HIPAA Notice

Dental practices are "covered entities" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). When a practice hires Integrity Dental Solutions to handle billing, insurance verification, claims and collections, we act as that practice's Business Associate.

That means we access protected health information (PHI) only to perform services for our clients, and we are directly responsible under HIPAA for protecting it.

Before we access any patient information, we sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with each client practice. The BAA spells out how we may use and disclose PHI, the safeguards we maintain, and what happens to the information when our engagement ends. We use and disclose PHI only as the BAA and the law permit, and only the minimum necessary to do the job.

We maintain administrative, physical and technical safeguards required by the HIPAA Security Rule, including:

• Designated privacy and security written policies and procedures
• HIPAA training for everyone on our team, with signed confidentiality agreements
• Encrypted devices and secure, encrypted methods for transmitting files
• Regular risk assessments and review of access activity
• Secure return or destruction of PHI when an engagement ends

If we use a vendor that may come into contact with PHI, such as a secure file-sharing or clearinghouse service, we require that vendor to sign its own Business Associate Agreement and meet the same standards we do.

If we discover a breach of unsecured PHI, we will notify the affected client practice without unreasonable delay, and no later than 60 days after discovery, as HIPAA requires. We'll provide the information the practice needs to meet its own obligations to notify patients and regulators, and work with the practice to limit any harm. Many of our agreements commit to faster notice.

Because we serve California practices, we also follow California's Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) and state data breach laws, which in some areas go further than HIPAA.

If you are a patient of a practice we work with, your dental provider is responsible for your health records and for giving you its Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains your rights. To request a copy of your records, ask for a correction or learn how your information is used, please contact your dental office directly.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with your provider or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at hhs.gov/ocr/complaints. You can also reach us at the contact below.

Our website contact forms are for business inquiries only. Please do not send patient names, dates of birth, insurance IDs or treatment details through our website or by ordinary email. Once we're working together, we'll set up a secure channel for sharing patient information.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be highlighted on our website.