • MCNZ telemedicine guidance – ensuring safe, effective, and patient-centred telehealth care

  • NZDSI standards – maintaining dermatology practice quality

  • NZ Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020 – governing use of health information

11. Contact and Complaints

 If you are not satisfied with how we manage your privacy concerns, or would like to request a correction of your information you may contact us at info@dermalinknz.org.

You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at www.privacy.org.nz.