Patient privacy policy at
Princess Elizabeth Dental
Like most professionals, we have always appreciated the trust that our clients place in us.
One part of that trust is that we will treat our clients’ personal information and records with respect, and only release that information to a third party when the client asks, or when the client’s care and good common sense dictate.
Recent government legislation makes this issue more complex. We are now governed by the provincial Health Information Act (HIA), on top of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which spell out our requirements. Most of these requirements are things that we have always done. You can trust that we will always care about your privacy. Please don’t hesitate to ask us if you ever have any concerns.
You should be aware that our centre has an completed the Privacy Impact Assessment process with the OIPC, the Office of the Privacy Information Commissioner of Alberta.
The following points address many of the issues regarding your personal information;
- Your dentist is the one who is ethically responsible for safeguarding your personal information.
- You are always welcome to view the records that we keep about you, including your chart notes.
- From time-to-time, we will use client information for teaching or research purposes, but only if the individual client involved is not identifiable, unless they provide their consent.
- We will occasionally share your photographs with outside Registered Dental Technicians and ceramists, for the purposes of communicating aesthetic treatment requirements.
- The biggest issues we face in protecting your privacy come when we deal with insurance companies on your behalf. If we feel that their requests are unreasonable, we will ask you before releasing further information.
- A smaller, but important issue is when payroll staff with your employer contact us with inappropriate questions about your health and care. Again, we will contact you if we feel that their requests are not appropriate.
- In answer to a common question, our computer networks are firewalled.
- As our clinic is paperless, your records are backed up to a secure off-site server for security reasons.
- If we assist you in making financial arrangements through a third party such as your bank, we do not maintain any of your financial information unless you want us to submit it for you as a courtesy, in which case we shred it after submission.
- If you have a personal matter that you wish to discuss in private with the dentist or staff, we will gladly discuss it in a private office.
- Please respect the privacy of other clients while you are in the clinic.
