Privacy Statement

 

Introduction

We are a community pharmacy. Our pharmacists are regulated and qualified health care professionals. They work to ensure that you have:

  • Equitable access to high quality healthcare services and support.

  • The correct medicines and know how to take them effectively.

 As a community pharmacy, we work with Health New Zealand (HNZ), Pharmac, other pharmacies, pharmacy service providers, and a range of other stakeholders. This is to ensure that community pharmacy services are provided in an integrated manner that is fit for everyone in New Zealand.

 

Last updated

We may update this privacy statement from time to time. This privacy statement was last updated on 11/11/2026.

 

Privacy statement

This privacy statement outlines how we collect, store, use, disclose, and dispose of information as part of providing you with healthcare services. We operate in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code 2020, and other relevant legislation.

 

The sources of the information we hold or access

Some of the information we hold about you is collected from HNZ systems, applications, and tools where it is already stored. This includes the National Health Index (NHI) register, the National Enrolment System (NES), the New Zealand electronic Prescription Service (NZePS), clinical information sharing services (e.g., TestSafe, HealthOne, Conporto), and HNZ payments system. Your information will have been entered into those systems as part of you accessing healthcare in New Zealand.

We may receive health information about you from other healthcare providers or organisations involved in your care, including your GP, hospitals, specialists, other pharmacies, laboratories, radiology providers, HNZ, or secure digital health systems. We receive this information so we can provide safe, effective and coordinated healthcare.

Where required by the Health Information Privacy Code, we will take reasonable steps to ensure you are aware when we receive health information about you from another source, unless an exception applies under the Code.

Some information may be collected from your General Practitioner (GP) or another health service provider if they issue you a prescription or contact us about the pharmacy service you need. Information is collected direct from you when we provide you with your prescription or with certain other pharmacy services such as blood pressure testing, throat swabbing, vaccinations, or contraceptive care. 

Some of the information we hold may have been given to us by a family or whānau member. This may be the case where they have accessed services on your behalf or where they have an entitlement that also extends to you, like an entitlement to a subsidised prescription.

We aim to be transparent about how we collect and use your health information. In most cases, you will already be aware that another healthcare provider has shared information with us as part of your care. Where required by law, we will take reasonable steps to ensure you are informed when we receive health information about you from another source.

 

The types of information we hold about you

The information we hold includes your name, date of birth, sex at birth, gender, ethnicity and contact details. It may also include information about your eligibility for free or subsided medicines or other healthcare services, such as whether you hold a community services card. We may also hold information about members of your family and whānau.

 We hold information about the medicines we have provided you, in particular, those that have been prescribed to you or that are a pharmacist-only medicines. We also hold information about some of the health services we provide to you, in particular, those that are regulated or publicly funded by the government.

 

The use of the information we hold about you

We keep your information secure and only use it for purposes related to our provision of high-quality healthcare services and support. We will always respect your privacy and confidentiality.

Your information may be used and disclosed for the purposes of:

  • Identifying you and any family or whānau members you represent.

  • Confirming your eligibility for regulated and publicly funded health services (e.g., free prescriptions, free vaccinations).

  • Communicating with you about the services we provide.

  • Booking any appointments you need with us.

  • Delivering health services to you, including providing you with medicines.

  • Recording the details of the health services we provide and any follow ups that are required.

  • Providing you and your GP with information about the services we have provided.

  • Reporting to HNZ and other regulatory bodies about the services we have provided.

  • Claiming payments for pharmacy services provided by our pharmacy.

  • Recording any known intolerances, allergies, and medical warnings you have.

  • Receiving and reviewing information from other healthcare providers to support safe and coordinated care.

If you do not enable us to collect, store, use and disclosure information about you, you may not be able to access some of our services, in particular, our regulated and publicly funded services.

We may also provide de-identified information to HNZ for planning, improving, and funding health services and anonymised information to be used for statistical or research purposes.

 

Where your information is held

Your information is held by us in our Pharmacy Management System – Toniq. Our system is securely hosted on the premises.

Where your information is disclosed to other agencies, such as HNZ, they are also required to hold it securely in compliance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.

 

How long your records are kept

We keep your information as:

At minimum, we will keep you information for ten years. It may be retained after this period as part of your pharmacy record to support the provision of high quality and safe health services.

 

Correcting your personal information

The Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020 give you the right to ask: 

  • If we hold any personal information about you.

  • For access to your personal information including health information and medical records.

  • That we correct your personal information. 

Please ask us if you would like to make a request for your personal information or to correct your information. We will help you with your request and this may include asking you to write it down.

We will undertake our best efforts to provide all the information you request. In some cases, we may lawfully decline all or part of your access request. If we do this, we let you know why.

In some cases, we may also decline to correct your information. We might do this, for example, where we have a record of a known drug reaction or allergy that it is important we retain.

If we decline your correction request, you are entitled to:

  • Provide us with a statement setting out the correction you sought.

  • Ask us to attach the statement of correction to the information we did not correct.

Where we correct your information, or attach a statement of correction, we will do our best to let other people who use that information know.

 

Queries or concerns

If you have any queries or concerns about how your personal information has been collected, stored, used, or disclosed, please talk with us. 

If you are not satisfied with our response to any concerns, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. For more information see the Office of the Privacy Commissioner website.

You can also learn more about your rights as a health service consumer under Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights by visiting the Health and Disability Commissioner website.

We care about you