There are a few categories of information we normally collect. The first is personal information such as name, address, other contact information, insurance information, and financial/billing information, which may include credit card numbers and other such information. To the extent we collect credit card information, it is done in compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).
We also collect and generate personal health information including such things as:
We believe it is important that you know how we use your information. First, we only collect, use and disclose information about you for the following purposes:
While the above list is rather long, we believe it better to be over-inclusive. Many of the items listed above are unlikely to apply to you.
Before personal information is used or disclosed for a purpose not previously identified, we will advise you of this new purpose or disclosure and will only proceed with your consent.
When we communicate with you, we may communicate via electronic means, such as e-mail or SMS text message. We strive to ensure that our Commercial Electronic Messages (“CEMs”) are sent with consent, identifying information and unsubscribe mechanisms. We require all CEMs from our Office to be in compliance with privacy and anti-SPAM laws. If and when we communicate with you using CEMs, you can opt out of receiving such messages by following the “Unsubscribe” link included at the bottom of such messages or by contacting our office practice manager. Any questions or concerns with respect to CEMs from our Office may be addressed by calling us directly at 905-839-5951. If our Office inadvertently sends out a CEM without consent, we commit to investigating every such instance and assisting the employee(s) or managers involved with renewing their understanding and awareness of our compliance responsibilities.
Your information may be kept in physical form (files, models, etc.) in which case it is either guarded by staff or stored in a locked and secure file cabinet or safe. Digital information may be stored on encrypted file servers in secure/access-controlled locations. Digital information is password protected and stored on systems which save audit trails in the event unauthorized access must be investigated. Our systems are protected by industry standard IT security hardware and software measures.
We may enter into agreements with third-party providers specializing in data storage and protection. Sometimes that data is securely stored in the cloud, which may include locations outside of Canada. In those instances, only persons contractually obligated to secure and protect your data will be able to access that data. We will only enter into contractual agreements with providers which meet Canadian legal standards and requirements for storage and protection of personal health information.
We may also share aggregate and non-identifiable data with research institutions or third-party providers to advance oral health care. This is explicitly permitted by legislation as it poses minimal to no risk to patients but has the potential to greatly enhance health care effectiveness. We will only share such data with persons or providers who enter into the necessary agreements to keep information confidential and to safeguard and protect such data.
Your health information is stored for the minimum retention periods as required by applicable law or regulation, after which, it is either destroyed or made anonymous.
To meet the complex and every-changing requirements of dental practice and practice administration, we partner with experts to improve the health care services we deliver and to administer our dental offices more effectively.
In addition to the independent duty of each health care provider to respect and safeguard your privacy rights, our dentists and health care providers partner with Dr. Larry Podolsky Dentistry Professional Corporation which, among other things, is our designated corporate custodian for patient health information. Dentalcorp Health Services, ULC (“DHS”) acts as our designated Information Manager in addition to providing technical services to our office.
As Information Manager, DHS utilizes best industry standards and technology along with a robust cybersecurity program to protect patient privacy and to ensure compliance with all local and federal laws.
We use Remarketing to advertise our practice across the Internet.
Remarketing will display ads to you based on what parts of our website you have viewed by placing a cookie on your web browser.
This cookie does not in any way identify you or give access to your computer or mobile device.
The cookie is used to indicate to other websites that “This person visited a particular page, so show them ads relating to that page.”
Remarketing allows us to tailor our marketing to better suit your needs and only display ads that are relevant to you.
If you do not wish to see ads from us, you can opt out in several ways:
