Commonly asked questions from Practices
Does Surely share the entire patient file?
No. Any files or notes marked as confidential or not to be shared in the patient portal, will not be shared.
Can I still review each file before it's released and retract or redact anything I don't want shared to the patient?
Patients are able to request GPs to comment/review files, prior to their release. Practices are also able to ensure confidential information is not released, based on the settings within your PMS. If your practice specifically wants to review every request prior to release, this is something we can cover with you during your onboarding to Surely.
How secure is Surely?
Health information is deleted once a request has been fulfilled. Data is encrypted in transit and hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) within the Australia/New Zealand region. Records are delivered via time-limited links rather than email attachments, access expires automatically after delivery, and every consent, approval, retrieval, and delivery is logged with tamper-evident timestamps for a full audit trail.
Which general practice systems does Surely integrate with?
Surely connects to the Practice Management Systems used by NZ general practices. We're actively expanding our integration coverage and can work with your team on specific practice requirements.
Is Surely a patient portal?
No, Surely is the secure channel through which patients exercise their right to access their health records. We don't store any health data, we just automate patient requests and reduce General Practitioner administration.
Is Surely's consent legally sufficient?
Surely consent is digital, logged, time-stamped, and compliant with the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020.
Does Surely require general practices to do anything differently?
Practices need to consent to Surely's data sharing agreement to become part of the Surely network. Surely then connects to the practice's existing Practice Management System. There's no new software for the practice to install or learn.
Can a patient withdraw consent later?
Yes, patients can request consent withdrawal at any time by contacting the Surely support team via our helpdesk or emailing hello@surely.nz.
What does Surely do with the data once a request is fulfilled?
Health data is automatically and permanently deleted from the system as soon as a request is fulfilled. Audit logs are retained separately for compliance purposes.
How much does it cost my practice to use Surely?
Nothing. Practices are never billed for integration, usage, or individual requests.
Does my practice get paid?
Surely is funded by the recipients of records, if a patient chooses to pass them on. If the patient chooses to pass the records on, practices will receive an administration fee per completed request to ensure practice revenue is not impacted.
