privacy policy
Cosmetic Dental Center of Baltimore
EFFECTIVE DATE: FEBRUARY 6, 2026
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW DENTAL/MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY. THE PRIVACE OF YOUR DENTAL/MEDICAL INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information about our privacy practices, to discuss questions or concerns, or to get additional copies of this notice, please contact our
Privacy Officer- Sandra Hunt.
Telephone: 410-486-5678 ext. 103
4 Reservoir Circle Suite 100 Baltimore, Maryland 21208
We understand the importance of privacy and are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of your medical/ dental information. We make a record of the dental care we provide and may receive such records from others. We use these records to provide or enable other health care providers to provide quality dental care, to obtain payment for services provided to you as allowed by your health plan and to enable us to meet our professional and legal obligations to operate this dental practice properly.
This notice describes how we may use and disclose your medical information. It also describes your rights and our legal obligations with respect to your medical information. If you have any questions about this Notice please contact our Privacy Officer listed above.
OUR LEGAL DUTY
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information('medical information'), to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information, to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this notice while it is in effect. This notice takes effect on the date set forth at the top of this page and will remain in effect until we replace it. We reserve the right at any time to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make any change in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice applicable to all medical information we maintain, including medical information we create or received before we made the change in practices. We may amend the terms of this notice at any time. If we make a material change to our policy practices, we will provide to you, the revised notice. Any revised notice will be effective for all health information we maintain. The effective date of a revised notice will be noted. A copy of the current notice in effect will be available in our facility and on our website. You may request a copy of the current notice at any time. We collect and maintain oral, written and electronic information to administer our business and to provide products, services and information of importance to our patients. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in the handling and maintenance of our patients' medical information, in accordance with applicable state and federal standards, to protect against risks such as loss, destruction and misuse.
A. How This Dental Practice May Use or Disclose Your Health Information
This dental practice collects health information about you and stores it in a chart and/or on a computer and in an electronic health record. This is your dental (medical) record. The dental (medical) record is the property of this dental practice, but the information in the dental (medical)record belongs to you. The law permits us to use or disclose your health information for the following purposes:
1. Treatment: We use medical/ dental information about you to provide your dental care. We disclose medical/ dental information to our employees and others who are involved in providing the care you need. For example, we may share your medical/ dental information with other dentists or other health care providers who will provide services that we do not provide. Or we may share this information with a pharmacist who needs it to dispense a prescription to you, or a laboratory that performs a test. We may also disclose medical/ dental information to members of your family or others who can help you when you are sick or injured, or after you have passed away.
2. Payment: We provide dental services. We use and disclose medical/ dental information about you to obtain payment for the services we provide. For example, we give your health plan the information it requires before it will pay us. We may also disclose information to other health care providers to assist them in obtaining payment for services they have provided to you.
3. Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose medical/ dental information about you to operate this dental practice. For example, we may use and disclose this information to review and improve the quality of care we provide, or the competence and qualifications of our professional staff. Or we may use and disclose this information to get your dental plan to authorize services or referrals. We may also use and disclose this information as necessary for dental reviews, legal services and audits, including fraud and abuse detection and compliance programs and business planning and management. We may also share your medical/ dental information with our business associates, such as our billing service, that perform administrative services for us. We have a written contract with each of these business associates that contains terms requiring them and their subcontractors to protect the confidentiality and security of your protected health information. Our business associates are required, 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. We may also share your information with other health care providers, health care clearinghouses or dental plans that have a relationship with you, when they request this information to help them with their quality assessment and improvement activities, their patient safety activities , their population-based efforts to improve health or reduce health care costs, their protocol development, case management or care coordination activities, their review of competence, qualifications and performance of health care professionals, their training programs, their accreditation, certification or licensing activities, or their health care fraud and abuse detection and compliance efforts.
4. Appointment Reminders: We may use and disclose medical/ dental information to contact and remind you about appointments. If you are not home, we may leave this information on your answering machine or in a message left with the person answering the phone.
5. Sign In Sheet: We may use and disclose medical/ dental information about you by having you sign in when you arrive at our office. We may also call out your name when we are ready to see you.
6. Notification and Communication with Family: We may disclose your health information to notify or assist in notifying a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care about your location, your general condition or, unless you had instructed us otherwise, in the event of your death. In the event of a disaster, we may disclose information to a relief organization so that they may coordinate these notification efforts. We may also disclose information to someone who is involved with your care or helps pay for your care. If you are able and available to agree or object, we will give you the opportunity to object prior to making these disclosures, although we may disclose this information in a disaster even over your objection if we believe it is necessary to respond to the emergency circumstances. If you are unable or unavailable to agree or object, our health professionals will use their best judgment in communication with your family and others.
7. Marketing: Provided we do not receive any payment for making these communications, we may contact you to give you information about products or services related to your treatment, case management or care coordination, or to direct or recommend other treatments, therapies, health care providers or settings of care that may be of interest to you. We may similarly describe products or services provided by this practice and tell you which health plans this practice participates in. We may also encourage you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get recommended tests, participate in a disease management program, provide you with small gifts, tell you about government sponsored health programs or encourage you to purchase a product or service when we see you, for which we may be paid. Finally, we may receive compensation, which covers our cost of reminding you to take and refill your medication, or otherwise communicate about a drug or biologic that is currently prescribed for you. We will not otherwise use or disclose your medical/dental information for marketing purposes or accept any payment for other marketing communications without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose whether we receive any compensation for any marketing activity you authorize, and we will stop any future marketing activity to the extent you revoke that authorization.
8. Sale of Health Information: We will not sell your health information without your prior written authorization. The authorization will disclose that we will receive compensation for your health information if you authorize us to sell it, and we will stop any future sales of your information to the extent that you revoke that authorization.
9. Required by Law: As required by law, we will use and disclose your health information, but we will limit our use or disclosure to the relevant requirements of the law. When the law requires us to report abuse, neglect or domestic violence, or respond to judicial or administrative proceedings, or to law enforcement officials, we will further comply with the requirement set forth below concerning those activities.
10. Public Health: We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to public health authorities for purposes related to: preventing or controlling disease, injury or disability; reporting child, elder or dependent adult abuse or neglect; reporting domestic violence; reporting to the Food and Drug Administration problems with products and reactions to medications; and reporting disease or infection exposure. When we report suspected elder or dependent adult abuse or domestic violence, we will inform you or your personal representative promptly unless in our best professional judgment, we believe the notification would place you at risk of serious harm or would require informing a personal representative we believe is responsible for the abuse or harm.
11. Health Oversight Activities: We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to health oversight agencies during the course of audits, investigations, inspections, licensure and other proceedings, subject to the limitations imposed by law.
12. Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information in the course of any administrative or judicial proceeding to the extent expressly authorized by a court or administrative order. We may also disclose information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process if reasonable efforts have been made to notify you of the request and you have not objected, or if your objections have been resolved by a court or administrative order.
13. Law Enforcement: We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to a law enforcement official for purposes such as identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person, complying with a court order, warrant, grand jury subpoena and other law enforcement purposes.
14. Coroners: We may, and are often required by law, to disclose your health information to coroners in connection with their investigations of deaths.
15. Public Safety: We may, and are sometimes required by law, to disclose your health information to appropriate persons in order to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a particular person or the general public.
16. Specialized Government Functions: We may disclose your health information for military or national security purposes or to correctional institutions or law enforcement officers that have you in their lawful custody.
17. Workers' Compensation: We may disclose your health information as necessary to comply with workers' compensation laws. For example, to the extent your care is covered by workers' compensation, we may be required to make periodic reports to your employer about your condition. We are also required by law to report cases of occupational injury or occupational illness to the employer or workers' compensation insurer.
18. Change of Ownership: In the event that this dental practice is sold or merged with another organization, your health information/record will become the property of the new owner, although you will maintain the right to request that copies of your health information be transferred to another dentist or dental group.
19. Breach Notification: In the case of a breach of unsecured protected health information, we will notify you using your contact information to provide legally required notices of unauthorized acquisition, access or disclosure of your health information as required by law.
20. Additional restrictions on use and disclosure: Certain federal and state laws may require special privacy protections that restrict the use and disclosure of certain health information, including highly confidential information about you. "Highly Confidential Information" may include confidential information, including highly confidential information about you. "Highly Confidential Information" may include confidential information under Federal laws governing reproductive rights, alcohol and drug abuse information and genetic information as well as state laws that often protect the following types of information:
HIV/AIDS
Mental Health
Genetic Tests (in accordance with GINA 2009)
Alcohol and Drug Use
Sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health information; and
Child or adult abuse or neglect, including sexual assault.
21. Special protections for SUD records: Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment records have enhanced protections. They cannot be used in legal proceedings without your consent or court order. SUD Treatment Information. If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR Part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment and health care operations purposes as described in this Notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program record through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us. In no event will we use or disclose your Part 2 Program record, or testimony that describes the information contained in your Part 2 Program record, in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings by any Federal, State, or local authority, against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.
B. When This Dental Practice May Not Use or Disclose Your Health Information
Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, this dental practice will, consistent with its legal obligations, not use or disclose health information which identifies you without your written authorization. If you do authorize this dental practice to use or disclose your health information for another purpose, you may revoke your authorization in writing at any time.
C. Your Health Information Rights
1. Right to Request Special Privacy Protections: You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of your health information by a written request specifying what information you want to limit, and what limitations on our use or disclosure of that information you wish to have imposed. IF you tell us not to disclose information to your commercial health plan concerning health care items or services for which you paid for in full out of pocket, we will abide by your request, unless we must disclose the information for treatment or legal reasons. We reserve the right to accept or reject any other request, and will notify you of our decision.
2. Right to Request Confidential Communication: You have the right to request that you receive your health information in a specific way or at a specific location. For example, you may ask that we send information to a particular e-mail account or to your work address. We will comply with all reasonable requests submitted in writing which specify how or where you wish to receive these communications.
3. Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy your health information, with limited exceptions. To access your medical/dental information, you must submit a written request detailing what information you want access to, whether you want to inspect it or get a copy of it, and if you want a copy, your preferred form and format. If it is readily producible, or we will provide you with an alternative format you find acceptable, or if we can't agree and we maintain the record in an electronic format, your choice of a readable electronic or hardcopy format. We will also send a copy to any other person you designate in writing. We will charge a reasonable fee which covers our costs for labor, supplies, postage, and if requested and agreed to in advance, the cost of preparing an explanation or summary. We may deny your request under limited circumstances. If we deny your request to access your child's records or the records of an incapacitated adult you are representing because we believe allowing access would be reasonably likely to cause substantial harm to the patient, you will have a right to appeal our decision.
4. Right to Amend or Supplement: You have a right to request that we amend your health information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. You must make a request to amend in writing, and include the reasons you believe the information is inaccurate or incomplete. We are not required to change your health information, and will provide you with information about this dental practice's denial and how you can disagree with the denial. We may deny your request if we do not have the information, if we did not create the information (unless the person or entity that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment), if you would not be permitted to inspect or copy the information at issue, or if the information is accurate and complete as is. If we deny your request, you may submit a written statement of your disagreement with that decision, and we may, in turn, prepare a written rebuttal. All information related to any request to amend will be maintained and disclosed in conjunction with any subsequent disclosure of the disputed information.
5. Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have a right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information made by this dental practice, except that this dental practice does not have to account for the disclosures provided to you or pursuant to your written authorization, or as described in paragraphs 1 (treatment), 2 (payment), 3 (health care operations),6 (notification and communication with family) and 18 (specialized government functions) of Section A of this Notice of Privacy Practices or disclosures for purposes of research or public health which exclude direct patient identifiers, or which are incident to a use or disclosure otherwise permitted or authorized by law, or the disclosures to a health oversight agency or law enforcement official to the extent this dental practice has received notice from that agency or official that providing this accounting would be reasonably likely to impede their activities.
6. Right to a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice: You have a right to notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to your health information, including a right to a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices, even if you have previously requested its receipt by e-mail.
7. If you believe your rights are being denied or your health information is not being protected, you can:
a. File a complaint with your provider or health insurer
b. File a complaint with the U.S. Government
If you would like to have a more detailed explanation of these rights or if you would like to exercise one or more of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer listed at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
E. Complaints
If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or you disagree with a decision we made about access to your medical information, about restricting our use or disclosure of your medical information, or about how we communicate with you about your medical information(including a breach notice communication) you may contact our Privacy Officer to register either a verbal or written complaint. The Privacy Officer is listed at the top of this Notice of Privacy Practices.
If you are not satisfied with the manner in which this office handles a complaint, you may submit a formal complaint to:
Region III
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
150 S. Independence Mall West, Ste 372
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3499
FAX (215) 861-4441
TDD (215) 861-4440
OCRMail@hhs.gov
The complaint form may be found at
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints /hipcomplaint.pdf
You will not be penalized in any way for filing a complaint.