Notice of Privacy Practices

Our pledge regarding your health information

Hingham Dentistry is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. We create a record of the care and services you receive from us, and we need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements. This notice applies to all of the records of your care generated by our practice. It tells you about the ways in which we may use and disclose health information about you, and it describes your rights and our obligations regarding the use and disclosure of that information.

We are required by law to make sure that health information that identifies you is kept private, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

How we may use and disclose your health information

The following categories describe the different ways we may use and disclose your health information. Not every use or disclosure in a category is listed, but all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information fall into one of these categories.

• For treatment. We may use your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your dental care and related services. For example, we may share information with a specialist, such as a periodontist or endodontist, who is involved in your care.
• For payment. We may use and disclose your health information so that the treatment and services you receive may be billed to, and payment collected from, you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may tell your health plan about a treatment you are going to receive to obtain approval or to determine whether your plan will cover it.
• For health care operations. We may use and disclose your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary. For example, we may use health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate the performance of our team.
• Appointment reminders. We may use and disclose your health information to contact you as a reminder that you have an appointment with us.
• Treatment alternatives and health-related services. We may use and disclose your health information to tell you about treatment options or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
• Individuals involved in your care. If you agree, or when circumstances make it appropriate, we may share your health information with a family member, another relative, a close personal friend, or another person you identify who is involved in your care or in payment for your care.
• As required by law. We will disclose your health information when federal, state, or local law requires it, including for public health activities, health oversight, judicial and administrative proceedings, law enforcement purposes, and to avert a serious threat to health or safety.

Other uses and disclosures of your health information not covered by this notice or by the laws that apply to us will be made only with your written authorization. If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time, and we will no longer disclose health information under it, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Your rights regarding your health information

You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:

• Right to inspect and copy. You have the right to inspect and copy the health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. In limited circumstances we may deny a request, and you may ask for that denial to be reviewed.
• Right to request an amendment. If you believe that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us in writing to amend it. We may deny your request in certain circumstances, and if we do, you have the right to submit a statement of disagreement.
• Right to an accounting of disclosures. You have the right to request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your health information, other than those made for treatment, payment, health care operations, or with your authorization.
• Right to request restrictions. You have the right to request a restriction on the health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to every request, except that we must agree not to disclose information to a health plan about a service for which you have paid in full out of pocket, if you ask us in writing.
• Right to request confidential communications. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your care in a certain way or at a certain location, for example only at work or only by mail. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
• Right to a paper copy of this notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have read it on our website. Ask our front desk and we will provide one promptly.

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised notice effective for health information we already have about you, as well as any information we receive in the future. The current notice is always posted on this website and available at our office, with its effective date shown at the top.

Complaints and questions

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our practice or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

To exercise any of these rights, request a copy of this notice, or file a complaint, contact our privacy officer:

Dr. Adrina DeVitre, Privacy Officer
Hingham Dentistry
169 Lincoln St, Hingham, MA 02043
(781) 740-0100
info@hinghamdentistry.com

See also our website privacy policy, Terms of Use, and Accessibility statement.