Privacy Policy

 

This practice complies with the 1998 Data Protection Act and GDPR 2018.

This policy describes our procedures for ensuring that personal information about patients is processed fairly and lawfully.  

WHAT PERSONAL DATA DO WE HOLD?

In order to provide you with a high standard of dental care and attention, we need to hold personal information about you.  This personal data comprises:

• your past and current medical and dental condition; personal details such as your age, NHS number, address, telephone number and your general dental practitioner
• radiographs, clinical photographs and study models
• information about the treatment that we have provided or propose to provide and its cost
• notes of conversations/incidents that might occur for which a record needs to be kept
• records of consent to treatment
• any correspondence relating to you with other health care professionals, for example in the hospital or community services.

WHY DO WE HOLD INFORMATION ABOUT YOU? 

We need to keep comprehensive and accurate personal data about our patients in order to provide them with safe and appropriate dental care.  We also need to process personal data about you in order to provide care under NHS arrangements and to ensure the proper management and administration of the NHS.

HOW WE PROCESS THE DATA

We will process personal data that we hold about you in the following way:

Retaining information

We will retain your dental records while you are a practice patient and after you cease to be a patient, for at least 10 years or for children until age 25, whichever is the longer.

Security of information

Personal data about you is held in the practice’s computer system and in a manual filing system.  The information is not accessible to the public and only authorised members of staff have access to it.  Our computer system has secure audit trails and we back up information routinely.

Disclosure of information

In order to provide proper and safe dental care, we may need to disclose personal information about you to:

• your general medical practitioner
• the hospital or community dental services
• other health professionals caring for you
• NHS payment authorities
• the Inland Revenue
• the Benefits Agency, where you are claiming exemption or remission from NHS charges

Disclosure will take place on a ‘need-to-know’ basis so that only those individuals/organisations who need to know in order to provide care to you and for the proper administration of Government (whose personnel are covered by strict confidentiality rules) will be given the information.  Only that information that the recipient needs to know will be disclosed.

In very limited circumstances or when required by law or court order, personal data may have to be disclosed to a third party not connected with your health care. In all other situations, disclosure that is not covered by this Code of Practice will only occur when we have your specific consent.

Where possible you will be informed of these requests for disclosure.

Access

You have the right of access to the data that we hold about you and to receive a copy.  Access may be obtained by making a request in writing. We will provide a copy of the record within 28 days of receipt of the request and an explanation of your record should you require it.

If you do not agree

If you do not wish personal data that we hold about you to be disclosed or used in the way that is described in this document, please discuss the matter with the dentist. You have the right to object, but this may affect our ability to provide you with dental care.

 

Transparency Statement

 

“How the NHS and care services use your information”

Denton Orthodontic Centre is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public. 

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance, to help with:

• improving the quality and standards of care provided
• research into the development of new treatments
• preventing illness and diseases
• monitoring safety
• planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt-out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

To find out more or to register your choice to opt-out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:

• See what is meant by confidential patient information
• Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
• Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
• Understand more about who uses the data
• Find out how your data is protected
• Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
• Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
• See the situations where the opt-out will not apply

 

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/(which covers health and care research); and

https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made)

You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation is currently compliant with the national data opt-out policy.