Welcome to our website! Here you will find Fortson Dentistry’s online privacy policy. To see our Notice of Privacy Practice, please scroll down to the bottom of the page. Our online privacy policy guides you through how and why our website may collect personal information. Your use of fortsondentistry.com provides that you accept the practices described in this policy. We reserve the right to change our policies at any time, and accordingly, any changes made to our privacy policy will immediately be reflected on this reference page. Please review this privacy policy each time you visit our website in order to understand how personal information you provide will be used.

Collected Information

Personal information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc. are only collected when voluntarily submitted by webpage viewers. This information that you provide is only used in order to fulfill your particular request.

Automatic Data Collection

Statistical, non-personal information may be collected to analyze the use of our website. This non-personal information allows us to see how many visitors will view a specific page and how long they view the page. This information is collected to understand how visitors interact with our pages and how we can enhance the site altogether. This collective data may be used to describe the use of our site to third parties or in response to a lawful government request. This data does not personally identify any of our website visitors.

Redirecting to Other Webpages

On some of our web pages, you may click on a hyperlink that directs you to other sites that are outside of our control. These other websites may collect your data automatically or solicit your personal information, but it is important to note that these web pages may not align with our privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of other websites and cannot guarantee that any personal information that they collect of yours is secure. Please be sure to read the privacy policies of any linked web pages before you use them.

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

Under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), all medical records and other individually identifiable protected health information (PHI) of which we have knowledge must be kept confidential. All PHI used by us or disclosed by us is covered by this Act regardless of whether this PHI is in electronic, oral, or paper form. Several new rights are granted to patients under this Act, allowing control over how your PHI is used, how you can access it, and in some cases amend it.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your PHI.

We may be assessed a penalty for any misuse or unauthorized disclosures of your personal health information as regulated by HIPAA.

This Notice of Privacy Practices is effective on 4/12/19.

We are bound to abide by the terms of this notice and reserve the right to make revisions to this policy. Should revisions be made, you will be notified in writing, and a copy of the revised policy will be made available at your request.

Should any breach of unsecured PHI ever occur, we will notify the patient(s) involved within 10 business days of discovery of this breach.

You will be asked to sign a consent from authorizing us to use and disclose your personal health information only for the following purposes, as defined under the Act:

• Treatment means the provision, coordination, or management of health care and related services by one or more healthcare providers, including the coordination of management of health care by a healthcare provider with a third party; consultation between healthcare providers relating to a patient; or the referral of a patient for health care from one healthcare provider to another. An example of this would be a dentist referral to an orthodontist.
• Payment means obtaining reimbursement for the provision of health care; determinations of eligibility of coverage; biling; claims management; collection activities; justification of charges; and disclosure to care services of your insurance company.
• Health care operations are any activity related to covered functions in which we participate in the function of our offices, such as conducting quality assessment activities; protocol development; case management and care coordination; auditing functions; business management and general administrative activities, including implementation of this regulation; customer service evaluations; resolution of grievances; fundraising; and marketing for which an authorization is not required. An example of this would be evaluation customer service given to patients.

We may, without prior consent use or disclose your PHI to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations:

• Directly to your request;
• In an emergency treatment situation, if we attempt to obtain such consent as soon as reasonably practicable after the delivery of such treatment, if we are required by law to treat you and attempts to obtain consent are unsuccessful, or if we attempt to obtain consent but are unable, due to barriers of communications, but we are determine in our professional opinion that treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances;
• Pursuant to and in compliance with an authorization signed by you; and
• Provided that you are informed in advance of the use and disclosure and have the opportunity to agree to or prohibit or restrict the use or disclosure. This may be an oral agreement between us and may include a directory maintained at our facility containing specific information allowed by the Act.

We de-identify your personal health information by using codes or removing all individually identifiable health information.

All other uses and disclosures will be made only upon securing a written authorization signed by you. You have the right to revoke this authorization, at any time, upon written notice and we will abide by that request.

However, exception would be any actions already taken, relying on your authorization, and prior to revocation notice.

If you have paid for services out of pocket, in full, and request that we not disclose PHI related solely to these services to a health plan, we will abide by this request except where required by law to make a disclosure.

Your protected health information will never be sold or used for marketing purposes without your express written authorization.

We may contact you to provide appointment reminders or to inform you about treatment alternatives or other health related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

A written authorization from you will be required to release the following information:

• Use and disclosure of psychotherapy notes
• Use and disclosure of PHI for marketing purposes
• Disclosures that constitute the sale of PHI
• Other uses and disclosures of PHI not described in this Notice of Privacy Practices

Under HIPAA, you have the following rights with respect to your protected health information:

• No use or disclosure of genetic information will be released for underwriting purposes.
• You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information, including restrictions placed upon disclosure to family members, close personal friends, or any other person you may identify. We are, however, not required to agree with a requested restriction;
• You have the right to receive confidential communications of your protected health information, either directly from us or from us by alternative means or from alternative locations;
• You have the right to inspect and copy your protected health information; You may also request your PHI in an electronic format if we use an electronic (paperless) recordkeeping system
• You have the right to amend PHI, however, this request may be denied under certain circumstances;
• You have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your protected health information made by us in the six years prior to the date of the account request; and
• You have the right to obtain a paper copy of this notice from us, even if you have already agreed to receive the notice electronically

If you feel your privacy rights or the provisions of this notice of privacy policies has been violated, you have the right to file a formal written complaint.

‍