Policy for Receiving Test Results via Email

Email can be a powerful communication tool. However, there are very real privacy dangers when sending confidential information via email, as all emails are unencrypted and therefore not secure. It is possible for emails to be accessed or viewed by another internet or computer user without your knowledge or permission. If you wish to keep your test results strictly private, we advise against consenting to receive them via email.

If you would like to receive your test results via email, Henderson Medical Centre will take the following steps in an attempt to maintain your privacy:

• Test results will only be sent to patients who have read and signed our Consent to Receive Test Results via Email document in person at Henderson Medical Centre.
• Test results will only be sent on an ‘as requested’ basis. Consenting to receive your test results via email does not imply that we will automatically send all test results through on every occasion. It is the responsibility of the patient to communicate their request to receive test results via email on each occasion a test is undertaken. This should be done by sending an email to testresults@hendersonmedical.co.nz directly from their nominated email account or by completing and submitting the online form on our website, no sooner than seven days after they have been for the tests.
• Test results will only be emailed from seven days after the patient has had them done. This is because some tests take longer to process than others. If you request test results earlier than seven days, it is possible that abnormal results being double-checked by the laboratory may still be outstanding. You therefore run the risk of being falsely reassured. It also allows the requesting doctor time to review each result and to communicate directly with their patient if further follow-up is necessary.
• All nominated email addresses will be stored in a unique field in each patient’s secure medical records held on site at Henderson Medical Centre. We will only correspond with patients via this email address for the purposes of sending test results and fulfilling other health-related patient requests. Your details will not be forwarded or known to others, other than with your permission as part of the normal provision of healthcare and necessary co-operation between health care providers.
• Patients must sign a new consent form each time they wish to update their email address. Patients who wish to have their email address removed from the medical records held by Henderson Medical Centre must notify us in writing.