Dentistry By Design
Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities. Notice of Privacy Practices of Dentistry By Design, PA
This notice describes:
- HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED
- YOUR RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
- HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT CONCERNING A VIOLATION OF THE PRIVACY OR SECURITY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION, OR OF YOUR RIGHTS CONCERNING YOUR INFORMATION
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A COPY OF THIS NOTICE (IN PAPER OR ELECTRONIC FORM) AND TO DISCUSS IT WITH PAM TINER, HR MANAGER AT (972)231-3013 OR INFO@DENTISTRYBYDESIGNTX.COM IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
In this notice, your health information means your substance use disorder patient record.
Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Consent to most uses and disclosures of your health information
- Ask us to limit the information we share
- Get a copy of this privacy notice
- Discuss this notice with someone in our program
- Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your electronic records (The compliance date for this requirement will be set when the same right is revised in the HIPAA Privacy Rule)
- Get a list of health care providers who have received your information through certain third parties
- Choose in advance whether to receive fundraising communications
- File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated
Your Choices
With your consent, we can use and share your information as we:
- Treat you
- Run our organization
- Bill for our services
- Fulfill your requests to share information with your consent
- Prevent multiple program enrollments
- Report about court-referred treatment
- Report to prescription drug monitoring programs
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and share your information without your consent as we:
- Communicate within our program and with our contractors
- Help with medical emergencies
- Help with public health
- Report crimes (and threats of crimes) on our premises and suspected child abuse and neglect
- Aid scientific research
- Respond to audits and evaluations of our program
- Assist cause of death inquiries
- Respond to court orders
In all these circumstances, we must protect your information and limit how we use and share it.
Your Rights
When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.
Provide consent when we use or share your information for most purposes
You may provide consent for more limited purposes (for example, to only disclose information to another health care provider for your treatment); however, doing so may affect the services we can provide you or how you pay for services.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our health care operations after you have provided consent for all those purposes. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if, for example, it could affect your care. If we agree to your request, we may still share this information in the event that you need emergency treatment.
If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our health care operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.
Get a copy of this privacy notice
You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
Discuss this notice with someone in our program
You can ask questions or obtain more information about this notice and our privacy practices by calling or emailing the contact person at the top of this notice.
Choose in advance about fundraising
You have the right to a clear and obvious notice in advance of, and a choice about whether to receive, fundraising communications for our program.
File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated
You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on page 1.
You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Your Choices
How do we typically use or share your health information?
With your consent, we typically use or share your health information in the following ways.
Treat you
We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
Example: A doctor treating you for a chronic condition asks a doctor at our program about your health condition and medications you are taking, for example, to avoid complications.
Run our organization
We can use and share your health information to run our program, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.
Bill for your services
We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from insurance plans or other entities.
Example: We give information about you to your insurance plan so it will pay for your services.
With your consent, we may also use and share your information in the following ways:
To whomever you name in a consent to share your information
To prevent multiple enrollments in withdrawal management or maintenance treatment programs
To report participation in treatment required by the criminal justice system
To report prescribed substance use disorder treatment medications to a state prescription drug monitoring program when required by law
You can choose someone to act for you.
If someone has authority to act as your personal representative, such as if someone has your medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.
We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.
Our Uses and Disclosures
How else can we use or share your health information?
We are allowed or required to share your information in certain ways without your consent – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.
To communicate within our program and with contractors
We can share your information within our program, with an organization that has administrative control over our program, and with contractors who help us run our program.
For medical emergencies
We can share your information during a bona fide medical emergency with the personnel and health care providers responding to your emergency, even when you are unable to consent because of the emergency.
We can also share your identifying information to assist the federal Food and Drug Administration in notifying you or your doctor about unsafe products you may be using.
Help with public health
We can share health information that does not identify you for certain situations such as:
Preventing disease
Reporting adverse reactions to medications
Aid scientific research
We can use or share your information to conduct or help with health research. Researchers cannot include any patient identifying information in their reports about the research.
Respond to management and financial audits and program evaluations
We can use or share your information to improve the quality of our services, obtain needed credentials, and cooperate with oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, as long as those who view or receive the information agree to destroy or return the information when they are finished and agree not to use it against you.
Assist with cause of death inquiries
We can share patient identifying information about a deceased patient as required or allowed by laws that collect information relating to cause of death.
Report suspected child abuse and neglect
We will only report the information required by law.
Prevent or reduce crime in our program
We may report to law enforcement when a patient commits or threatens to commit a crime within our program or against our staff.
Redisclosure According to HIPAA
When you consent to uses and disclosures for all future treatment and payment purposes and to run our business, we may share your information with other substance use disorder treatment programs, doctors’ offices, and health care businesses for those activities. If the person who receives it is subject to HIPAA, then they are allowed to use and share your information again without your consent for the purposes that HIPAA allows. Your information still cannot be used in legal proceedings against you unless (1) you consent or (2) based on a Part 2 court order and a subpoena (or similar legal requirement).
Legal Proceedings and Court Orders
We must follow certain procedures before using or sharing your information for investigations and legal proceedings.
We will not use or share your information or provide testimony about your information in any civil, administrative, criminal, or legislative proceedings against you without your written consent or a court order.
We will only respond to a court order to use or share your health information if it is accompanied by a subpoena or other similar legal mandate requiring us to comply.
We will only use or share your information in proceedings against you based on a court order after we have received notice and an opportunity to be heard or you tell us that you have received notice.
We may use or share your information to respond to legal proceedings against our program based on a court order and you may not be notified in advance. You have the right to seek to overturn or change the court order after you learn about it.
Our Responsibilities
We are required to obtain your consent for most uses and sharing of your information.
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your information.
We must let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
We will not use or share your information other than as described in this notice unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.
Changes to the Terms of this Notice
We are required to follow the terms of this notice that are currently in effect. We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request in our office and on our web site.
Effective Date This notice is effective as of 02/16/2026
Dentistry By Design
Notice of Privacy Practices
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.
I. Dental Practice Covered by this Notice
This Notice describes the privacy practices of Dentistry By Design (“Dental Practice”). “We” and “our” means the Dental Practice. “You” and “your” means our patient.
II. How to Contact Us/Our Privacy Official
If you have any questions or would like further information about this Notice, you can contact Dentistry By Design Privacy Official at:
III. Our Promise to You and Our Legal Obligations
The privacy of your health information is important to us. We understand that your health information is personal and we are committed to protecting it. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. Protected health information is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.
We are required by law to:
- Maintain the privacy of your protected health information;
- Give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to that information; and
- Abide by the terms of our Notice that is currently in effect.
IV. Last Revision Date
This Notice was last revised on October 17, 2024.
V. How We May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
The following examples describe different ways we may use or disclose your health information. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive. We are permitted by law to use and disclose your health information for the following purposes:
A. Common Uses and Disclosures
1. Treatment. We may use your health information to provide you with dental treatment or services, such as cleaning or examining your teeth or performing dental procedures. We may disclose health information about you to dental specialists, physicians, or other health care professionals involved in your care.
2. Payment. We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment from health plans and insurers for the care that we provide to you.
3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose health information about you in connection with health care operations necessary to run our practice, including review of our treatment and services, training, evaluating the performance of our staff and health care professionals, quality assurance, financial or billing audits, legal matters, and business planning and development.
4. Appointment Reminders. We may use or disclose your health information when contacting you to remind you of a dental appointment. We may contact you by using a postcard, letter, phone call, voice message, text or email.
5. Treatment Alternatives and Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose your health information to tell you about treatment options or alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
6. Disclosure to Family Members and Friends. We may disclose your health information to a family member or friend who is involved with your care or payment for your care if you do not object or, if you are not present, we believe it is in your best interest to do so.
7. Disclosure to Business Associates. We may disclose your protected health information to our third-party service providers (called, “business associates”) that perform functions on our behalf or provide us with services if the information is necessary for such functions or services. For example, we may use a business associate to assist us in maintaining our practice management software. All of our business associates are obligated, under contract with us, to protect the privacy of your information and are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than as specified in our contract.
B. Less Common Uses and Disclosures
1. Disclosures Required by Law. We may use or disclose patient health information to the extent we are required by law to do so. For example, we are required to disclose patient health information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services so that it can investigate complaints or determine our compliance with HIPAA.
2. Public Health Activities. We may disclose patient health information for public health activities and purposes, which include: preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; reporting births or deaths; reporting child abuse or neglect; reporting adverse reactions to medications or foods; reporting product defects; enabling product recalls; and notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
3. Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence. We may disclose health information to the appropriate government authority about a patient whom we believe is a victim of abuse, neglect or domestic violence.
4. Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose patient health information to a health oversight agency for activities necessary for the government to provide appropriate oversight of the health care system, certain government benefit programs, and compliance with certain civil rights laws.
5. Lawsuits and Legal Actions. We may disclose patient health information in response to (i) a court or administrative order or (ii) a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process that is not ordered by a court if efforts have been made to notify the patient or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
6. Law Enforcement Purposes. We may disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for a law enforcement purposes, such as to identify or locate a suspect, material witness or missing person or to alert law enforcement of a crime.
7. Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors. We may disclose your health information to a coroner, medical examiner or funeral director to allow them to carry out their duties.
8. Organ, Eye and Tissue Donation. We may use or disclose your health information to organ procurement organizations or others that obtain, bank or transplant cadaveric organs, eyes or tissue for donation and transplant.
9. Research Purposes. We may use or disclose your information for research purposes pursuant to patient authorization waiver approval by an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board.
10. Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use or disclose your health information if we believe it is necessary to do so to prevent or lessen a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
11. Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose your health information to the military (domestic or foreign) about its members or veterans, for national security and protective services for the President or other heads of state, to the government for security clearance reviews, and to a jail or prison about its inmates.
12. Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your health information to comply with workers’ compensation laws or similar programs that provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
VI. Your Written Authorization for Any Other Use or Disclosure of Your Health Information
Uses and disclosures of your protected health information that involve the release of psychotherapy notes (if any), marketing, sale of your protected health information, or other uses or disclosures not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. You may revoke this authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent that this office has taken an action in reliance on the use of disclosure indicated in the authorization. If a use or disclosure of protected health information described above in this notice is prohibited or materially limited by other laws that apply to use, we intend to meet the requirements of the more stringent law.
VII. Your Rights with Respect to Your Health Information
You have the following rights with respect to certain health information that we have about you (information in a Designated Record Set as defined by HIPAA). To exercise any of these rights, you must submit a written request to our Privacy Official listed on the first page of this Notice.
A. Right to Access and Review
You may request to access and review a copy of your health information. We may deny your request under certain circumstances. You will receive written notice of a denial and can appeal it. We will provide a copy of your health information in a format you request if it is readily producible. If not readily producible, we will provide it in a hard copy format or other format that is mutually agreeable. If your health information is included in an Electronic Health Record, you have the right to obtain a copy of it in an electronic format and to direct us to send it to the person or entity you designate in an electronic format.
We may charge a reasonable fee to cover our cost to provide you with copies of your health information.
B. Right to Amend
If you believe that your health information is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we amend it. We may deny your request under certain circumstances. You will receive written notice of a denial and can file a statement of disagreement that will be included with your health information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete.
C. Right to Restrict Use and Disclosure
You may request that we restrict uses of your health information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations or to your family member or friend involved in your care or the payment for your care. We may not (and are not required to) agree to your requested restrictions, with one exception: If you pay out of your pocket in full for a service you receive from us and you request that we not submit the claim for this service to your health insurer or health plan for reimbursement, we must honor that request.
D. Right to Confidential Communications, Alternative Means and Locations
You may request to receive communications of health information by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate a request if it is reasonable and you indicate that communication by regular means could endanger you. When you submit a written request to the Privacy Official listed on the first page of this Notice, you need to provide an alternative method of contact or alternative address and indicate how payment for services will be handled.
E. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures
You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information for the six (6) years prior to the date that the accounting is requested except for disclosures to carry out treatment, payment, health care operations (and certain other exceptions as provided by HIPAA). The first accounting we provide in any 12-month period will be without charge to you. We may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost for each subsequent request for an accounting within the same 12-month period. We will notify you in advance of this fee and you may choose to modify or withdraw your request at that time.
F. Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice
You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice. You may ask us to give you a paper copy of the Notice at any time (even if you have agreed to receive the Notice electronically). To obtain a paper copy, ask the Privacy Official.
G. Right to Receive Notification of a Security Breach
We are required by law to notify you if the privacy or security of your health information has been breached. The notification will occur by first class mail within sixty (60) days of the event. A breach occurs when there has been an unauthorized use or disclosure under HIPAA that compromises the privacy or security of your health information.
The breach notification will contain the following information: (1) a brief description of what happened, including the date of the breach and the date of the discovery of the breach; (2) the steps you should take to protect yourself from potential harm resulting from the breach; and (3) a brief description of what we are doing to investigate the breach, mitigate losses, and to protect against further breaches.
VIII. Special Protections for HIV, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Genetic Information
Certain federal and state laws may require special privacy protections that restrict the use and disclosure of certain health information, including HIV-related information, alcohol and substance abuse information, mental health information, and genetic information. For example, a health plan is not permitted to use or disclose genetic information for underwriting purposes. Some parts of this HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices may not apply to these types of information. If your treatment involves this information, you may contact our office for more information about these protections.
IX. Our Right to Change Our Privacy Practices and This Notice
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. Any change will apply to the health information we have about you or create or receive in the future. We will promptly revise the Notice when there is a material change to the uses or disclosures, individual’s rights, our legal duties, or other privacy practices discussed in this Notice. We will post the revised Notice on our website (if applicable) and in our office and will provide a copy of it to you on request. The effective date of this Notice is October 17, 2024.
X. How to Make Privacy Complaints
If you have any complaints about your privacy rights or how your health information has been used or disclosed, you may file a complaint with us by contacting our Privacy Official listed on the first page of this Notice.
You may also file a written complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you in any way if you choose to file a complaint.
