Terms of Service - Patients

The Canberra Private Clinic (CPC) is a telehealth consultation service. CPC allows patients (Patients) and psychiatrists, psychologists and medical practitioners (Practitioners) to connect through a telehealth service via a third party telehealth platform (Platform). The CPC Service is available at www.thecanberraprivateclinic.com.au

Medical emergencies: If you require immediate medical attention, contact your treating general practitioner or call 000.

DO NOT USE our service if you have or think you may have an emergency or critical condition or symptom, including, but in no way limited to:

o   an acute or crisis episode or acute care requirement

o   severe chest pain

o   heart attack

o   stroke

o   loss of consciousness

o   severe bleeding

o   breathing difficulty.

We do not have hospital admission rights and our service  is not monitored on a continual basis. 

If you are in doubt about the seriousness of your condition, the appropriateness or effectiveness of using  or believe that you, or anyone is in an urgent, dangerous or emergency situation, you should not use this service and instead contact 000 immediately or seek alternative and appropriate medical services.

 

CPC and its employees, consultants, suppliers, subcontractors or agents (Personnel), are not doctors. You agree that any information, insights or guidance contained on CPC’s website (Site), whether or not it is published by CPC, is not an attempt by CPC to practice medicine or provide medical advice. It is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Use of CPC’s services does not establish a doctor-patient relationship with CPC. CPC facilitates a patient’s use of our service only.

These terms and conditions (Terms) are entered into between CPC (we, us or our) and you, together the Parties and each a Party. These Terms supplement and incorporate our privacy policy posted on the Site or shared directly with you.

We provide a service whereby patients can access our services and Practitioners can deliver those services in confidential consultations and assessments online (Patient Services). We provide the services to users, to assist Patients and Practitioners to form relationships for the supply of our services as well as processing payments between Patients and Practitioners (together the CPC Services).

In these Terms, you means (as applicable) the person registered with us as a Patient for the purposes of accessing or using the CPC Services via the Platform.

Acceptance

You accept these Terms by checking the box, clicking “I accept” as you register on to access our CPC Services or using the CPC Services.

If you are under 18 years old, you represent and warrant that you have permission from your parent or legal guardian to access and use the CPC Services, and they have accepted these Terms on your behalf. If you are a parent or legal guardian allowing a minor to access and/or use the CPC Services, you agree to: (1) supervise the minor’s use of the CPC Services; (2) assume all risks associated with, and liabilities resulting from, the minor’s use of the CPC Services; (3) ensure that the content on the Site is suitable for the minor; (4) ensure all information submitted to us by the minor is accurate and (5) provide the consents, representations and warranties contained in these Terms on the minor’s behalf.

We may amend these Terms at any time, by providing written notice to you. By clicking “I accept” or continuing to use the CPC Services after the notice or 30 days after notification (whichever date is earlier), you agree to the amended terms. If you do not agree to the amendment, you may terminate these Terms by emailing us at info@thecanberraprivateclinic.com.au and we will cease providing the CPC Services to you. To delete your account with any third party Platform provider (such as Halaxy) you will need to contact that third party Platform provider.

Platform summary and important terms

No CPC Services are recorded (either audio, video or both) and you are not permitted to record the CPC Services.

You understand and agree that we only make available the Platform and the CPC Services. We are not party to any agreement entered into between a Patient and Practitioner and we have no control over the conduct of Practitioners, Patients or any other users of the CPC Services or Platform.

A Patient wanting to acquire CPC Services must create an account on the third party Platform (Account).

Any information provided to CPC will be treated in accordance with CPC’s Privacy Policy.

A Patient may request CPC Services by sending a request through the Platform to consult with a particular Practitioner. A Patient may also choose to receive CPC Services from the first available Practitioner (Medical Services Request). The Practitioner may accept the Patient’s Medical Services Request and provide the services requested by that Patient to that Patient. A Patient may be required to obtain and upload a referral from a General Practitioner or equivalent to obtain CPC Services via the Platform before being allocated a consultation or attending a consultation via the Platform.

By accepting a Medical Services Request, the Patient confirms that it is legally entitled to and capable of receiving the medical services described in the Medical Services Request.

Once a Patient is connected with a Practitioner, they can conduct a consultation via the Platform. A Patient may also contact the Practitioner using the contact details supplied by that Practitioner on the Platform to arrange for the CPC Services to be provided if they cannot be provided on the Platform.

Patients understand and agree that the Platform is an online telehealth platform only which we use to facilitate the CPC Services only, and that CPC is not responsible for facilitating the user functionality and availability of the Platform. CPC is not an employment agency or labour hire business and Practitioners are not CPC’s employees, contractors, partners or agents. CPC and its Personnel are not doctors, nor does CPC provide medical advice.

CPC is not a party to any agreement entered into between a Practitioner and a Patient and CPC is not a party to the arrangements created when you create an Account on the Platform. CPC has no control over the conduct of the third party Platform, Practitioners or the service that they provide, Patients and any other users of the Platform or CPC Services.

CPC accepts no liability for the performance of the services offered by Practitioners, a Patient’s ability to describe the services required or the description of the services offered. CPC does not assist or involve itself in any way in any dispute between a Patient and a Practitioner. Any disputes should be referred to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, using their ‘make a complaint’ service.

Account

You must register on the Platform and create an account (Account) to access the Platform’s features.  You can read more about the Platform here:  https://support.halaxy.com/hc/en-au/articles/1500000076901-Halaxy-for-Patients

You may only have one Account as a Patient on the Platform for the purposes of receiving CPC Services.

You must provide basic information when registering for an Account on the Platform. After you have successfully registered yourself on the Platform, CPC will send you, via the Platform, a new patient registration form to complete via the Platform (New Patient Form).  Whilst completing the New Patient Form is not mandatory (other than providing information which is mandatory as specified in the New Patient Form), incomplete information may result in your Practitioner not being able to deliver the CPC Services to you.

Once you have registered an Account, your Account information will be used to create a profile which you may then curate.

You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information during the registration process on the Platform and regularly update such information to keep it accurate, current and complete.

Your Account is personal and you must not transfer it to others, except with our written permission.

You are responsible for keeping your Account details and password confidential and you will be liable for all activity on your Account. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorised use of your Account.

The Platform may refuse to provide you with an Account, and you should contact the Platform if you are refused an Account.

We may make access to and use of certain parts of the Platform in relation to your Account subject to conditions or requirements of the Platform.

Communication

We may contact you via the Platform using in-Account notifications, or via off-Platform communication channels, such as text message or email.

Patients and Practitioners can communicate privately using our private consultation platform. Patients and Practitioners must not use the contact details to organise the provision of the medical services off the Platform.

We have no control over the content or timing of communications including General Practitioner letters, from your Practitioner.

Payment

As a Patient, you agree to pay the relevant fees set out in the patient fee list we will provide to you when you book a Service (Medical Services Fees)  Medical Services Fees are due and payable as set out on the Site.

We provide a number of payment methods on the Platform for our CPC Services, including our third party payment processor (such as Stripe). The payment method you choose may be subject to additional terms and conditions imposed by the applicable third party payment processor. By making payment through a third party payment processor, you accept the applicable terms and conditions. Practitioners may also make Medicare claims for CPC Services provided via the Platform.

In the absence of fraud or mistake, all payments made are final. If you make a payment by debit card or credit card, you warrant that the information you provide to us is true and complete, that you are authorised to use the debit card or credit card to make the payment, that your payment will be honoured by your card issuer, and that you will maintain sufficient funds in your account to cover the payment.

If any payment has not been made in accordance with this clause, we may (at our absolute discretion): (1) immediately cease providing the CPC Services, and recover, as a debt due and immediately payable from you, our additional costs of doing so; and/or (2) charge interest at a rate equal to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate, from time to time, plus 8% per annum, calculated daily and compounding monthly, on any such amounts unpaid after the due date for payment in accordance with this clause.

Medicare claims

If a Practitioner provides Patient Services to you through the Platform and determines that you are entitled to claim a Medicare benefit in respect of those services, then (provided that the Patient has provided their relevant Medicare card details) you agree to irrevocably assign those Medicare benefits to the Practitioner and consent to the Practitioner claiming those Medicare benefits directly from Medicare on your behalf.

CPC is not responsible for confirming your eligibility for a Medicare rebate.  You should satisfy yourself of whether the Patient Services are covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

Refunds and Cancellation Policy

The cancellation or refund of any Patient Services ordered on the Platform are set out on the Site and you should read the refunds and cancellation policy carefully before you book a Service via the Platform.

Records

Your medical records remain the property of the Practitioner that provided the CPC Services (Records).  You may request access to your Records for the purposes of transferring them to another practitioner in accordance with process set out on the Website.  You may be required to pay an administration fee to cover the genuine expense associated with your request.

Identify verification

If we choose to conduct identity verification or background checks on a Practitioner, to the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties of any kind, either express or implied, that such checks will identify prior misconduct by a Practitioner or guarantee that a Practitioner will not engage in misconduct in the future. Any verification of Practitioners on the Platform is not an endorsement or recommendation that the Practitioner is trustworthy or suitable. You should do your own due diligence before using a Practitioner’s services.

Reviews

Patients may review their experience with the Practitioner, including the CPC Services on other third party websites (such as Trust Pilot or Google Reviews) (Review).

You agree to provide true, fair and accurate information in your Review. If we consider that the Review is untrue, unfair, inaccurate, offensive or inappropriate, we may request that the third party controlling the Review, delete the Review. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for the content of any Reviews.

You can write a Review about a Practitioner if you have had an experience with that Practitioner, which means that: (1) you have engaged the Practitioner through the Platform; or (2) you can otherwise document your interaction with the Practitioner in relation to the Platform, including via correspondence (collectively referred to as a Patient Experience).

You may not write a review about a Practitioner you have previously owned, currently own, or which an immediate family member currently owns, or if you are an executive or employee of that Practitioner, or work for the Practitioner. Similarly, you may not write a Review about a direct competitor to the Practitioner you own, are employed by or work for.

Your Patient Experience must have occurred in the 12 months prior to you writing a Review.

You may only write about your own Patient Experience. You are not permitted to write a Review about somebody else’s Patient Experience, such as that of a family member or friend.

You are encouraged to be specific and factual in your Reviews. If you have been offered an incentive by a Practitioner to write a Review, you should include information about this in your Review. Incentives include the Practitioner offering you a gift, reward, discount or advantage for writing a Review about the Practitioner on the Platform.

Warranties

You represent, warrant and agree that:

  1. you will not use the CPC Services  in any way that competes with our business;

  2. there are no legal restrictions preventing you from entering into these Terms; 

  3. all information and documentation that you provide to us in connection with these Terms is true, correct and complete; 

  4. you have not relied on any representations or warranties made by us in relation to the Platform (including as to whether the Platform is or will be fit or suitable for your particular purposes) unless expressly stipulated in these Terms;

  5. you will be responsible for the use of any part of the Platform, and you must ensure that no person uses any part of the Platform: (1) to break any law or infringe any person’s rights (including Intellectual Property Rights) (2) to transmit, publish or communicate material that is defamatory, offensive, abusive, indecent, menacing or unwanted; or (3) in any way that damages, interferes with or interrupts the supply of the Platform.

Australian Consumer Law

Certain legislation, including the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and similar consumer protection laws and regulations, may confer you with rights, warranties, guarantees and remedies relating to the provision of the Platform by us to you which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified (Statutory Rights).

If the ACL applies to you as a consumer, nothing in these Terms excludes your Statutory Rights as a consumer under the ACL. You agree that our Liability for the Platform provided to an entity defined as a consumer under the ACL is governed solely by the ACL and these Terms. 

Subject to your Statutory Rights, we exclude all express and implied warranties, and all material, work and services (including the Platform) are provided to you without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, whether in statute, at law or on any other basis.

As a Patient, the goods and services provided by a Practitioner may also confer on you certain rights under the ACL.

This clause will survive the termination or expiry of these Terms.

Exclusions to liability

Despite anything to the contrary, to the maximum extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for, and you waive and release us from and against, any Liability caused or contributed to by, arising from or connected with: 

  1. your or your personnel’s acts or omissions; 

  2. any use or application of the CPC Services by a person or entity other than you, or other than as reasonably contemplated by these Terms; 

  3. any aspect of the Patient and Practitioner interaction including the medical services offered by the Practitioner, the description of the medical services requested or offered, any advice or consultation provided, the performance of medical services or supply and delivery of goods by the Practitioner;

  4. any works, services, goods, materials or items which do not form part of the CPC Services (as expressed in these Terms), or which have not been provided by us; 

  5. any third parties or any goods and services provided by third parties, including customers, end users, suppliers, transportation or logistics providers or other subcontractors which the provision of the CPC Services may be contingent on, or impacted by;

  6. the CPC Services being unavailable, or any delay in us providing the CPC Services to you, for whatever reason; and/or

  7. any event outside of our reasonable control.

This clause will survive the termination or expiry of these Terms.

Limitations on liability

Despite anything to the contrary, to the maximum extent permitted by law: 

  1. we will not be liable for Consequential Loss;

  2. our liability for any Liability under these Terms will be reduced proportionately to the extent the relevant Liability was caused or contributed to by the acts or omissions of you (or any of your personnel); and

  3. our aggregate liability for any Liability arising from or in connection with these Terms will be limited to us resupplying the CPC Services to you or, in our sole discretion, to us repaying you the amount of the Service Fees paid by you to us in respect of the supply of the CPC Services to which the Liability relates, or where there are no Service Fees paid, $100. 

This clause will survive the termination or expiry of these Terms.

Termination

Your Account and these Terms may be terminated by you at any time, by emailing info@thecanberraprivateclinic.com.au and asking us to delete your account.

We may terminate these Terms at any time by giving 30 days’ written notice to you (Termination for Convenience).

We may suspend your Account via the Platform or terminate these Terms immediately upon written notice to you, if:

  1. you (or any of your personnel) breach any provision of these Terms and that breach has not been remedied within 10 business days of being notified by us;

  2. there is any reason outside our control which has the effect of compromising our ability to provide the CPC Services; or

  3. you are unable to pay your debts as they fall due.

These Terms will terminate immediately upon written notice by you, if we:

  1. are in breach of a material term of these Terms, and that breach has not been remedied within 10 business days of being notified by you; or

  2. are unable to pay our debts as they fall due. 

Upon expiry or termination of these Terms:

  1. we will immediately cease providing the CPC Services;

  2. you agree that any payments made by you to us are not refundable to you;

  3. where you are a Patient, you will lose any Medical Services Fees and other amounts paid; and

  4. where we terminate the Terms because of an act or omission by you, you also agree to pay us our additional costs arising from, or in connection with, such termination.

Termination of these Terms will not affect any rights or liabilities that a party has accrued under it. 

This clause will survive the termination or expiry of these Terms.

General

Assignment: The rights under these Terms are personal in nature and not capable of assignment by you.

Disputes:  In relation to a dispute, controversy or claim arising from, or in connection with, these Terms (including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination) (Dispute) between a Patient and us, or a Practitioner and us, a Party may not commence court proceedings relating to a Dispute without first meeting with a senior representative of the other Party to seek (in good faith) to resolve the Dispute. If the Parties cannot agree how to resolve the Dispute at that initial meeting, either Party may refer the matter to a mediator. If the Parties cannot agree on who the mediator should be, either Party may ask the Law Society of Australian Capital Territory to appoint a mediator. The mediator will decide the time, place and rules for mediation. The Parties agree to attend the mediation in good faith, to seek to resolve the Dispute. The costs of the mediation will be shared equally between the Parties. Nothing in this clause will operate to prevent a Party from seeking urgent injunctive or equitable relief from a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

Email and text message: You agree that we are able to send electronic mail and text messages to you and receive electronic mail and text messages from you. You release us from any liability you may have as a result of any unauthorised copying, recording, reading or interference with that document or information after transmission, for any delay or non-delivery of any document or information and for any damage caused to your system or any files by a transfer.

Force Majeure: We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations under these Terms if such delay is due to any circumstance beyond our reasonable control.

Governing law: These Terms governed by the laws of Australian Capital Territory.  Each Party irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts operating in Australian Capital Territory and any courts entitled to hear appeals from those courts and waives any right to object to proceedings being brought in those courts. 

Notices: Any notice given under these Terms must be in writing addressed to us at the address at the end of these Terms or to you at the address in your Account. Any notice may be sent by standard post or email and will be deemed to have been served on the expiry of 4 business days in the case of post, or at the time of transmission in the case of transmission by email.

Relationship of Parties: These Terms are not intended to create a partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship between the Parties.

Severance: If a provision of these Terms is held to be void, invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision is to be read down as narrowly as necessary to allow it to be valid or enforceable, failing which, that provision (or that part of that provision) will be severed from these Terms without affecting the validity or enforceability of the remainder of that provision or the other provisions in these Terms.

Definitions

Consequential Loss includes any consequential loss, indirect loss, real or anticipated loss of profit, loss of benefit, loss of revenue, loss of business, loss of goodwill, loss of opportunity, loss of savings, loss of reputation, loss of use and/or loss or corruption of data, whether under statute, contract, equity, tort (including negligence), indemnity or otherwise.

Intellectual Property means any domain names, know-how, inventions, processes, trade secrets or confidential information; or circuit layouts, software, computer programs, databases or source codes, including any application, or right to apply, for registration of, and any improvements, enhancements or modifications of, the foregoing.

Intellectual Property Rights means for the duration of the rights in any part of the world, any industrial or intellectual property rights, whether registrable or not, including in respect of Intellectual Property.

Liability means any expense, cost, liability, loss, damage, claim, notice, entitlement, investigation, demand, proceeding or judgment (whether under statute, contract, equity, tort (including negligence), indemnity or otherwise), howsoever arising, whether direct or indirect and/or whether present, unascertained, future or contingent and whether involving a third party or a party to these Terms or otherwise.

For any questions or notices, please contact us at:

The Canberra Private Clinic

Email: info@thecanberraprivateclinic.com.au

Last update: 30th November 2022