Privacy in oral care practice:
For proper oral care treatment, it is necessary to compile a dental file of each patient(s). The file contains notes on his/her dental condition, data on the treatments carried out and reports of examinations. It also includes data requested elsewhere, for example from his/her general practitioner, with his/her consent. Conversely, data from the file may be provided to other healthcare providers. This will not occur if he/she expressly objects. The data may also be used by an observer or for consultation with other oral health professionals.
A limited amount of data from the file is used for financial administration. Data from the file will also be provided to others if required by law.
Data security:
The practice ensures that the data is stored securely, that it is not lost and does not fall into unauthorized hands. Only persons directly involved in the treatment have access to the data. For example, the assistant or an observer. They only have access to those data in the file that are necessary for their task. These persons are of course obliged to maintain confidentiality.
Retention period:
The general data retention period is 20 years. It may occur that the data must be kept longer, for example, because it is important for long-term or recurrent treatments. The initiative for longer retention may also come from the patient(s).
Right to inspect, copy, correct, supplement and shield:
The patient(s) has the right to see his/her records and may request a (photo) copy of the records. If the patient(s) is of the opinion that the data in his/her file are incorrect in terms of content, he/she may ask for them to be corrected. He/she may also request that an (additional) statement issued by the oral care provider regarding the data be added to the file. He/she may also, if he/she appreciates the preservation of the data, request that (certain) data be protected from others. The patient(s) should receive a response as soon as possible, but in any case within four weeks.
Right of deletion and destruction:
The patient(s) may request the destruction of (part of) his/her data. This request must be executed within three months, unless it is plausible that keeping the data is of substantial interest to someone other than the patient(e), because a legal provision prohibits destruction.
Complaints:
Every patient(s) has the option of filing a complaint with the Personal Data Authority.