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· Our Standards for Safety and Privacy

Your Records, Your Rights: What HIPAA Means at the Dentist

By Dr. Jill Kollar, Precision Dental of Windsor

Your Records, Your Rights. What HIPAA means at the dentist. A folder marked with a tooth and a padlock: your dental records are private, and HIPAA gives you rights over them, including the right to see them, get copies, and ask for corrections.

Your dental chart holds more than tooth numbers. It has your health history, your medications, your x-rays, and notes from every conversation we have had about your care. Most patients never think about who can see that information or what rules surround it, and that is fair, because there is a framework handling it quietly in the background. It is called HIPAA, and here is what it means for you.

What HIPAA is

HIPAA is a federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that sets national rules for the privacy and security of health information. It applies to dental and medical practices, health insurers, and the companies that process claims. In plain terms, it draws a boundary around your health information: it can be used for your care, and it cannot be shared freely.

The rights it gives you

  • You can see your records and get copies of them, including your x-rays
  • You can ask for a copy in electronic form, and ask that a copy be sent to another provider, for example if you move or need a specialist
  • If something in your record is wrong, you can ask us to correct it
  • You can ask for a list of certain disclosures of your information. Some routine disclosures, such as those for treatment, payment, and running the practice, are not included in that list
  • HIPAA allows information to be used or shared for treatment, payment, and the work of running the practice, and in some other situations the law permits or requires. Most other uses or sharing need your written authorization

These are rights you hold whether or not you ever use them. Our job is to make them easy to use if you want them.

What this looks like at Precision Dental of Windsor

  • Every member of our staff completes HIPAA training every year
  • Everyone on the team has their own login. Charts are opened under individual accounts, not shared ones
  • Our Notice of Privacy Practices is current and available to every patient. It describes, in writing, how we use and protect your information
  • Paper records that are no longer needed are shredded, not thrown away
  • Only members of the care team can access patient records

That is the routine: train, limit access, put it in writing, and handle paper carefully. Like our water testing, it happens whether or not anyone thinks to ask about it.

Comfortable and personalized dentistry includes protecting the details you share with us. Questions about your records? Call us at (970) 237-4313, and let’s talk.

My takeaway as a dentist: your information deserves the same care as your teeth. Privacy rules are not paperwork to me, they are part of how a practice earns trust, the same trust that lets you tell us everything relevant about your health so we can treat you well. Evidence matters, and so does discretion. If you ever want a copy of your records, or simply want to know who can see them, just ask. You can find the records release form on our forms page.

Sources and further reading

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA for Individuals: hhs.gov
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Your Health Information Privacy Rights: hhs.gov
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Individuals’ Right to Access Their Health Information: hhs.gov
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule: hhs.gov
  • HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR Part 164, Subpart E: ecfr.gov