Hospira Inc, and its Australian subsidiaries - Hospira Pty Ltd, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd and Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd (collectively "Hospira") are committed to the right to privacy and the protection of personal information in accordance with Australian privacy laws.
This privacy policy ("Policy") outlines how we manage personal information. It also describes the sorts of information we hold and why, as well as how that information is collected, held, used and disclosed. Depending on the Hospira organization with which an individual deals, further information may apply in addition to the matters discussed in this Policy.
We encourage readers to check our website regularly for any updates (see 'Further information' below).
Individuals from whom we collect personal information include:
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our customers
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patients
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health professionals
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business contacts
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employees and
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contractors
Where it is lawful and practicable to do so, individuals may deal with us anonymously (e.g. when enquiring about our products and services generally).
If an individual is acquiring or has acquired a product or service from Hospira, we will collect and hold their personal information to:
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provide the required services
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administer and manage those services, including charging, billing and collecting debts
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inform the individual of the ways the services provided could be improved
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conduct appropriate checks for credit worthiness
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research and develop our services
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gain an understanding of the individual's service needs so we may provide them with better service and
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maintain and develop our business systems and infrastructure, including testing and upgrading these systems
The information collected may include an individual's:
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name
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date of birth
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occupation
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current and previous address (postal and email)
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telephone number
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financial details
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tax file number
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health information and
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other information that we consider necessary
We will, if reasonable and practicable to do so, collect personal information directly from the individual concerned. This may take place when the individual fills out documents such as an application form or an administrative form or when the individual gives us personal information in person, over the telephone or through our websites.
In certain circumstances, we will collect personal information from third parties. For example, we may need to collect personal information from:
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a credit reporting agency
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an individual's financial advisers
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an individual's representatives (e.g. authorized representatives or legal advisers)
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an individual's employer
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an individual's health service provider
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an individual's treating health professional
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publicly available sources of information or any other organization identified below (see 'Disclosing personal information' below)
Unless we have consent, we will not collect information that reveals an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or affiliations, membership of a political trade union, details of their health, disability, sexual orientation or criminal record.
This is subject to some exceptions including if:
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the collection is required by law or
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the information is necessary to provide health services
Failing to provide Hospira with certain personal information means that, potentially, we may not be able to provide the relevant service to the individual concerned.
In line with modern business practices and to meet individuals' specific needs, we may disclose personal information to the organizations described below.
Where personal information is disclosed, we will seek to ensure that the information is held, used and disclosed consistently with the National Privacy Principles contained in the Act, any relevant Health Privacy Principles under state legislation (e.g. those contained in the Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) or the privacy provisions contained in Part 2 of the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997 (ACT)) and other applicable privacy laws and codes.
The relevant organizations include:
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the outsourced service providers who manage the services we provide (e.g. mailing services, billing and debt recovery functions and marketing services)
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credit reporting agencies
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our advisers (including our accountants, auditors and lawyers)
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government and regulatory authorities and other organizations, as required or authorized by law
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organizations involved in marketing our products and services
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organizations jointly participating in, or assisting us to manage, a promotion, event, seminar or competition
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organizations involved in a transfer or sale or our assets or business
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organizations involved in managing our corporate risk and
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our related companies
Also, we may need to disclose an individual's personal information to their representatives (e.g. their authorized personal representatives or their legal advisers).
Because we operate throughout Australia and overseas, some disclosures (see 'Disclosing personal information' above) may occur outside the state or territory in which an individual is resident.
In certain circumstances we are required to collect government identifiers such as tax file numbers, Medicare numbers, pension numbers or Veteran's Affairs numbers. We do not use or disclose this information other than when required or authorized by law.
We will seek consent to use or disclose personal information for the purposes of informing individuals about:
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Hospira products and services that may be of interest and suit their requirements and
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promotions or other opportunities in which they may be interested
We assume we have consent to use service providers to assist us with marketing (e.g. mailing services or advertising agencies) unless we are told otherwise (see
'Contacting us' below).
We store personal information in different ways, including in paper and electronic form. The security of personal information is important to us and we take reasonable steps to protect it from misuse or loss and from unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Some of the ways we do this include:
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requiring our staff to maintain confidentiality
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implementing document storage security policies
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imposing security measures for access to our computer systems (see 'Privacy on the internet' below or access Hospira's Web Site Use Privacy Policy)
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providing a discrete environment for confidential discussions
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only allowing access to personal information where the individual seeking access has satisfied our identification requirements and
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ensuring there is access control into our buildings
Hospira's Web Site Use Privacy Policy describes how we handle the personal information that you provide to us on our web sites. Hospira's Web Site Use Privacy Policy is hereby incorporated into this Privacy Policy.
We take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete and up to date. However, the accuracy of that information largely depends on the quality of the information provided to us. We therefore suggest that individuals:
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let us know if there are any errors in their personal information and
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keep us up to date with changes to their personal information (e.g. their name and address).
Individuals may do this by mail or email (see 'Contacting us' below).
Individuals have a right to access their personal information, subject to some exceptions allowed by law.
Individuals can contact us to obtain a form to request access (see 'Contacting us' below). We may charge a fee for collating and providing access to personal information.
Individuals who believe that we have breached their privacy rights in any way or wish to discuss any issues about our privacy policy should contact our Group Compliance Manager (see 'Contacting us' below).
We will try to satisfy any questions and correct any errors on our part.
If we do not satisfactorily answer an individual's concerns, they have the right to make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner on telephone number 1300 363 992 or in writing to:
Office of Privacy Commissioner
GPO Box 5218
Sydney NSW 1042
Contacting us
Individuals may ask any questions about privacy and the way we manage personal information or obtain a form requesting access to personal information by:
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writing to our Privacy Officer at Level 3, 390 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3004, Australia or
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emailing us at privacy@hospira.com
If you would like more information about privacy in general, please refer to the Privacy Commissioner's website: http://www.privacy.gov.au