The HIPAA Privacy Rule

• HIPAA is applicable to protected health information. Protected health information is any oral or written information about a patient that relates to the physical or mental condition of a patient. HIPAA applies to "covered entities," which are statutorily defined as those entities which receive, use or are exposed to protected, private patient health information. Therefore, dentists offices are included in HIPAA's reach.

HIPAA Privacy Rule Compliance

• In order to comply with HIPAA, it is necessary for a dental office to take measures to protect the patients' protected health information. One routine dental office procedure to comply with HIPAA includes having patients sign a document which states who can receive their health information. Furthermore, the dental office must create and maintain a HIPAA privacy policy and procedures in order to comply with the privacy rule. In addition, the office usually presents an explanation of the privacy policies and procedures for the patients' review and acknowledgement.
  

• Privacy Policy