NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of protected health information, to provide individuals with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to protected health information, and to notify affected individuals following a breach of unsecured protected health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect February 16, 2026 and will remain in effect until we replace it.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law, and to make new Notice provisions effective for all protected health information that we maintain. When we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and post the new Notice clearly and prominently at our practice location, and we will provide copies of the new Notice upon request.

You may request a copy of our Notice at any time. For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

We may use and disclose your health information for different purposes, including treatment, payment, and health care operations. For each of these categories, we have provided a description and an example. Some information. such as HIV-related information, genetic information, alcohol and/or substance use disorder treatment records, and mental health records may be entitled to special confidentiality protections under applicable state or federal law. We will abide by these special protections as they pertain to applicable cases involving these types of records.

Treatment. We may use and disclose your health information for your treatment. For example, we may disclose your health information to a specialist providing treatment to you.

Payment. We may use and disclose your health information to obtain reimbursement for the treatment and services you receive from us or another entity involved with your care. Payment activities include billing, collections, claims management, and determinations of eligibility and coverage to obtain payment from you, an insurance company, or another third party. For example, we may send claims to your dental health plan containing certain health information.

Healthcare Operations. We may use and disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations. For example, healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvement activities, conducting training programs, and licensing activities.

Individuals Involved in Your Care or Payment for Your Care.
We may disclose your health information to your family or friends or any other individual identified by you when they participate in your care or in the payment for your care, Additionally, we may disclose information about you to a patient representative. If a person has the authority by law to make health care decisions for you, we will treat that patient representative the same way we would treat you with respect to your health information.

Disaster Relief. We may use or disclose your health information to assist in disaster relief efforts.

Required by Law. We may use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law. Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information for public health activities, including disclosures to:

• Prevent or control disease, injury or disability;
• Report child abuse or neglect;
• Report reactions to medications or problems with products or devices; Notify a person of a recall, repair, or replacement of products or devices;
• Notify a person who may have been exposed to a disease or condition; or
• Notify the appropriate government authority if we believe a patient has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

National Security. We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement official having lawful custody the protected health information of an inmate or patient.

Secretary Of HHS. We will disclose your health information to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services when required to investigate or determine compliance with HIPAA.

Worker’s Compensation. We may disclose your PHI to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to worker’s compensation or other similar programs established by law.

Law Enforcement. We may disclose your PHI for law enforcement purposes as permitted by HIPAA, as required by law, or in response to subpoena or court order.

Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your PHI to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law. These oversight activities include audits, investigations, inspections, and credentialing, as necessary for licensure and 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 PHI in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose health information about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process instituted by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made, either by the requesting party or us, to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

Research. We may disclose your PHI to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board or privacy board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. We may release your PHI to a coroner or medical examiner. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death. We may also disclose PHI to funeral directors consistent with applicable law to enable them to perform their duties.

Fundraising. We may contact you to provide you with information about our sponsored activities, including fundraising programs, as permitted by applicable law. If you do not wish to receive such information from us, you may opt out of receiving the communications.

SUD Treatment Information. If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR Part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment and health care operations purposes as described in this Notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program record through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us.

In no event will we use or disclose your Part 2 Program record, or testimony that describes the information contained in your Part 2 Program record, in any civil, criminal, administrative or legislative proceedings by any Federal, State, or local authority, against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.

OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PHI

Your authorization is required, with few exceptions, for disclosure of psychotherapy notes, use or disclosure of PHI for marketing, and for the sale of PHI. We will also obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your PHI for purposes other than those provided for in this Notice (or as otherwise permitted or required by law). You may revoke an authorization in writing at any times Upon receipt of the written revocation, we will stop using or disclosing your PHI, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance on the authorization.

YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION RIGHTS

Access. You have the right to look at or get copies of your health information, with limited exceptions. You must make the request in writing. You may obtain a form to request access by using the contact information listed at the end of this Notice. You may also request access by sending us a letter to the address at the end of this Notice. If you request information that we maintain on paper, we may provide photocopies. If you request information that we maintain electronically, you have the right to an electronic copy. We will use the form and format you request if readily producible. We will charge you a reasonable cost-based fee for the cost of supplies and labor of copying, and for postage if you want copies mailed to you. Contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice for an explanation of our fee structure.

If you are denied a request for access, you have the right to have the denial reviewed in accordance with the requirements of applicable law.

Disclosure Accounting. With the exception of certain disclosures, you have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. To request an accounting of disclosures of your health information, you must submit your request in writing to the Privacy Official. If you request this accounting more than once in a 12-rnonth period, we may Charge you a reasonable, cost-based fee for responding to the additional requests.

Right to Request a Restriction. You have the right to request additional restrictions on our use or disclosure of your PHI by submitting a written request to the Privacy Official. Your written request must include (1) what information you want to limit, (2) whether you want to limit our use, disclosure or both, and (3) to whom you want the limits to apply. We are not required to agree to your request except in the case where the disclosure is to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations, and the information pertains solely to a health care item or service for which you, or a person on your behalf (Other than the health plan), has paid our practice in full.

Alternative Communication. You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or at alternative locations. You must make your request in writing. Your request must specify the alternative means or location, and provide satisfactory explanation of how payments will be handled under the alternative means or location you request. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. However, if we are unable to contact you using the ways or locations you have requested, we may contact you using the information we have.

 Amendment. You have the right to request that we amend your health information. Your request must be in writing, and it must explain why the information should be amended. We may deny your request under certain circumstances. If we agree to your request, we will amend your record(s) and notify you of such. If we deny your request for an amendment, we will provide you with a written explanation of why we denied it and explain your rights.

Right to Notification of a Breach. You will receive notifications of breaches of your unsecured protected health information as required by law.

Electronic Notice. You may receive a paper copy of this Notice upon request, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice electronically on our Web site or by electronic mail (e-mail).

QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS
If you are concerned that we may have violated your privacy rights, or if you disagree with a decision we made about access to your health information or in response to a request you made to amend or restrict the use or disclosure of your health information or to have us communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations, you may complain to us using the contact information listed at the end Of this Notice. You also may submit a written complaint to the US, Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request.

We support your right to the privacy of your health information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

If you want more information about our privacy practices or have questions or concerns, please contact us as indicated below.  

Contact Officer: Nicole McFadden
Address: 1523 N. Market St.
Telephone: 937-335-4630
Fax: 937-335-5174
Email:  main@bentleydds.com

Excellence in Dentistry
NOTICE OF MATERIAL CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES POLICY

EFFECTIVE: FEBRUARY 16, 2026

BACKGROUND

The Health Insurance and Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) gives individuals the right to be informed of their healthcare providers’ privacy practices and the right to understand and control how their health information is used. Healthcare providers are required to develop and distribute a notice that provides a clear explanation of these rights and practices. Our Practice has made material changes to our privacy practices, consistent with legal changes to HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). We will be providing all of our patients with our revised and updated Notice of Privacy Practices, and requesting a signed acknowledgment of receipt from each patient. We have updated this Notice of Privacy Practices to reflect changes in federal law and how we protect certain sensitive health information. The most important changes are summarized below.

SUMMARY OF MATERIAL CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES (EFFECTIVE 2/16/26):

• Additional Protections for Substance Use Disorder Records: Records related to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment receive enhanced confidentiality protections under federal law. These records are subject to stricter rules regarding how they may be used and disclosed.

• Restrictions on Use in Legal Proceedings: SUD records generally may not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against you without your written consent or a qualifying court order that meets specific legal requirements.

• Consent for Certain Uses and Disclosures: Some uses and disclosures of SUD records require your specific written consent, even when similar information might otherwise be shared under HIPAA for treatment, payment, or health care operations.

• Fundraising Communications: If we use health information for fundraising purposes, you have the right to opt out of receiving fundraising communications. Your decision will not affect your treatment or payment for services.

• When Other Privacy Laws Are More Protective: When federal or state laws provide greater privacy protections than HIPAA (such as laws governing SUD records), we will follow the more protective law.

• Redisclosure Notice: Once health information is disclosed as permitted by law, it may be subject to redisclosure by the recipient and may no longer be protected by HIPAA. However, SUD records remain subject to additional restrictions on redisclosure.

If you would like additional information regarding our privacy practices, or if you have questions or concerns, please contact us as indicated below.  

Contact Officer: Nicole McFadden
Address: 1523 N. Market St.
Telephone: 937-335-4630
Fax: 937-335-5174
Email: main@bentleydds.com