Notice of Privacy Practices at Apex Dental Group
Every dental office in the country has to publish one of these. Most patients sign the acknowledgment at the front desk and never read the document itself. That is a reasonable choice, and the rights described inside it are still real and occasionally very useful.
The plain-language summary below explains what the notice covers. The full legal notice follows it, and that full version is the one that governs. Where the summary and the notice differ, the notice wins.
Dr. John S. Kitzmiller III, DDS is a general dentist and serves as our Privacy Official. You can reach him directly at 919-362-1341.
What does this notice actually say?
Federal law requires us to protect your health information, tell you how we use it, and notify you if it is ever exposed. The notice sets out three things. When we may share your records without asking you, when we need your written permission first, and what rights you hold over your own file. It also names the person to contact when something goes wrong.
The current notice took effect on 23 September 2013 and stays in effect until we replace it. We may change our privacy practices at any time, within what the law allows. When we make a significant change, we post the new notice at our office and give you a copy on request.
When can we share your records without asking you first?
Three categories cover most of it, and they are treatment, payment and health care operations. Sharing your X-rays with an oral surgeon we refer you to is treatment. Sending a claim to your dental plan is payment. Using records for staff training or quality review counts as operations. Beyond those three, the law permits specific disclosures such as court orders, public health reporting and law enforcement requests.
Some record types carry extra protection under state or federal law. That includes HIV-related information, genetic information, mental health records, and alcohol or substance abuse records. We follow those extra protections where they apply.
The full notice lists every permitted category in detail. Read it properly if any of this matters to your situation.
When do we need your written permission?
Marketing use of your information needs your written authorization. So does any sale of your information, and so does the release of psychotherapy notes. Anything falling outside the purposes described in the notice needs your written permission as well.
You can revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Once we receive that revocation we stop, except where we have already acted in reliance on it.
We do not sell patient information to anyone, under any circumstances.
Your rights over your dental records
You hold seven rights under this notice, and every one of them starts with a written request to us. You can look at your records or get copies of them, and you can ask for an accounting of who else has seen them. You can request restrictions on how we use your information, or ask us to contact you by another method or at a different address. You can request an amendment to your record, and you will receive notice if a breach ever exposes your information. You can also get a paper copy of this notice at any time.
We may charge a reasonable cost-based fee covering copying and postage. Ask us for our fee structure before you make the request.
Some requests we must grant, and some we may decline. Where we decline, we explain the reason in writing and tell you what you can do next.
How do you file a privacy complaint?
Contact our Privacy Official first. Call Dr. John S. Kitzmiller III, DDS at 919-362-1341, fax 919-362-9656, or write to 1021 West Williams Street, Suite 101, Apex, NC 27502. You may also file a written complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and we will provide the filing address on request.
You can also contact the North Carolina DHHS HIPAA Office at 919-855-3171.
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint. That is not a courtesy we choose to extend, it is the law, and we take it seriously.
Reading the full notice
The complete Notice of Privacy Practices appears below and is also available as a PDF you can download or print. Ask at the front desk and we will hand you a paper copy at any visit, whether or not you agreed to receive the notice electronically.
Apex Dental Group is at Apex Medical Park, 1021 W. Williams Street, Suite 101, Apex, NC 27502. Call 919-362-1341 with any question about your records. Dr. John S. Kitzmiller III, DDS is a general dentist and our Privacy Official, and he answers these questions himself.