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INFORMED CONSENT

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As with all health care providers, the law requires that practitioners obtain an informed consent that complies with the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights, particularly Rights 5, 6 and 7.  This provides patients with a risk assessment of the care to be provided.

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Chiropractic adjustments of the spine are internationally recognized as being safer in dealing with neck and low backpain than medication and other alternatives (A risk assessment of cervical manipulation, JMPT, 1995. Manga Report, Ontario Ministry of Health, 1993).

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Some chiropractic treatments of the neck have been associated with damage to the vertebral artery giving rise to stroke, or stroke-like symptoms.  This is extremely rare, occurring in approximately 1 in 5.85million (Haldeman, et al. Spine, 1999, Vol 24:8).  Other rare complications reported include sprain/strain injuries, irritation of disc conditions, and fracture.

Whilst none of these complications have ever occurred in this practice, the practitioners at Balance Chiropractic provide a thorough analysis of your health history and physical examination to assess your overall health, and to ensure that you are not at risk.

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The chiropractors at Balance Chiropractic provide a unique service that is modified for each individual.  The appropriate referral to another health care provider will be supplied when indicated. 

If you have any questions related to the care you about to receive, please speak to the chiropractor. 

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Our practice specialises in treating problems of the spine and associated disorders of the nervous system.  A large proportion of our patients come via referral from their medical practitioner and transfers or care from one Chiropractor to another.  As such, it is standard practice to correspond with your medical practitioner and obtain relevant medical history, where appropriate. 

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Please sign your New Patient Electronic form if you give permission to the chiropractor to examine and administer care as deemed necessary and to consent for clinical information to be communicated between your GP or other specialists/Chiropractic practitioners where appropriate.  

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CHILD/TEEN/STUDENT POLICY

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All Initial Consultations (First Appointment) and Report of Findings (Second Appointment) for children under the age of 16, a parent or guardian over the age of 18 years old must attend these appointments. 

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We then still require a parent/guardian present at all regular appointments for children under the age of 13.  

 

Once a care plan has been established, regular appointments can proceed without a parent/guardian present for children aged between 13 years and 16 years of age, provided we receive written/signed permission from a parent or guardian.  For these appointments, treatment will provided with the door open and a Chiropractic Assistant available as a support person.  

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PRIVACY POLICY

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We’re committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals that provide Personal Information to us, including the data recorded by customers in their “New Patient Consultation”. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, protect, use and share personal information.

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We may review and change this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll update this version located at https://www.balance-chiro.co.nz/terms-and-conditions.

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Let's go through a few definitions before we get started:

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  • ‘Balance Chiro’ is any or all of the Balance Chiropractic based Chiropractic practices referred to as Balance Chiro, for example Balance Chiropractic Waiuku.

  • ‘Patient’ or ‘Customer’ or ’Practice Member’ is a user of the services provided by Balance Chiro and whom has agreed to our Terms of Service.

  • ‘Personal Information’ means information that can identify an individual.

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PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect personal data in a couple of different ways—directly and indirectly.

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PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT DIRECTLY FROM YOU

We directly collect Personal Information if you complete a New Patient Health History form and if you send an enquiry to us from our website, or get in touch with us by chat, email, or phone. We may also collect some Personal Information if you engage with us through social media.

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This information can include your name, gender, date of birth, country of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses.

We do not directly collect any special categories of personal data about you. This includes details about your religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, and genetic and biometric data. Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offenses.

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PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT INDIRECTLY

We indirectly collect Personal Information when someone is referred to our practice. A typical scenario would be when a healthcare professional refers a patient to our office and sends personal information about a patient. We may request personal information and health records and imaging from another health professional and/or a Picture Archiving and Communication System, eg a hospital or Pacific Radiology).

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This information can include names, genders, dates of birth, countries of birth, residential addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, a person’s emergency contacts, health insurance numbers, ACC claim details, health history, health status and patient treatment notes and records.

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In addition, in order to improve our services, we use data that can be retrieved from cookies, and other technology whose purpose is gathering data about website use. This data may include:

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  • Browser and hardware data, such as IP address, type of device, operating system, browser type, screen resolution, language, device make and model, as well as the versions of the above mentioned services.

  • Cookie and tracking technology data, which would include pages visited, time spent on pages, language preferences, and other anonymous traffic data.

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How this information is used:

Generally speaking, the Personal Information we collect is used by us to inform our decision making in how to best look after a patient. The Personal Information we collect about our own patients may also be used for billing, identification, authentication, and for contacting them if we need to.

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We may, with consent, use email addresses to share reports, advice, news, tips, updates and special offers. People who receive these promotional emails can unsubscribe at any time, please email info@balance-chiro.co.nz with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

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Personal Information relating to third parties will not be shared with any other entity unless the person it relates to has agreed to our terms and conditions.

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We may use other data for a range of different purposes, provided we comply with applicable law and our contractual commitments, such as:

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  • To deliver customer service and assist you with any inquiries you may have.

  • To analyze trends, administer or optimise our service, monitor usage or traffic patterns and gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.

  • To control unauthorised use or abuse of our database—or otherwise detect, investigate or prevent activities that may violate our policies or be illegal.

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How information is disclosed:

Except as described in this Privacy Policy, Balance Chiro will not share, sell, or rent Personal Information with anyone without your permission or unless ordered by a court of law.

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We work with third-party services in New Zealand and Australia, such as:

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  • ‘Cliniko’ our practice management software, located in Australia

  • ‘Invoice Direct’, our ACC invoicing agent, located in New Zealand

  • ‘Cliniq Apps’, our patient communication application, located in Australia.

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that we allow access to Personal Information, and may use it on our behalf strictly for the purposes for which they are engaged. We minimise the amount of personal data that is utilised by these services, and we have ensured that these services process your data in accordance with the appropriate regulations. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of these third-party services.

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We may forward personal information and health records to another health professional if requested.

In rare circumstances, we may be obliged to disclose Personal Information if disclosure is required to comply with the law, if we believe it is necessary to protect our rights, or if the ownership and assets of Balance Chiro were to be transferred to another party.

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The security of your Personal Information:

We take security seriously, and so do our third party services. Data is encrypted, stored in state-of-the-art facilities, access is restricted to those who have a need to know, and the technology to maintain security is regularly reviewed.

In the event that there is a breach and your Personal Information that we have collected directly is at risk, you will be notified within 96 hours of discovering the breach. You will be informed of what information is at risk, steps that we have taken to ensure your safety, and what action we are taking or have taken to rectify the breach.

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Access, correct or delete Personal Information about you;

You can request access to the Personal Information you have provided to us, via email to info@balance-chiro.co.nz

If you think there’s a problem with the Personal Information we hold about you, you can request a correction. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate data we hold about you corrected.

If you want to request erasure of your Personal Information, we'll take all reasonable steps to do so unless we are required to keep it for legal reasons, which will be notified to you, if applicable, at the time of your request.

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Questions or complaints:

If you have any questions or complaints about our Privacy Policy or the way we handle your Personal Information, you can contact us at info@balance-chiro.co.nz. This is our preferred method of contact.

INVOICING AND CREDIT POLICY

 

Invoices are issued immediately for goods purchased or services rendered, and payment is accepted by cash/eftpos/visa/mastercard or cheque at the point of sale.  For the first 3 visits, payment is expected in full at the time of the appointment.  


If an established Practice Member is unable to pay all or part of the invoice at the point of sale, we allow a credit period of up to 14 days from the date of issue.  A reminder invoice will be reissued and posted or emailed after this date and a penalty fee of $5 may apply for administration.


If an invoice remains outstanding beyond 30 days of invoice issue and no acceptable payment plan has been established directly with the Operations Manager, any future appointments will be cancelled until the debt is recovered in full.  The debt may then be passed to a credit agency and any associated costs will be at the Practice Members expense.

 

Loan items

Balance Chiropractic has the following items (subject to availability) on a goodwill, free loan basis:

  • Hey Warrior - children's book to help parents with their child's anxiety

  • Hey Awesome - a follow up book for slightly older children with anxiety symptoms

  • Weighted blanket - for adults or children who may need help with relaxing in times of high stress, insomnia or anxiety

  • Hand woven baby wraps - for baby wearing parents

 

The typical loan term for most of these items is 2 weeks and the purpose is to allow our Practice Members access to resources that can help with short term additional support or healing, or to trial a product before committing to purchasing it.  

 

We will make attempts to recover the items on loan if they are not returned or contact made to extend the loan after 1 month.  If the items are still not returned, Practice Members will receive an invoice to the replacement value of the product which is subject to the above invoicing terms and conditions.  

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Missed Appointments

A missed appointment is where a Practice Member has not shown up to their allocated appointment time, and no contact has been made. A missed appointment is also deemed where cancellation has been made with less than 8 hours' notice, thereby not allowing the team sufficient time to offer the appointment time to other Practice Members.  The fee for a missed appointment is $20, it will be invoiced immediately and emailed to the Practice Member for payment (as per invoicing terms above).

 

Refunds

Where a Practice Member is dissatisfied with a service treatment for any reason, the Practitioner will be available to provide a second service treatment at no further charge.  If this is not an acceptable option, the Practice Member will be refunded in full immediately.

 

For products sold - ie; SI belt, Elbow Brace, Foam Rollers - we will provide a credit or refund where it is returned within 7 days and provided the product is in resellable condition.  

 

For any consumable product (ie; supplements) returned within 7 days, a credit or refund will be given provided the item has not been opened.  

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*Invoicing/Credit is not available at first and second appointments, where settlement is required in full.

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