Medical & Pharmacy online booking services

Is reviewing the T&C’s and Privacy of the competing online bookings services something Choice can do?

My local pharmacy will only accept online bookings for flu shots, (via MedAdvisor.com.au). After Healthengine, it’s something to avoid. I was asked to accept Terms & Conditions before it would make the booking. I wasn’t impressed by the words. The T&C’s is a one size fits all titled software license: MEDADVISOR END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT To get to privacy had to click through 3 further links to finally get to (download) the ‘full privacy policy’
So I checked the next pharmacy. This time via myhealth1st.com.au .
Then I looked at my GP clinic which uses hotdoc.com.au

Hardened electronic data compliance isn’t easy and I don’t trust any of these dinky companies. I also want to know they can be sued properly when data is leaked.

I’d hope each has an independent & transparent audit report.
Isn’t it time services like these (and many others) had to provide a clear summary like the telecommunications ‘Critical Information Summary’ ?

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Good points to aspire to, but the LNP doesn’t have any runs on the board for prioritising consumers rights.

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I have been using Medadvisor for a number of years (can’t remember when I started, at the very least 7 or 8 years ago). I joined when I had begun to forget to get my scripts filled, or to be aware when I needed new ones and make the appropriate arrangements. I have never been spammed with medication advertising, or anything other than useful information. I would not even consider for one second not using it. Its helping to keep me relatively healthy.

I don’t buy any suggestion that they are dinky, at all. And for the service they provide? even if they use some of my data… I really dont care. The service is excellent.

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Our local GP sent an SMS yesterday advising we need to book on line through HotDoc.com for Telehealth.

And my regular GP keeps trying to get me to use HealthEngine for bookings. As HE sends out SMS reminders to me for bookings all made over the phone, the battle might be over anyway? There is a longer discussion on the privacy concerns around private practice data management systems. MyHealth Record - Megathread

And this on, HealthEngine in court for allegedly misusing patient data and manipulating reviews.

Products such as HE do more than manage bookings. They also provide practice record management services.

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It is good you’ve had that experience with Medadvisor.

It’s a pity then that they copy & paste shrink wrap type legalese more aligned to off the shelf software than for presentation to users. To me that suggests little regard to the end user. Their approach is the bottom of the barrel compared to several others I looked at.

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I’d skipped through parts of that - will look deeper for relevance. Thanks.

There is quite a significant difference between your information being held on records in a database where the interaction is in the clinic, and information requested/collected on apps and the web and transmitted through the internet and various other systems. I’d like to see independent audits and a transparent report. Audit reports are done & asked for everyday in information technology.

Consumers have a right to know that their information is safe.

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I’d suggest there is little to no difference when it comes to protection of the data or who has access. Better left to those who have recent experience of implementing such systems to respond.

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I received an SMS with regard to the flu shot, from my GP surgery. The shot will be administered by one of the practice nurses, which is fine. But the problem arose when I tried to do as suggested, and ring for an appointment in one of the fluvax clinics. Can’t get through. All lines are busy and even if you hang on and wait wait wait, eventually it rings out. They are all apologetic and so forth, but its not getting the job done. Been trying for a week and have now given up. Might just have to pay for it at the local pharmacy. Or book for a telehealth appointment when at least I will get to talk to someone, and maybe get that fluvax appointment at the same time.

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I thought I would book a 4th Covid shot at a local Pharmacy so I put in Pharmacy 777 and suburb into Bing search. Top result looked at first glance to be what I was looking for so I clicked and thought I was looking at the Pharmacy page however there was something not right. A popup saying this business does not take HealthEngine bookings, click here if you would like them to take HealthEngine bookings. A look at the address bar and it becomes clear, HealthEngine have created a page to look like it belongs to the Pharmacy.
Pharmacy 777 East Victoria Park - Book an Appointment Online (healthengine.com.au)
This has got to be close to deceptive conduct. They really are low.

Added value if into product promotion aka marketing?
It’s common for Google to deliver similar outcomes for many different types of services and products.

Most of us may be aware of third party search provides such as Finder, Ask, YellowPages, LocalSearch, etc all offering solutions. The quality of the results varies. Offering up the 10 best of … in my area when there is only one or two reveals the true motives of the third party. Google are equally in agreement with the practice. There is less money for Google in providing a direct response to the exact details of a business.

As best I can I try to look down the list of results provided by Google and select the web page (by URL) that I hope belongs to the business.

HealthEngine’s behaviour in returning details of your requested pharmacy is referencing publicly available content. Many other shopping search sites do the same.

Best not to click on Health Engine if at all possible and you do not want to use them. They gain from every click. Especially if your GP uses them for their booking services. Subsequently there is a risk every time you hit Health Engine on line it’s looking for you?

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