Dental offices that transmit patient health information electronically, either directly or through a practice management vendor or clearinghouse, must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations. HIPAA requires dental offices to develop safeguards to protect electronic patient information.
HIPAA covers a broad range of patients’ rights when visiting the dental office and confidentiality of their dental records, including the following:
Individuals’ rights to control access and disclosures of protected health information.
Provider’s responsibility to safeguard against inappropriate use of disclosure, including unique provider and employer identifiers.
Notification requirements of providers’ privacy practices to patients.
Patient acknowledgement, consent and authorization.
Required business associate agreements with those who are privy to patient information, but themselves are not covered entities.
Sanctions for violation of HIPAA regulations.
Dentists can learn more about HIPAA by contacting the ADA Department of Informatics at (312) 440-2500 or visiting www.ada.org. You can email your specific HIPAA questions to ADA at [email protected].
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Department of Health and Human Services
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