Privacy Policy

Morehead City Dental Notice of Privacy Practices This Notice Describes How Medical Information About You May Be Used and Disclosed and How You Can Get Access to This Information. Please Review It Carefully.

I. Dental Practice Covered by this Notice This Notice describes the privacy practices of Morehead City Dental (“Dental Practice”). “We” and “our” means the Dental Practice. “You” and “your” means our patient.

II. How to Contact Us/Our Privacy Official If you have any questions or would like further information about this Notice, you can contact Morehead City Dental Privacy Official at:

capelookoutfamilydentistry@gmail.com

III. Our Promise to You and Our Legal Obligations The privacy of your health information is important to us. We understand that your health information is personal and we are committed to protecting it. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations and for other purposes that are permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights to access and control your protected health information. Protected health information is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and that relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services.

We are required by law to:

• Maintain the privacy of your protected health information;

• Give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to that information; and

• Abide by the terms of our Notice that is currently in effect.

IV. Last Revision Date This Notice was last revised on March 7, 2025.

V. How We May Use or Disclose Your Health Information The following examples describe different ways we may use or disclose your health information. These examples are not meant to be exhaustive. We are permitted by law to use and disclose your health information for the following purposes:

A. Common Uses and Disclosures

1. Treatment. We may use your health information to provide you with dental treatment or services, such as cleaning or examining your teeth or performing dental procedures. We may disclose health information about you to dental specialists, physicians, or other health care professionals involved in your care.

2. Payment. We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment from health plans and insurers for the care that we provide to you.

3. Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose health information about you in connection with health care operations necessary to run our practice, including review of our treatment and services, training, evaluating the performance of our staff and health care professionals, quality assurance, financial or billing audits, legal matters, and business planning and development.

4. Appointment Reminders. We may use or disclose your health information when contacting you to remind you of a dental appointment. We may contact you by using a postcard, letter, phone call, voice message, text, or email.

5. Treatment Alternatives and Health-Related Benefits and Services. We may use and disclose your health information to tell you about treatment options or alternatives or health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.

6. Disclosure to Family Members and Friends. We may disclose your health information to a family member or friend who is involved with your care or payment for your care if you do not object or, if you are not present, we believe it is in your best interest to do so.

7. Disclosure to Business Associates. We may disclose your protected health information to our third-party service providers (“business associates”) that perform functions on our behalf or provide us with services if the information is necessary for such functions or services. For example, we may use a business associate to assist us in maintaining our practice management software. All of our business associates are obligated, under contract with us, to protect the privacy of your information and are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than as specified in our contract.

B. Less Common Uses and Disclosures [Content remains unchanged]

VI. Your Written Authorization for Any Other Use or Disclosure of Your Health Information [Content remains unchanged]

VII. Your Rights with Respect to Your Health Information [Content remains unchanged]

VIII. Special Protections for HIV, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Mental Health and Genetic Information [Content remains unchanged]

IX. Our Right to Change Our Privacy Practices and This Notice We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice at any time. Any change will apply to the health information we have about you or create or receive in the future. We will promptly revise the Notice when there is a material change to the uses or disclosures, individual’s rights, our legal duties, or other privacy practices discussed in this Notice. We will post the revised Notice on our website (if applicable) and in our office and will provide a copy of it to you on request. The effective date of this Notice is August 30, 2021.

X. How to Make Privacy Complaints If you have any complaints about your privacy rights or how your health information has been used or disclosed, you may file a complaint with us by contacting our Privacy Official listed on the first page of this Notice.

You may also file a written complaint with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you in any way if you choose to file a complaint.