iSmile Specialists Privacy Policy
Our Legal Duty
We are required by federal and state laws to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this notice about our privacy practices, legal duties, and your rights. We must follow the practices described in this notice, which took effect April 14, 2003, was updated August 20, 2013, and remains in effect until replaced.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, applicable to all health information we maintain. If we make significant changes, we will update this notice and make it available upon request. You may request a copy of our notice or more information at any time by contacting us.
Uses and Disclosures of Health Information
We use and disclose your health information for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. For example:
Treatment
We may disclose your health information to doctors, dentists, technicians, students, and other healthcare providers involved in your care.
Payment
We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for the dental services we provide to you.
Healthcare Operations
We may use your health information for operational quality assessments, provider performance reviews, training programs, licensing, and accreditation activities.
Your Authorization
You may give us written authorization to use or disclose your health information to anyone for any purpose. You can revoke this authorization in writing at any time. Without it, we cannot use or disclose your health information except as outlined in this notice.
To Your Family and Friends
We must disclose your health information to you. With your agreement, we may also disclose relevant health information to a family member or friend who is helping with your care or payment.
Persons Involved in Care
We may use or disclose health information to notify a family member or personal representative of your location, general condition, or death. If you are present, we will give you a chance to object first. In emergencies or cases of incapacity, we will use our professional judgment to disclose only information directly relevant to your care, such as allowing someone to pick up prescriptions or X-rays.
Marketing Health-Related Services
We may use your information internally to offer relevant services, conduct satisfaction surveys, or create anonymous, aggregated data to improve our practice. We may use trusted third-party service providers to send these communications on our behalf; they are strictly prohibited from using your contact information for any other purpose.
When you provide your email address during registration or online, we will add you to our informational email list. You can also opt-in via our website. Every promotional email includes an easy link to opt-out of future messages at any time.
Cookies
Our website uses temporary "session" cookies and long-term "persistent" cookies to keep track of information across multiple pages (like online scheduling and bill pay) and to measure website usage. We do not use cookies to gather personally identifiable information unless you voluntarily provide it. You can set your browser to block cookies at any time.
Fundraising
We will not use your health information for fundraising activities without your explicit written consent.
Required by Law
We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
Abuse or Neglect
We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence, or to avert a serious threat to anyone's health or safety.
National Security
Under certain circumstances, we may disclose military personnel information to Armed Forces authorities, or share necessary health data with authorized federal officials for lawful national security and intelligence activities.
Appointment Reminders
We may use your health information to send you appointment reminders via voicemail, postcards, email, or letters.
Patient Rights
Access
You have the right to look at or request copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. We will provide it in your preferred format if practical. We may charge a legally permissible fee for dental records and X-rays.
Disclosure Accounting
You have the right to request a list of instances where we shared your health information for purposes other than treatment, payment, or routine healthcare operations over the last 6 years. If requested more than once in a 12-month period, a reasonable fee may apply.
Restriction
You have the right to request additional restrictions on how we use or disclose your health information. We are not required to agree, except if you pay for a service entirely out-of-pocket and request that we do not disclose that information to your health insurer.
Breach Notification
We will notify you immediately as required by law if there is ever a breach involving your unsecured protected health information.
Alternative Communication
You have the right to request in writing that we communicate with you via alternative means or locations. Your request must explain how payments will be handled under the new arrangement.
Amendment
You have the right to request in writing that we amend your health information, including an explanation of why it should be changed. We may deny this request under certain legal conditions.
Electronic Notice
If you received this notice via our website or email, you still maintain the right to request a printed paper copy from us.
Questions and Concerns
If you want more information or have questions, you can reach the iSmile Dental HIPAA Compliance Officer at 281-447-6453.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a written complaint with iSmile Dental (14121 South West Fwy, Suite B, Sugar Land, TX 77478) or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the department's address upon request.
We support your right to privacy and will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
Google AdWords Remarketing
This website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third-party sites (including Google) to previous visitors who haven't completed a task (like filling out a contact form). This could appear as an ad on a Google search results page or within the Google Display Network. Google uses cookies to serve these ads based on your past visits, and all data is handled according to our policy and Google's privacy policy.
You can adjust your ad settings or opt out of interest-based advertising entirely on the Google Ad Preferences page by modifying your cookie settings or using a browser plugin.