Patient Communication Policy: No Email Acceptance

Affinity Family Medical – Effective Date: June 2026

1. Purpose and Scope

Affinity Family Medical prioritises the security and confidentiality of your personal health information. This policy clearly outlines our approved methods for patient-practice communication and confirms that we do not accept or respond to clinical or administrative requests via standard email.

This strict approach ensures we meet the security and communication standards required by the RACGP Standards for general practices (5th edition), specifically Criterion C1.2: Communications.

2. Our Rationale for Not Using Email

We have decided not to use standard email for patient correspondence for the following key reasons, which are central to protecting your privacy:

Security Risk: Standard email is not a secure, encrypted medium. It carries a high risk of interception or loss of sensitive personal health information by unauthorised third parties.
Identity Verification: It is difficult to reliably verify the identity of the sender via email, posing a security risk to your records.
Immediate Action Risk: Email is not monitored continuously, creating a risk that urgent or critical medical information could be delayed or missed.

3. Approved Methods of Patient Communication

Please use one of the following methods to contact Affinity Family Medical. These methods ensure your safety, security, and promptness of response.

Communication Method	Purpose and Action Required	Response Time
Telephone 07 4804 5680	All appointments, urgent clinical concerns, urgent medication queries, and administrative questions.	Immediate during practice hours.
In-Person 07 4804 5680	Booking, administrative queries, providing updated contact details, and collecting documents.	Immediate during practice hours.
Secure Patient Portal N/A	Repeat prescriptions, booking non-urgent appointments, or specific communications agreed upon by your GP.	Varies by portal/request type; check the portal’s guidelines.
Emailed Letter admin@affinitymedical.com.au	Formal requests for records, formal written complaints, or complex, non-urgent feedback.	Addressed by the Practice Manager within 3 business days.

4. Handling Unsolicited Emails

Non-Acceptance: Any unsolicited emails received from patients will not be actioned, replied to, or retained as part of your health record, except for the purpose of notifying you of this policy.
Notification: If we receive an email, we will make a single attempt to call or reply briefly (if contact details are known) advising you to use one of the approved communication methods listed above.
Confidentiality: If an email contains sensitive health information, the staff member will immediately delete the email after noting the sender’s name and date of receipt (without saving the content) and contacting the patient by phone to manage the query securely.

5. Policy Agreement and Review

Your attendance and continued care at Affinity Family Medical signifies your agreement to communicate with us using the approved methods outlined in this policy.
This policy is reviewed annually to ensure it remains compliant with the RACGP Standards (5th edition) and current privacy legislation.