Privacy Policy
Our dental practice is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal health information. We comply with HIPAA regulations and will only use your information for treatment, billing, and communication purposes as necessary. You have the right to access and request amendments to your medical records. We will only communicate with you through secure methods and will respect your preferences regarding how you are contacted. Please contact our office if you have any questions about our privacy practices.
PRIVACY POLICY
The Notice
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
A federal regulation, known as the “HIPAA Privacy Rule” requires that we provide detailed notice in writing of our privacy practices.
I. OUR COMMITMENT TO PROTECTING HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
In this notice, we describe the ways that we may use and disclose health information about you. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires that we protect the privacy of health information that identifies an individual or where there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used to identify an individual. This information is called “Protected Health Information” (PHI). This notice describes your rights and our obligations regarding the use and disclosure of PHI. We are required by law to:
- Maintain the privacy of PHI about you;
- Give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI; and
- Comply with the terms of our notice of privacy practices that is currently in effect.
We reserve the right to make changes to this notice and to make such changes effective for all PHI we may already have about you. If and when this notice is changed, we will post this information on our website and provide you with a copy of the revised notice upon your request.
II. HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
A. USES AND DISCLOSURES FOR TREATMENT, PAYMENT, AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS
The following categories describe the different ways we may use and disclose PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. The examples included with each category do not list every type of use or disclosure that may fall within that category.
Treatment: During the course of your treatment we use and disclose your PHI. For example, if we take an x-ray, the technician will share the report with your doctor. Or, we will follow your doctor or dentist’s orders for surgical procedures or other types of treatment types of procedures.
Payment: After providing treatment we will ask your insurer to pay us. Some of your PHI may be entered into our computers to send a claim to your insurer. This may include a description of your health problem, the treatment we provided and your insurance membership number. Or your insurer may want to review your medical record to determine whether your care met their coverage guidelines.
Health Care Operations: Your medical record may be used in routine reviews of medical care provided by the doctors.
B. OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES WE CAN MAKE WITHOUT YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION
Uses and Disclosures for Which You Have the Opportunity to Agree or Object: We may use and disclose PHI about you in some situations where you have the opportunity to agree or object to certain uses and disclosures of PHI about you. If you do not object, then we may use and disclose these types of PHI.
Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care: We may disclose PHI about you to your family member, close friend, or any other person identified by you if that information is directly relevant to the person’s involvement in your care or payment for your care. If you are present and able to consent or object (or if you are available in advance), then we may use or disclose PHI only if you do not object after you have been informed of your opportunity to object. If you are not present or you are unable to consent or object, we may exercise professional judgment in determining whether the use or disclosure of PHI is in your best interests.
C. OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES WE CAN MAKE WITHOUT YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION OR OPPORTUNITY TO AGREE OR OBJECT
We may use and disclose PHI about you in the following circumstances without your authorization or opportunity to agree or object, provided that we comply with certain conditions that may apply.
Required By Law: We may use and disclose PHI as required by federal state or local law.
Public Health Activities: We may use or disclose PHI to public health authorities or other authorized persons to carry out certain activities related to public health, including to notify a person who may have been exposed to a communicable disease in order to control who may be at risk of contracting or spreading the disease.
Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence: We may disclose PHI in certain cases to government authorities if we reasonably believe that a patient has been a victim of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for oversight activities including, for example, claims audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and disciplinary activities, and other activities conducted by health oversight agencies to monitor the health care system, government health care programs, and compliance with certain laws.
Lawsuits and Other Legal Proceedings: We may use or disclose PHI when required by a court or administrative tribunal order. We may also disclose PHI in response to subpoenas, discovery requests, or other required legal processes when efforts have been made to advise you of the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement: Under certain conditions, we may disclose PHI to law enforcement officials, for example if to identify or locate a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person.
Research: We may use and disclose PHI about you for research purposes under certain limited circumstances. We must obtain a written authorization to use and disclose PHI about you for research purposes except in situations where a research project meets specific, detailed criteria established by the HIPAA Privacy Rule to ensure the privacy of PHI.
To Avert a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use or disclose PHI about you in limited circumstances when necessary to prevent a threat to the health or safety of a person or to the public.
Specialized Government Functions: Under certain circumstances, we may disclose PHI for certain military and veteran activities, including determination of eligibility for veterans benefits and where deemed necessary by military command authorities, for national security activities.
Disclosures Required by HIPAA Privacy Rule: We are required to disclose PHI to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services when requested to review our compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Workers’ Compensation: We may disclose PHI as authorized by workers’ compensation laws or other similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
D. OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION
All other uses and disclosures of PHI about you will be made only with your written authorization. If you have authorized us to use or disclose PHI about you, you may revoke your authorization at any time, except to the extent we have taken action based on the authorization.
III. YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Under federal law, you have the following rights regarding PHI about you:
Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request additional restrictions on the PHI that we may use for treatment, payment, and health care operations. You may also request additional restrictions on our disclosure of PHI to certain individuals involved in your care or benefit coverage that otherwise are permitted by the Privacy Rule.
Except as discussed below, we are not required to agree to your request. If we do agree to your request, we are required to comply with our agreement except in certain cases, including where the information is needed to treat you or verify coverage in the case of an emergency. To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing to our Privacy Official. In your request, please include (1) the information that you want to restrict, (2) how you want to restrict the information (for example, restricting use to this office, restricting disclosure only to persons outside this office, or restricting both), and (3) to whom you want those restrictions to apply.
We must agree to your request for a restriction if: (1) except as required by law, the disclosure of your PHI is to a health plan (i.e., a health insurance company) for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations; and (2) the PHI pertains solely to the health care item or service for which we have been paid out-of-pocket in full.
Right to Receive Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that you receive communications regarding PHI in a certain manner or at a certain location. For example, you may request that we contact you at home, rather than at work. You must make your request in writing to our Privacy Official. You must specify how you would like to be contacted (for example, by regular mail to a PO box and not your home). We are required to accommodate reasonable requests.
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to request the opportunity to inspect and receive a copy of PHI about you in certain records that we maintain. We may deny your request to inspect and copy PHI only in limited circumstances. To inspect and copy PHI contact our Privacy Official. If you request a copy of PHI about you, we may charge you a reasonable fee for the copying, postage, labor, and supplies used to meet your request.
Right to Amend: You have the right to request that we amend PHI about you as long as such information is kept by or for our office. To make this type of request, you must submit your request in writing to our Privacy Official. You must also give us a reason for your request. We may deny your request in certain cases, including if it is not in writing or if you do not give us a reason for the request.
Right to Receive an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures that we made of PHI about you. This is a list of disclosures made by us during a specified period of up to six years except for disclosures made:
- For treatment, payment, and health care operations;
- To family members or friends involved in your care;
- To you directly;
- Pursuant to an authorization of you and your personal representative;
- For certain notification purposes (including national security, intelligence, correctional, and law
enforcement purposes); or - Before the Practice Opened
If you wish to make such a request, please contact our Privacy Official, who is identified below. The first list that you request in a 12-month period will be free, but we may charge you for our reasonable costs of providing additional lists in the same 12-month period. We will tell you about these costs, and you may cancel your request at any time before costs are incurred.
Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice: You have a right to receive a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have previously agreed to receive this notice electronically. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, contact the Privacy Official.
IV. COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or the Office for Civil Rights, United States Dept. of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201. To file a complaint with us, please contact our Privacy Official at the address and number listed below. We will not retaliate or take action against you for filing a complaint.
V. QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about this notice, please contact our Privacy Official at the address and telephone number listed below.
VI. PRIVACY OFFICIAL CONTACT INFORMATION
You may contact our Privacy Official at the following address and telephone number:
3505 Hill Blvd., Suite F
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598