Privacy Policy
At Greenwoods Dental & Surgical Centres (GWD), we are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in accordance with the Canadian Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Personal Health Information Act (PHIA) and other privacy regulations and best practices.
To provide you with optimized oral health care and excellent services, we use, store, and analyse certain personal health information that we (a) collect from you, (b) generate through diagnostic testing and treatment planning, or (c) receive from your other health care providers.
We will not collect, disclose, or use any of your information without your knowledge or consent. Only persons with a clinical (or related administrative) need to know a piece of information will be granted access to that information. In the same vein, we embrace the principle that only the necessary amount of information shall be disclosed for any task or function. Our staff are trained on the importance of keeping your information safe, secure, and confidential.
You can contact our Privacy Officer at [email protected] , should you have any questions or concerns. We appreciate your feedback.
1. Consent
By visiting our website (https://greenwoodsdental.com) and sharing your personal information with us, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information as outlined in this Privacy Policy. At any time, you have the right to remove your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information, subject to reasonable notice and a request in writing to the address below.
2. Collection of Personal Information
We collect personal information directly from you when you visit our website, contact us through online forms, or engage with us via email or other electronic communication channels. There are a few categories of information we normally collect. The first is personal information such as name, address, date of birth, 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:
- Medical history
- Medications
- Dental history
- Records of dental visits, recall exams, and appointment scheduling
- Results of diagnosis and testing
- Study models, odontograms and impressions
- Treatment recommendations, treatment plans and progress notes
- Records of consent conversations and when appropriate, signed consent forms
- Referral/Specialists reports and recommendations
3. Use of Personal Information
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: to:
- Provide dental services and treatment plans,
- Communicate with you regarding appointments, reminders, and follow-up care,
- Process payments, insurance claims, and other administrative tasks,
- Respond to your inquiries and requests for information,
- Analyse and improve our website and services,
- Communicate with other health care providers, including specialists and general dentists involved in your care,
- Deliver safe and efficient patient care,
- Advise you of treatment options,
- Provide you with information about services offered at our clinic,
- Conduct teaching and research on an anonymous basis,
- Complete and submit dental claims and estimates for third party adjudication and payment,
- Comply with legal and regulatory requirements, including communication with the provincial dental regulator, privacy commissioner or any statutory review board as required under legislation,
- Comply with a court order in the event of legal proceedings,
- Invoice for goods and services,
- Process credit card, cash, and personal cheque payments,
- Collect unpaid accounts,
- For internal management purposes, such as resource planning, policy development, quality assurance, and human resource management, and
- Comply with regulatory requirements and the law generally.
While the list above may seem extensive, we prioritize inclusivity to ensure thoroughness. It is worth noting that many of the listed items may not be relevant to your situation. Prior to utilizing or revealing your personal information for a new purpose not initially stated, we will inform you of this intention and proceed only with your explicit consent.
4. Disclosure of Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to third parties in the following circumstances:
- With your consent
- To other healthcare providers involved in your treatment or referral
- To insurance companies for the purpose of processing claims
- To regulatory authorities or law enforcement agencies as required by law
5. Storage and Access to Personal Information
Your information may be stored or maintained in either physical or digital formats. For physical documents, such as files or models, security is ensured through staff supervision or by storing these items in locked and secure file cabinets or safes. Digital data, on the other hand, is safeguarded on encrypted file servers situated in areas with strict access control. Additionally, digital records are secured with passwords and managed on platforms that create audit trails, facilitating the investigation of any unauthorised access attempts.
We may form partnerships with third-party providers who specialise in data storage and protection, including secure cloud storage solutions that may be located outside of Canada. Access to your data in these instances is strictly limited to individuals who are contractually bound to maintain its security and confidentiality. We will only enter into contractual agreements with providers which meet Canadian legal standards and requirements for storage and protection of personal health information.
Furthermore, we may share anonymised and aggregate data with research institutions or third-party providers to support advancements in oral health care. Such sharing is in full compliance with legislation, as it presents minimal or no risk to patients while potentially significantly improving the effectiveness of healthcare services.
6. Safeguards
To meet the complex and ever-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 this regard, we utilize 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 take appropriate technical measures for keeping your personal information confidential and protected against accidental or unlawful destruction or loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. We use technical safeguards measures including encryption, redundancy, network security and backups.
Decisively, our sub-contractors are contractually bound to keep your personal information secure and confidential, consistent with this Privacy Policy, and are kept up-to-date on our security and privacy practices.
The security of your personal information also depends on your protection of your user account. Please use a unique and strong password, and keep your login credentials secret. Also, be sure to log out after having used our services from a shared computer.
While we take protection of your personal information very seriously, and our team always take steps to help ensure that your personal information is safe, the transmission of information via the internet is never entirely secure. In the rare event that there is a security breach, we do not accept responsibility or liability for leaked, copied, stolen or lost information.
7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website may use cookies and other tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and gather information about how you interact with our website. You can adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent.
8. Links to Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites for your convenience and information. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.
9. Rights to Access and Correct Personal Information
You have a right of access, and you can contact us to obtain a copy of any of your personal information stored by us. This may be subject to any prescribed fee permitted by applicable law. You can also ask us to make corrections to your personal information if necessary. In some cases, we may not be able to allow you to access certain personal information in particular circumstances, for example if it contains personal information of other persons, or if it falls under any legal exceptions. We may require you to verify your identity before allowing you to access your personal information.
10. Updates to Our Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to make updates to our Privacy Policy at any time. Users are responsible for periodically reviewing this Privacy Policy to learn of any revisions.
Your submission of personal information, or use of the Website, following any changes to this Privacy Policy, constitutes your acceptance of any amendments.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding the privacy of your personal information or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Greenwoods Dental & Surgical Centres
693 McPhillips Street
Winnipeg, MB R2X 2H6
Phone: (204) 774-7774 Fax: (204) 633-1143
Toll Free: 1-866-774-006
[email protected]