Age 16+ Privacy Policy
What you need to know
When you turn 16 there are a few legal changes that happen in terms of health privacy.
What does this mean?
The major change is that this is ‘the age of consent.’ A young person aged 16 years and over can consent to their treatment (or refuse it) as if they were an adult.
This means you have the ability to make your own health decisions. We encourage discussing health issues with your guardian/parent/next of kin but you don’t have to. Your medical information is confidential and will not be shared with anyone outside the medical centre unless you give us permission.
When you turn 16, we will contact you to complete your own registration form.
Things to think about
If you are on our patient portal Manage My Health your account may be linked to your parents one. You may want to change that by unlinking it from your parent’s account and linking it to your own email address that you control. If you want to do that let us know at admin@newtownmc.co.nz
If your parent or guardian is the account holder, when we have a consultation with you (in person, phone or video), the bill will be sent to the account holder. This is usually fine, but the account holder will know you have been to the doctor. If you would prefer that they did not know, then we need to know that when we see you.
If you would like to become the account holder, so we bill you, then please let us know at admin@newtownmc.co.nz