We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information ("PHI") in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as amended, and applicable state law.
We are required to provide you with this Notice explaining our legal duties, privacy practices, and your rights regarding your PHI. We must follow the terms of this Notice while it is in effect.
This Notice applies to all PHI we create, receive, maintain, or transmit, whether oral, written, or electronic. We maintain physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to protect your PHI from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, or disclosure.
We reserve the right to change this Notice and our privacy practices at any time, as permitted by law. Any changes will apply to all PHI we maintain, including information created or received before the change. If we make a material change, a revised Notice will be made available in our office, on our website (if applicable), and upon request. The effective date will be listed at the top of the Notice.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
Treatment
We may use and disclose your PHI without your authorization to provide, coordinate, or manage your dental and related health care. This may include sharing information with dentists, specialists, laboratories, pharmacies, or other healthcare providers involved in your care.
Payment
We may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment for dental services provided, including billing insurance plans, benefit determinations, claims management, and collection activities.
Health Care Operations
We may use and disclose your PHI for health care operations, including:
- Quality assessment and improvement activities
- Reviewing provider performance, competence, and qualifications
- Accreditation, licensing, and credentialing activities
- Audits, compliance reviews, and legal services
- Fraud and abuse detection and prevention
- Business planning, management, administration, billing, customer service, and complaint resolution
- Creating de-identified information or limited data sets for health care operations, public health, and research
We may disclose PHI to another healthcare provider or health plan for their health care operations activities when legally permitted and when there is an existing or prior relationship with you.
YOUR AUTHORIZATION
You or your personal representative may give us written authorization to use or disclose your PHI for purposes not described in this Notice. You may revoke your authorization at any time in writing, except to the extent we have already relied on it. We do not use or disclose PHI for marketing, fundraising, or sale of information without your authorization. You may opt out of authorized communications at any time.
INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN YOUR CARE
We may share relevant PHI with family members, friends, or others involved in your care or payment for care, unless you object. We may also disclose limited information to assist with disaster relief or emergency notification efforts when appropriate.
APPOINTMENT REMINDERS & HEALTH COMMUNICATIONS
We may contact you by phone, voicemail, text message, email, or mail to provide appointment reminders, treatment information, and practice-related communications. You may request alternative or confidential communication methods.
PLAN SPONSORS
If your dental benefits are provided through an employer-sponsored plan, we may disclose summary health information to the plan sponsor as permitted by law.