Cork Dental Smiles Privacy Statement
We seek your consent to obtain and process personal data for the purpose of providing you with
dental treatment safely and to the highest standards. This Statement is your guide to the
principles of privacy and confidentiality which govern the collection, use, storage, disclosure and
destruction of your personal data in this practice.
The data compliance officer in this practice is Senior Dental Nurse Mandy Ryan.
Obtaining personal information
It is important to obtain, use and store information about you, your general and your dental health
in order to provide dental care efficiently and reduce the risk of injury or other damage to your
health.
This personal data includes:
- Personal details such as your name, age, address, telephone numbers, email address
- Your doctor and relevant Medical Consultant(s)
- Your medical and dental history
- X-rays, clinical photographs, and study models
- Information about proposed treatment, options, consent to treatment, treatment provided
and its cost
- Notes of conversations or incidents that might occur for which a record needs to be kept
- Any correspondence with other healthcare professionals relating to you including agreed
referrals to other healthcare professionals
We regularly update your personal data, including your medical care. Please inform us of any significant changes, such as a change of address or other contact details, at your earliest convenience. It is important to know that the collection, use or possible disclosure of this data may be crucial to our ability to safely provide you with the care you require; without your agreement to this process, it may not be possible to undertake treatment.
You have access to a copy of your personal data upon written request and the right to have data
rectified if incorrect. Personal data is stored for specified, explicit and lawful purposes in your manual record for the purpose of providing you with healthcare efficiently and safely, at all times. Staff within the practice will have access to the data on a ‘need-to-know’ basis to ensure you receive the highest standard of care.
Members of the dental team may access your records:
- To prepare for and to complete your dental care
- To identify and print a prescription
- To generate a work certificate
- To type, if dictated or print a referral letter to another healthcare professional
- To open correspondence or any other documents from other healthcare professionals
- To print or photocopy your records if you instruct us to forward them to another healthcare professional
- To collate, print, photocopy and post insurance or medico-legal reports
It is practice policy to send you a reminder of when your next ‘check-up’ is due. This reminder is
sent to you by text message/phone call. We seek your consent to use your
personal data for this propose and advise you of your right to refuse to have your data used for
this purpose.
Personal data is only used and disclosed for the purpose of your care.
All members of the dental team adhere to the practice’s Code on Confidentiality in compliance
with the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003, and the Dental Council’s Code of Practice relating
to Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct, 2012.
Any disclosure of personal data, without your consent, can only be done for specified, legitimate
reasons (8 (a-h), Data Protection Act, 1988; Section 10, Dental Council’s Code of Practice
relating to Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct, 2012).
Access to your personal data is on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. This prohibits the release of your
information to a spouse, partner or family member without your explicit consent. A guardian or
carer may have the right to access information in the case of vulnerable adults or those with
diminished mental capacity. A parent or guardian will have access to your personal information if
you are less than 16 years of age.
A copy of your dental records will be transferred to another practice or healthcare professional
upon your written request.
Your consent will be sought before the release of any data to other healthcare professionals and
then only the relevant part of your records will be released. All healthcare professionals are
required to treat your personal data to the same standard of privacy as outlined in this statement.
Your consent will be sought in the case of:
- A report to dental insurance company
- A medico-legal report
- Any documentation relating to a “third party” Dental Scheme (e.g. Medical Card or PRSI
- scheme)
- There are certain activities where patient information may be used but where the
information is anonymised, eliminating patient identification, for example:
- Teaching
- Continuing Professional Development. Case studies are a very useful learning tool
- Quality Assurance/Internal audit. Audit is a necessary tool in assessing and assuring the
- quality of your care
- Research
In the event Dr Maria Byrne should cease practice or die while still a practicing dentist, the dental team will be guided by the Dental Council’s Code of Practice relating to Professional Behaviour and
Ethical Conduct in informing you, safeguarding your personal data and ensuring continuity of
care where possible.
Every effort is made to ensure disclosed personal data is accurate and transferred securely.
Obtained personal data is accessed on a ‘need-to-know’ basis and thereafter, is stored securely:
- There is no access for unauthorised persons to manual records, fax machines,
- computers or computer monitors within the practice.
- The dental team is trained in the secure use of email and the internet
- The dental team is compliant with the practice’s security measures
- Manual records are stored under lock and key
- The practice premises is locked and alarmed when unoccupied
- The practice software is legally owned
- The practice software is updated regularly, and password protected
- Software security is audited
Dr Maria Byrne is responsible for dealing with any incident where personal data has been put at risk of unauthorised disclosure, loss, destruction, or alteration. Management of any breach incident will comply with the advice of the Data Protection Commissioner (Personal Data Security Breach Code of Practice).
A staff member will review your personal information with you on a regular basis to ensure we
hold accurate, high-quality records for you. Any changes to your personal details, your medical
or dental status will be recorded in your records. As such, we ask you to let us know of any changes in contact details at your earliest convenience. Every effort is made to ensure that the information we collect and retain for you is in keeping with our aim to provide you with an efficient service and to care for you safely. We can explain the purpose of any information sought if you are not sure why information is being requested.
We retain all adult records for 8 years after the last treatment. In the case of children and young
adults, the records are kept until the patient’s 25th birthday; or their 26th birthday if the young
person was 17 when they finished treatment. If a patient dies before their 18th birthday, records
are kept for 8 years. Once no longer required by law, all dental records will be disposed of by a secure, certified, method of destruction (Dental Council Code of Practice relating to Professional Behaviour and Ethical Conduct, 2012).
Your rights
You are legally entitled to a photocopy of your personal data upon written request. As well as a
right of access you also have the right to have any inaccuracies in your data rectified and to have
the data erased. (NOTE: The maximum fee for an access request is €6.35). You will be provided
with a photocopy of an x-ray in response to an access request.
All written requests should be addressed to:
NAME: Dr. Maria Byrne
ADDRESS: Cork Dental Smiles, 12A St. Patrick’s Place, St. Patrick’s Hill, Cork, T23 VP04
Your request will be dealt with in a timely manner.
It is your right to have your name removed from all practice marketing information including
‘check-up’ recalls if you do not consider this information to be in your best interest. If you wish to
be removed from our appointment texting service or our marketing/mailing lists please
advise any member of staff.
If you do not wish to have your personal data collected, used or disclosed as described in this
Statement please discuss this matter with Maria. It is important to know that the collection, use
or possible disclosure of this data may be crucial to our ability to safely provide you with the care
you require; without your agreement to this process it may not be possible to undertake
treatment.
If you have a complaint or concern with any aspect of how we process your personal information
we would hope that you would notify Maria/Emma in the first place. You retain the right to make a
complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner at all times.
If you have any questions in relation to this Statement or any issue that arises from this, please
speak with Senior Dental Nurse Mandy Ryan (Compliance Officer) on 021 450 1801.
Dr Maria Byrne
BDS NUI MFDS RCSEd MSc Orth
