Notice of Privacy Practices
This revision is effective starting September 23, 2013. This notice supersedes all prior notices.
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED
AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE
READ IT CAREFULLY.
Who We Are
This notice describes the privacy practices of Tebo Dental Group, which includes the dental offices known as Tebo
Dentistry for Kids Lilburn, Tebo Family Dentistry Lilburn, Tebo Family Dentistry Gainesville and Tebo Dentistry for
Kids Dacula. These privacy practices apply to our dental practice and to our staff, including our dentists, hygienists
and other health care professionals working at our offices. Some of our dentists are independent contractors and are
not our employees.
Our Commitment
We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of your health information. This notice tells you about the ways and
conditions under which we may use and disclose your health information. We also describe your rights, and certain
duties we have, concerning the use and disclosure of your health information. This notice applies to all of the records
of your dental or other medical care generated by our dentists, hygienists and other staff members and any other
health information that we may have about you.
Our Duties
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties
and privacy practices and to follow the terms of this notice (or the notice currently in effect, if this notice is revised).
We also are required by law to notify you if there is a breach of security with respect to your health information. In
the event of such a breach, we will notify you directly in writing or, if your contact information is out of date, we will
take steps to notify you by other means, such as a posting to our web site or publishing notices in print or broadcast
media.
Change in Privacy Practices
We reserve the right to change this notice and the revised notice will be effective for health information we already
have about you as well as any health information we receive in the future. If we revise this notice, we will endeavor to
provide you with a revised notice electronically or in person on your next visit to one of our offices following the
effective date of the revised notice. The current revision of this notice will be posted in our dental offices and on our
web site and will include the effective date.
How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information
The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose health information. For each category of
uses or disclosures, we will explain what we mean and give examples where appropriate. Some uses and disclosures
of your health information require your written authorization, others require that we give you an opportunity to
agree or object and still others require neither your written authorization nor an opportunity for you to agree or
object.
Uses and Disclosures in the Following Categories Require Neither Your Written Authorization
Nor an Opportunity for You to Agree or Object:
We may use or disclose your protected health information for the purposes described in the following categories
without your written authorization and without giving you an opportunity to agree or object. In some cases, we will
give you notice of the use or disclosure.
Treatment: We may use your health information to provide you with dental treatment or services. We may
disclose your health information to dentists, dental assistants, hygienist, other dental office personnel or other
health care providers who are involved in your treatment or care. For example, your dentist may need to disclose
some of your health information to order tests or lab work to be performed at an outside laboratory or other
outside health care provider.
Payment: We may use and disclose health information about your treatment and services to bill and collect
from you, your insurance company or another third party payer. For example, we may need to give your health
insurance plan information so that it will pay us or reimburse you for dental services. We may also tell your
health insurance plan about a treatment you are going to receive to determine whether your plan will cover it.
Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose health information about you for office operations. These
uses and disclosures are necessary to run our dental office and help to provide you with appropriate dental
services. For example, we may use your health information to review our treatment and services and to evaluate
the performance of our staff in caring for you. Some of these reviews may be conducted by independent dentists
who are members of our staff, but are not employees of the office. We may also combine health information
about many of our patients to decide what additional services we should offer and what services are not needed.
We also may disclose information to dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and other office personnel for review
and learning purposes.
Required By Law: We will disclose health information about you when required to do so by federal, state or
local law, except that federal law takes precedence if there is a conflict with state or local law.
Public Health Activities: We may disclose your health information for public health activities. These
activities generally include prevention or control of disease, injury or disability, reporting births and deaths,
reporting child abuse or neglect, reporting reactions to medications or problems with products, notifying people
of recalls of products they may be using or notifying a person who may have been exposed to a disease or may be
at risk for contracting or spreading a disease or condition.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect or Domestic Violence: If we believe you have been the victim of abuse, neglect
or domestic violence, we will disclose your health information to the appropriate government authority to the
extent required by law. Even if not required by law, we may disclose such information if you agree to the
disclosure; if we believe, in the exercise of professional judgment, that disclosure is necessary to prevent serious
harm to you or other potential victims; or if you are unable to agree because of incapacity and a law enforcement
or other public official authorized to receive the report represents that your health information is not intended to
be used against you and that an immediate enforcement activity that depends upon the disclosure would be
adversely affected by waiting until you agree to the disclosure.
Health Oversight Activities: We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for
activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include, for example, audits, investigations, inspections
and licensure. These activities are necessary for the government to monitor the health care system, government
programs and compliance with civil rights laws.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: If you are involved in a lawsuit or a dispute, we may disclose
your health information in response to a court or administrative order. We also may disclose your health
information in response to a subpoena, discovery request or other lawful process by someone else involved in the
dispute, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request (which may include written notice to
you) or to obtain a court order protecting the information requested.
Law Enforcement: We may disclose health information if asked to do so by a court order, subpoena, warrant,
summons or similar process for law enforcement purposes or by a law enforcement official to identify or locate a
suspect, fugitive, material witness or missing person or to gather information about someone who is suspected to
be the victim of a crime, about a death we believe may be the result of criminal conduct or about criminal
conduct that occurs on our office premises.
Coroners, Medical Examiners and Funeral Directors: We may disclose health information to a coroner
or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause
of death. We also may disclose health information about patients of the practice to funeral directors as necessary
to carry out their duties.
Organ Donation: We may disclose your health information to organ procurement organizations or other
entities engaged in the procurement, banking or transplantation of cadaveric organs, eyes or tissue for the
purpose of facilitating organ, eye or tissue donation and transplantation.
Research Purposes: We may use or disclose your health information for a research purpose, but only if we
observe a variety of conditions intended to safeguard the privacy of your health information. The practice does
not anticipate that it will use or disclose your health information for a research purpose.
Averting a Serious Threat to Health or Safety: We may use or disclose your health information when
necessary to prevent a serious threat to your health and safety or the health and safety of the public or another
person. Any disclosure, however, would only be to someone able to help prevent the threat.
Military and Veterans: If you are a member of the armed forces, we may disclose your health information as
required by military command authorities.
National Security and Intelligence Activities: We may disclose your health information to authorized
federal officials for intelligence, counterintelligence and other national security activities authorized by law.
Protective Services for the President and Others: We may disclose your health information to authorized
federal officials so they may provide protection to the President, other authorized persons or foreign heads of
state or so that they may conduct special investigations.
Inmates: If you are an inmate of a correctional institution or under the custody of a law enforcement official,
we may disclose your health information to the correctional institution or law enforcement official if the release
would be necessary for the institution to provide you with health care, to protect your health and safety or the
health and safety of others or for the safety and security of the correctional institution.
Workers' Compensation: We may disclose your health information for workers' compensation or similar
programs. These programs provide benefits for work-related injuries or illness.
Limited Data Set: We may use or disclose your health information in a “limited data set”, which means that
certain identifying information (like name, address, phone number, etc.) is deleted and the reduced information
is shared with another party, but only for purposes of research, public health or health care operations and only
in compliance with federal privacy regulations.
Fundraising: We may use or disclose your health information for our own fundraising activities, but the type
and amount of information we may use for such purpose is limited significantly by federal privacy regulations,
unless we get your prior written authorization to use or disclose additional information. We do not have any
present intention of sending you any fundraising communications, but if we ever send you any such
communications, we will give you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving any further communications from us
concerning fundraising.
Uses and Disclosures in the Following Categories Require That You Have an Opportunity to
Agree or Object:
For the use or disclosure of your health information in the following categories, we do not need to get your prior
written authorization, but we do need to give you an opportunity to agree or object.
Patient Directory: The practice currently does not maintain a directory of patients. If the practice creates such
a directory, we will give you an opportunity to restrict some or all of your information from appearing in the
directory.
Persons Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care: We may disclose your health information to a
member of your family, a friend or another patient if the family member, friend or other patient is directly
involved in the your care and the disclosure is necessary for your welfare. The practice will limit the health
information disclosed to the family member, friend or other patient to health-related symptoms and to
information designed to help you deal with your condition or treatment, including setting and changing
appointments, receiving instructions for post-visit care or picking up treatment-related items. We may also
disclose a limited amount of your health information to locate you or to locate or notify your family member or
friend. We will not make these disclosures to your friends and family if you tell us not to do so.
Immunization Information for School: We may disclose proof of immunization to a school where you are
a student or prospective student if the school is required by Georgia or other law to have such proof of
immunization prior to admitting you to school and you agree to the disclosure. If we are required by law to
disclose such proof of immunization, then we must do so whether or not you agree to the disclosure.
Uses and Disclosures in the Following Categories Require Your Prior Written Authorization:
For the use or disclosure of your health information in the following categories, we must get your prior written
authorization.
Psychotherapy Notes: Without your prior authorization, we are not allowed to use or disclose any
psychotherapy notes that may be part of your health information except to defend ourselves in a legal action or
other proceeding.
Marketing: Without your prior authorization, we are not allowed to use or disclose your health information for
marketing purposes unless we are communicating with you face-to-face or we are providing you with a
promotional gift of nominal value. It is not considered marketing, however, if we are telling you about possible
treatment options or alternatives that we think may be of interest to you. If our marketing activity involves
financial remuneration to us from a third party, the patient authorization will state that such remuneration is
involved.
Sale of Health Information: Without your prior authorization, we are not allowed to sell your health
information, except that selling does not include use or disclosure of health information for the purpose of
research, public health, treatment, payment, the sale of our practice, business associate services to us, providing
you with information when you request it, complying with law or for any other purpose where we are only
recovering our cost in preparing and transmitting your health information or are only charging a fee authorized
by law. If we propose to sell your health information, the authorization will state that the sale will result in
financial remuneration to us from a third party.
Any Use and Disclosure Not Covered in this Notice: Uses and disclosures of health information in the
three categories immediately above this paragraph, and any other uses or disclosures not covered anywhere else
in this notice, will be made only with your prior written authorization. You will have the right to revoke that
authorization at any time orally or in writing. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose
your health information to the extent your authorization is needed for the use or disclosure. We are unable, of
course, to take back any uses or disclosures we have already made with your authorization. Also, we are required
in any event to retain our records of the care that we provide to you.
Disclosure to or Use by Business Associates:
There are some services that we provide through contracts with business associates. For example, we use an outside
copy service if needed to make copies of your x-rays. When these services are contracted, we may disclose your
health care information to our business associate so that the associate can perform the job we have asked the
associate to do. To protect your health information, we require our business associates to commit to us in writing
that they will safeguard the privacy of your health information to the same extent that we are required to safeguard
it, with only very limited exceptions permitted by federal privacy regulations.
Your Health Information Rights
You have the following rights concerning health information we have about you:
Right to Request Privacy Protection: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health
information about you that we use or disclose for treatment, payment or health care operations. We are not
required to agree to such a request unless the disclosure you wish to restrict is to a health plan for the purpose of
carrying out payment or health care operations (and is not for the purpose of carrying out treatment) and the
health information to be restricted pertains solely to a health care item or service for which you have paid us out
of pocket in full. If we do agree to your request, the requested restriction will not be effective until you receive
written confirmation from us that we have agreed to the request. In emergency treatment situations, agreements
to restrict the use or disclosure of your health information will not apply. To request restrictions, you should
contact the privacy officer at the address or number listed at the end of this notice to get the form you will need
to fill out for this purpose. In your request, you must tell us what information you want to limit, whether you
want to limit our use, disclosure or both and to whom you want the limits to apply (for example, your children,
your parents or others involved in your care). To be binding on us, any agreement to comply with special
restrictions must be in writing signed by the privacy officer or another authorized employee of our practice.
Right to Request Confidential Communications: You have the right to request that we communicate with
you about your health information in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we
only contact you at work or by mail. To request confidential communications, you must make your request in
writing to the privacy officer listed at the end of this notice. We will not ask you the reason for your request. We
will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and to receive a copy, summary or explanation of
your health information. You can also designate a third party to receive the information on your behalf. If you
want to inspect or receive a copy, summary or explanation of your health information, please contact the privacy
officer listed at the end of this notice to obtain and complete the required form. All requests must be made in
writing. If you request a copy of your health information, we may charge a fee for the costs of copying and
mailing your request or of preparing a written summary or explanation. If you request an electronic copy of
health information that we maintain in electronic form, we will provide the information in electronic form to you
or directly to a third party of your choice. For providing an electronic copy of your health information, we will
charge you only our labor costs in responding to your request. We may deny your request in certain very limited
circumstances. If you are denied access to your health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed.
Another licensed health care professional chosen by the office will review your request and the denial. The
person conducting the review will not be the person who denied your request. We will comply with the outcome
of the review.
Right to Ask for Changes: If you believe that health information we have about you is incorrect or
incomplete, you may ask us to change or add to the information. You have the right to ask for a change or
addition for as long as the information is kept by the office. You should contact the privacy officer listed at the
end of this notice to get the required form. All requests for changes or additions to your health information must
be made in writing. You must give us a reason for your request. We may deny your request if it is does not
include an appropriate reason to support the request. In addition, we may deny your request if you ask us to
change or add to information that we did not create (unless the person or entity that created the information is
no longer available to make the change or addition), information that is not part of the health information kept
by the office, information that is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy
or information that is already accurate and complete.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures
of your health information made by us or our business associates. We are not required to account for disclosures
in the following categories: disclosures made to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations,
disclosures to you, disclosures made pursuant to your authorizations, disclosures to persons involved in your
care and certain other special disclosures described in federal privacy regulations. To ask for a list of disclosures
that we are required to report, you should contact the privacy officer listed at the end of this notice to get the
form you will need to fill out for this purpose. Your request must be in writing and state a time period no longer
than six years before the date of the request. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (for
example, on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a twelve month period will be free. For
additional lists, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list. We will notify you of the cost involved and
you may choose to withdraw or modify your request before any costs are incurred.
Right to a Paper Copy of this Notice: You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to
give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are
still entitled to a paper copy of this notice. To obtain a paper copy of this notice, please contact the privacy officer
listed at the end of this notice or ask any of our staff members.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated at any of our offices or by any of our staff members or business
associates, you may file a complaint with our dental practice or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services. To file a complaint, contact the privacy officer listed at the end of this notice or ask any of our staff
members. All complaints must be submitted in writing. We will not retaliate against you or penalize you in any way
for filing a complaint.
Contact Information
Tebo Dental Group, Privacy Officer, phone: 770-925-3300, mailing address: P.O. Box 1953 Lilburn, Georgia 30048-1953.