Privacy Policy

Billumbra is committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information when you visit our website, use the Billumbra platform or otherwise interact with us.

Billumbra operates in Australia and handles personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

1. About Billumbra

Billumbra is a digital practice-management platform designed for anaesthetic practices.

The platform helps anaesthetists and their practice teams manage activities including theatre lists and cases, patient communication, health information, informed financial consent, billing and payments, clinical documents, surveys and practice analytics.

Depending on the circumstances, Billumbra may handle personal information directly or provide technology that enables an anaesthetist, medical practice or practice-management provider to collect and manage information about their patients.

Where we process personal information on behalf of a healthcare provider or practice, that provider or practice may also have its own privacy obligations and privacy policy governing its relationship with the patient.

2. Personal information we collect

The types of personal information we collect or hold depend on how you interact with Billumbra.

Patients

Information processed through Billumbra may include:

• name, date of birth and contact details;
• Medicare, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and private health insurance information;
• information relating to medical practitioners, hospitals and healthcare services;
• appointment, procedure and theatre-list information;
• health information provided through pre-operative questionnaires, surveys or other clinical workflows;
• information about medical conditions, medications, allergies and previous medical treatment;
• documents and information provided by patients or healthcare providers;
• information relating to fees, informed financial consent, accounts, claims and payments;
• communications relating to a patient’s care or account; and
• other information reasonably required to provide healthcare-related practice-management services.

Health information is sensitive information under Australian privacy law and is treated accordingly.

Healthcare professionals and practice staff

We may collect information including:

• name and contact details;
• professional and practice details;
• provider and other professional identifiers;
• workplace and practice information;
• account and login information;
• billing and practice activity;
• communications with Billumbra; and
• information generated through use of the platform.

Website visitors and prospective customers

When you visit our website or contact us, we may collect:

• your name, email address, telephone number and organisation;
• information submitted through enquiry, demonstration or contact forms;
• newsletter or marketing preferences;
• technical information such as browser type, device information and IP address; and
• information about how our website is accessed and used.

3. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information:

• directly from you;
• from an anaesthetist, medical practice or practice-management provider;
• from hospitals, healthcare providers and other organisations involved in administering a patient’s care or account;
• when information is entered, uploaded or generated through Billumbra;
• when you communicate with us by telephone, email, online form or another channel;
• when you use our website or platform; and
• from third-party services integrated with Billumbra where authorised or permitted.

Where practicable, we collect personal information directly from the individual concerned. However, healthcare and practice-management workflows frequently require information to be provided by healthcare professionals, hospitals, practice staff or other authorised parties.

4. Why we collect and use personal information

We collect, hold and use personal information where reasonably necessary to operate Billumbra and provide our services.

This may include:

• providing and administering the Billumbra platform;
• supporting the delivery and administration of healthcare services;
• managing theatre lists, cases and practice workflows;
• facilitating patient communication and pre-operative information collection;
• facilitating informed financial consent;
• preparing and managing accounts, claims and payments;
• creating and storing clinical and administrative documents;
• providing practice reporting and analytics;
• maintaining, supporting and improving the platform;
• providing customer service and technical support;
• maintaining security and preventing misuse;
• communicating with customers and prospective customers;
• meeting legal, regulatory and contractual obligations; and
• managing our business operations.

We do not sell patient health information or personal information to advertisers.

5. Health information

Billumbra is designed to handle information used in the administration of healthcare.

Health information is considered sensitive information under Australian privacy law. We only collect, use or disclose health information where permitted by law and where reasonably necessary for the services being provided.

Where Billumbra processes health information on behalf of an anaesthetist, medical practice or other healthcare provider, we process that information in connection with providing the Billumbra service to that organisation.

6. Disclosure of personal information

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to provide our services, including to:

• the healthcare professionals and practices responsible for a patient’s care or account;
• authorised practice staff and practice-management providers;
• hospitals and other healthcare organisations involved in the relevant episode of care;
• Medicare, private health insurers and other organisations involved in processing healthcare claims;
• payment and financial service providers;
• technology, hosting, communications and other service providers supporting Billumbra;
• professional advisers where reasonably necessary; and
• government, regulatory or law-enforcement bodies where required or authorised by law.

We take reasonable steps to ensure that service providers handling personal information on our behalf protect that information appropriately.

7. Data hosting and overseas disclosure

Billumbra uses technology and service providers to operate and support its platform.

Some service providers may store or process information outside Australia. Where personal information is disclosed to an overseas recipient, we take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is handled in accordance with applicable Australian privacy requirements.

Where practicable, this Privacy Policy will identify the countries in which overseas recipients of personal information are likely to be located.

8. Security

We recognise the importance of protecting the personal and health information entrusted to Billumbra.

We use technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal information from misuse, interference, loss, unauthorised access, modification and disclosure.

These measures include appropriate access controls, authentication, system monitoring and security measures appropriate to the nature of the information being handled.

No information system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We regularly review our systems and security practices as technology and risks evolve.

9. Retention of information

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, to provide our services, and to meet applicable legal and contractual requirements.

Where information is processed on behalf of a healthcare provider or practice, retention may also be governed by that organisation’s legal obligations and arrangements with Billumbra.

When personal information is no longer required and we are legally permitted to do so, we take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

10. Access and correction

You may request access to personal information we hold about you or ask us to correct information that you believe is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant or misleading.

In some circumstances, particularly where Billumbra holds information on behalf of your anaesthetist or medical practice, we may refer your request to the relevant healthcare provider or practice.

We may need to verify your identity before providing access to personal information.

Requests can be made using the contact details below.

11. Website analytics and cookies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, understand how it is used and improve its performance.

These technologies may collect information such as your device type, browser, IP address, pages visited and interactions with the website.

You can control cookies through your browser settings, although disabling some cookies may affect website functionality.

12. Marketing communications

If you provide your contact details to Billumbra, we may use them to communicate with you about Billumbra, including product information, educational material, events and other relevant services, where permitted by law.

You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe facility provided in the communication or by contacting us.

We do not use patient health information for direct marketing.

13. Privacy complaints

If you have a question or concern about how Billumbra has handled your personal information, please contact us using the details below.

We will review your concern and aim to respond within a reasonable period.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may be entitled to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our services, technology, information-handling practices or legal obligations.

The current version will be published on the Billumbra website and will show the date it was last updated.

15. Contact us

For questions, access or correction requests, or privacy complaints, please contact: