How does Connolly Hospital use your information?
Connolly Hospital only uses your personal information for the primary purpose for which you have given the information to us, unless one of the following applies.
The secondary purpose is related (or for sensitive information, directly related) to the primary purpose for which you have given us the information and you would reasonably expect, or we have told you, that your information is usually disclosed for another purpose or to other individuals, organisations or agencies (see related secondary purposes set out below):
- you have consented for us to use your information for another purpose, for example research
- Connolly Hospital is required or authorised by law to disclose your information for another purpose (see related secondary purposes set out below)
- the disclosure of your information by Connolly Hospital will prevent or lessen a serious and/or imminent threat to somebody’s life, health or safety or to public health or public safety
- the disclosure of your information by Connolly Hospital is reasonably necessary for the enforcement of a criminal law or a law imposing a penalty or sanction, or for the protection of public revenue
Connolly Hospital may use or disclose your personal information as specified above via electronic processes, where available or relevant.
Related secondary purposes include:
The following is a list of examples of related secondary purposes for which Connolly Hospital may use your personal information, but it is not an exhaustive list.
Patient specific examples:
A. Use among health professionals to provide your treatment.
Modern health care practices mean that your treatment will be provided by a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals working together.
You may be referred for diagnostic tests such as pathology or radiology and our staff may consult with senior medical experts when determining your diagnosis or treatment. With developments in technology (e.g. telemedicine) our staff may consult with health professionals and medical experts, both public and private, located remotely, including outside Connolly Hospital, in relation to your diagnosis or treatment, including by sending health information and clinical images electronically. Our staff may also refer you to other health service providers, both public and private, for further treatment during and following your admission (for example, to a physiotherapist or outpatient community health services). We may disclose your personal information to the relevant provider to the extent required for any such referral (including disclosing that information electronically).
Your personal information will only be disclosed to those health care workers involved in, or consulted in relation to, your treatment and associated administration and to the extent required to meet that purpose.
These health professionals will share your personal information as part of the process of providing your treatment.
We will only do this while maintaining confidentiality of this information and protecting your privacy in accordance with the law.
As part of your care, we may be required to disclose your information to third party medical suppliers for the purpose of ordering specific products or to enable appropriate follow up, for example, if you require prosthesis, certain pharmaceutical treatments or other medical implantable products as part of your treatment.
B. Assessment for provision of health care services
Connolly Hospital may collect your personal information for the purpose of assessing your suitability for health care services at a Connolly Hospital. Where personal information is collected and you do not become a patient of the hospital, your personal information may be retained. Where your assessment has been conducted at the request of your GP, Connolly Hospital will report the outcome of the assessment to that GP as it may be relevant to any on-going treatment or care provided to you by them.
Where you undergo assessment or treatment by a third party provider during your admission to Connolly Hospital for the purpose of transferring your care to that third party, Connolly Hospital may disclose your personal information to the third party provider for that purpose.
C. Your local doctor
Connolly Hospital will usually send a discharge summary to your referring medical practitioner or nominated general practitioner following an admission. This is in accordance with international norms and long-standing medical practice and is intended to inform your doctor of information that may be relevant to any on-going care or treatment provided by them. This discharge summary may be sent to your referring medical practitioner or general practitioner electronically.
If your nominated general practitioner has changed or your general practitioner’s details have changed following a previous admission, you must let us know.
D. Other health service providers
If in the future you are being treated by a medical practitioner or health care facility that needs to have access to the health record of your treatment, we will provide a copy of your record to that medical practitioner or health care facility and ensure this request is processed in the correct manner. We may provide information about your health records to another medical practitioner or health facility outside Connolly Hospital without your consent in the event of an emergency where your life or health is at risk.
E. Students and trainees
Connolly Hospital supports the placement of students and trainees at Connolly Hospital and these students and trainees may have access to your personal information for the purpose of the placement. Students and trainees on placement at Connolly Hospital are required to comply with the GDPR (or other relevant privacy legislation) and our Privacy Policy.
F. Other common uses
In order to provide the best possible environment in which to treat you, we may also use your personal information where necessary for:
- activities such as quality assurance processes and service evaluations to assess standards of care, accreditation, clinical audits, risk and claims management, patient experience and satisfaction surveys and staff
- education and training
- invoicing, billing and account management, including storage of provider details on Connolly Hospital billing software
- the purpose of complying with any applicable laws - for example, in response to a subpoena or compulsory reporting to State authorities (for example, National Cancer Registry)
- the purpose of sending you standard reminders, for example for appointments and follow-up care, by text message or email to the number or address which you have provided to us
- we may anonymise or aggregate the personal information that we collect for the purpose of service management; monitoring, planning and development
- to identify patients that might be suitable for clinical trials/research. Any participation in a trial or research study will require your consent.
More information is available on the HSE Privacy Notice - Patients & Service Users (PDF, 673 KB, 10 pages).
