Data Protection & Privacy Notice for Patients

In providing your orthodontic care and treatment, we will ask for information about you and your health. Occasionally, we may receive information from other providers involved in providing your care. This privacy notice describes the type of personal information we hold, why we hold it and what we do with it.

 We may collect the following information about you:

• Personal details such as your name, date of birth, national insurance number, NHS number, address, telephone number and email address

• Information about your dental and general health, including

• Clinical records made by dentists and other dental professionals involved with your care and treatment

• X-rays, clinical photographs, digital scans of your mouth and teeth, and study models

• Medical and dental histories

• Treatment plans and consent

• Notes of conversations with you about your care

• Dates of your appointments

• Details of any complaints you have made and how these complaints were dealt with

• Correspondence with other health professionals or institutions

• Details of the fees we have charged, the amounts you have paid and some payment details

  Dr Wiltus Botha

• Practice Owner. Dr Botha is responsible for keeping the information we hold about you secure.

  Dr Lorinda Pietersen

• Data Protection Officer. Dr Pietersen ensures that the Practice complies with data protection requirements to ensure that we collect, use, store and dispose of your information responsibly.

Those at the Practice who have access to your information include orthodontists, orthodontic therapists and other dental professionals involved with your care and treatment, and the reception staff responsible for the management and administration of the Practice.

We use your information to provide you with the orthodontic care and treatment you need, and we require up-to-date and accurate information about you.

We will share your information with the NHS and/or your private dental plan provider regarding your orthodontic treatment.

We will seek your preference for how we contact you about your orthodontic care. Our usual methods are telephone, letter or email. SMS text messages to remind you about your appointments.

Patient information for research or educational purposes:

We may wish to use your information for dental research or dental education. If so, we will discuss this with you and seek your written consent. Depending on the purpose and if possible, we will anonymise your information. If this is not possible, we will inform you and discuss your options.

Your information is typically used only by those working at the Practice, but there may be instances where we need to share it – for example, with:

• Your dentist

• Your doctor

• The hospital or community dental services or other health professionals caring for you

• NHS payment authorities

• The Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies, where you are claiming exemption or remission from NHS charges

• Private dental schemes of which you are a member.

We will only disclose your information on a need-to-know basis and limit any information we share to the minimum necessary.

In certain circumstances or if required by law, we may need to disclose your information to a third party not connected with your health care, including HMRC or other law enforcement or government agencies.

We store your personal information securely on our practice computer and in a manual filing system. Your data cannot be accessed by those who do not work at the Practice; only those working there have access to your information. They understand their legal responsibility to maintain confidentiality and follow practice procedures to ensure this.

We take precautions to ensure the security of the practice premises, the practice filing systems and computers. We use high-quality specialist orthodontic software to record and use your personal information safely and effectively. Our computer system has a secure audit trail, and we back-up information routinely.

We keep your records for ten years after your last visit to the Practice or until you reach the age of 25 years, whichever is longer.

You have a right to access the information we hold about you and receive a copy. You should submit your request to the Practice in writing or by email. We do not usually charge you for copies of your information; if we pass on a charge, we will explain the reasons.

You can also request us to:

• Correct any information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. If we have disclosed that information to a third party, we will let them know about the change

• Erase information we hold, although you should be aware that, for legal reasons, we may be unable to erase certain information (for example, information about your dental treatment

• Stop using your information – for example, sending you reminders for appointments or information about our service.

• Supply your information electronically to another dentist.

If you do not wish us to use your personal information as described, you should discuss the matter with your orthodontist. If you object to how we collect and use your information, we may not be able to continue to provide your dental care.

If you have any concerns about how we use your information and you do not feel able to discuss it with your orthodontist or anyone at the Practice, you should contact The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745), textphone 01625 545860.

web: https://ico.org.uk/ email: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/