Privacy Policy

HIPAA PRIVACY

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for Takata Dental Health Center, Inc.

DESCRIPTION OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS HANDLED FOR YOUR PRIVACY

     Providing the best quality care for you requires that we have some private information about you, and at times, this information must be sent to other people or organizations. In some instances, legal requirements dictate access to parts of your records.  This notice describes how information might be shared, your rights to know about these, and your rights to either allow or deny such access.

Please be assured that we MUST:

1. Keep your personal data as private as possible.
2. Inform you of our legal duties and private practices when handling your personal information.
3. Comply with the policies to be described.

HOW WE WILL HANDLE YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION

TREATMENT RECORDS:

     We need to collect and at times transmit information about your health and other personal statistics in order to provide care to the Standard of Care determined by the dental profession.  At times such information is used in consultation with other health professionals or personnel at other health care facilities to provide the best care for you.  Such persons also may include personnel at our office, medical or dental laboratories, hospitals, care facilities or other providers of health care.  For example, if you have a heart defect, we may need to know the type and severity to determine if you should receive antibiotic medication before dental care, to prevent further damage to the heart or even death.  In the case of legal actions, if the courts subpoena records, we have no choice but to comply.

HANDLING OF YOUR FINANCIAL ACCOUNT:

     Whenever payment will come from an insurance company or similar provider, they may require personal information about you and information about services provided to you.  Any such communication may necessitate that we hold these parties to the privacy required by the HIPAA.  We will have them sign a contract, but you are not obligated to police their performance.  You may inform us if they incorrectly breach any of your private data.

CONTACTING YOU:

     At times it will be necessary to contact you either about an upcoming appointment or to inform you of something pertinent to your dental  care or health condition.  You have the right to restrict how we call you and leave the information if you are not in.  Some restrictions may include what information, if any, can be left on answering devices or what information can be left with other persons.  You can also determine where we can try to reach you.  Please keep in mind that to render the best and safest care possible, it is important for us to be able to contact you easily.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS:

     There are some laws and statutes that require the release of certain information or conditions.  For example, the law states that all actual or suspected cases of child abuse must be reported to authorities.

     Insurances such as Workman's Compensation and Disability also require providing some private information for payment and statistics.

OTHER HEALTH CONDITIONS:

     Other instances may necessitate disclosure of normally protected information.  An example is the discovery of materials or medications that are under recall or that may cause a reaction to a given procedure.

WHAT YOU MAY DO WITH YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION:

     You may ask to see your records and treatment forms at any time.  You may also request copies with a reasonable charge for duplication costs.  The original records are property of the office by law.  We will make any corrections or updates and you are urged to keep your information as current as possible for your best interest.

     You may request a copy of this policy.  We encourage you to verify by your signature that you understand our provisions and to signify if you agree or disagree.  At times we may amend this form, but a current copy will always be posted for your review.