Introduction We recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of certain basic personally identifiable information such as names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers, account numbers, social security numbers and health information of our individual patients (“Patient Information”). We have adopted this Policy to guide how we use such Patient Information.
Purpose The purpose of this Policy is to balance our legitimate business interests in collecting and using Patient Information with the reasonable expectation of privacy which may be held by those providing such Patient Information.
Information It is necessary for us to collect and store Patient Information to provide requested care and billing related services. Many state dental regulations and governing entities require service providers to collect and retain some or all of such Patient Information.
Security The security of Patient Information is very important to us and we are committed to protecting the information we collect. We collect Patient Information only in a manner deemed reasonably necessary to serve legitimate business purposes and comply with legal obligations. We use commercially reasonable efforts to make our collection of Patient Information consistent with all applicable laws and regulations. We exercise care in providing secure transmission and storage of information. We take commercially reasonable efforts to create and maintain firewalls, restrict access and secure socket layers, and implement other appropriate safeguards to ensure that Patient Information is used only as authorized by us and in compliance with this policy. Our privacy protection practices help us maintain accurate, timely, complete and relevant information for our business purposes. Our communication system, software and database practices have been designed to aid us in supporting authenticity, integrity and confidentiality. What we will and will not do with Patient Information:
- We will not sell trade or rent Patient Information to outside parties or sell such information to outside parties.
- We may use Patient Information internally to offer goods and services we believe may be of interest. We may use Patient Information to contact you to inquire or survey about the Patient experience at the location(s) visited and the prospect of future services or improvements needed to continue as your services provider. We may also create and use aggregate Patient Information that is not personally identifiable to understand more about the common traits and interests of our Patients.
- We may utilize one or more third-party service providers to send email or other communications to you on our behalf, including Patient satisfaction surveys. These service providers are prohibited from using your email address or other contact information for any purpose other than to send communications on our behalf.
Emails about Special Offers and Promotions and Opt-Out It is our intention to only send email communications that would be useful to you and that you want to receive. When you provide us with your email address as part of the registration or appointment setting process, we will place you on our list of patients to receive informational and promotional emails. In addition, patients and visitors to our website are given the opportunity to “opt-in” to receive electronic promotional communications by selecting the option to receive promotional email from us on our website. Each time you receive a promotional email, you will be provided the choice to “opt-out” of future emails by following the instructions provided in the email or you can “opt-out” at any time by following the instruction provided.
Destruction of Information Prior to the disposal of Patient Information we will destroy, erase or otherwise make unreadable your personal information including social security numbers, credit card numbers and other identifiable information.
Cookies Our website utilizes “cookie” technology. “Cookies” are encrypted strings of text that a website stores on a user’s computer. Our website uses cookies throughout the online process to keep together information entered on multiple pages. For example, cookies enable our website to “remember” information provided to us. In addition, cookies are used to:
- Measure usage of various pages on our website to help us make our information more pertinent to your needs and easy for you to access; and,
- Provide functionality such as online appointing, bill paying and other functionality that we believe would be of interest and value to you.
The two types of cookies that we use are referred to as “session” cookies and “persistent” cookies. Session cookies are temporary and are automatically deleted once you leave our website. Persistent cookies remain on your computer hard drive until you delete them. We do not use cookies to gather any personally identifiable information about you apart from what you voluntarily provide us in your dealings with us. Our cookies do not corrupt or damage your computer, programs or computer files. You may set your browser to block cookies.
Compliance with Law We may disclose Patient Information to law enforcement agencies, or may be required to disclose it during the discovery process in litigation, pursuant to a court order, or in compliance with any applicable law, regulation, rule or ordinance.
Our Affiliates Some of our practices are owned and operated by affiliated dentists. Each affiliate relies on us to collect Patient Information and use such information in accordance with this privacy policy.
Copyright and Trademark Notices The contents of our website are protected by United States and International Copyright and Trademark law. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may subject a violator to civil and criminal penalties. All rights reserved.
Privacy Protection Policy Changes In the future, we may need to change this Policy. All changes will be included in this policy so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that information and whether we will disclose it to anyone. This Policy was last updated on April 2014.
Questions or Comments Any questions or comments that relate to this Privacy Protection Policy may be directed to us at:
460 South Main Street, Suite 101
Davidson, NC 28036
