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Your Health Information Privacy Rights Under HIPAA

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Your records belong to your care — and your rights come with them

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HIPAA Patient Rights Summary · Last updated July 2026

Federal law — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) — gives you specific rights over the health information we create and keep while caring for you. This page explains those rights in plain English.

This page is a plain-language summary only — it summarizes, and does not replace, our full Notice of Privacy Practices, which describes in detail how health information may be used and disclosed and is available at both offices. Read the full Notice of Privacy Practices. For our general website privacy practices, see the Privacy Policy.

Get A Copy Of Your Records

You can ask to see or receive a copy of your dental and billing records, on paper or electronically. Ask our front desk or send a written request; we will provide your records within the timeframes required by law — generally within 30 days — and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.

Ask Us To Correct Your Records

If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us in writing to amend it. We may decline in certain limited situations — for example, if the record was created elsewhere — but if we do, we will explain why in writing, and you may add your own statement of disagreement to the file.

Request Confidential Communications

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way — for example, only on your mobile phone rather than at home or work, or at a particular mailing address. We will accommodate all reasonable requests, and we won't ask you why.

Ask Us To Limit What We Use Or Share

You can request restrictions on how we use or disclose your information for treatment, payment, or operations. We are not required to agree if the restriction would affect your care — but one restriction is your absolute right: if you pay for a service in full out of pocket, you may require that we not share information about that service with your health insurer.

Get A List Of Who We've Shared It With

You can request an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information made in the six years before your request — excluding routine disclosures for treatment, payment, and operations, and those you authorized. One such accounting per year is free; additional requests within twelve months may carry a reasonable, cost-based fee that we will disclose in advance.

Get A Paper Copy Of Our Full Notice

You may request a paper copy of our full Notice of Privacy Practices at any time, at either office — even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.

Choose Someone To Act For You

If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or someone is your legal guardian or personal representative, that person can exercise these rights and make choices about your health information on your behalf. We will verify their authority before acting.

How We Typically Use Your Information

  • Treatment — planning and providing your dental care, and coordinating with other clinicians involved in it.
  • Payment — billing you, your insurer, or, at your direction, a financing partner.
  • Operations — running the practice safely: quality checks, training, scheduling, and record-keeping.
  • Anything beyond purposes permitted by law — such as most uses for marketing, or any sale of your information — requires your written authorization, which you may revoke at any time.

Our Responsibilities

  • We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
  • We will tell you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised your information.
  • We must follow the duties and practices described in our Notice of Privacy Practices and give you a copy on request.
  • We will not use or share your information other than as described there unless you tell us in writing that we may — and you may change your mind at any time, in writing.

If You Believe Your Rights Were Violated

Raise it with us first if you’re comfortable — contact the office at (510) 574-0496 or info@bayareaimplantdentistry.com. You may also file a complaint directly with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights: 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201; 1-877-696-6775; or online at hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints (opens in a new tab).

We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint — with us or with anyone else. Exercising your rights will not change the care you receive here. Ever.

This summary is provided for patient education and reflects rights under HIPAA (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164). It is not legal advice and does not replace our full Notice of Privacy Practices, available at both offices. Where this summary and the full notice or applicable law differ, the notice and the law control.