We want your time with us to be as comfortable and easy as possible. For your convenience, we provide our new patients with an online portal where they can fill out their new patient forms from the comfort of their own home.
Please take a moment to fill out your new patient forms and submit them prior to your first visit to Great Smile Dental.
Port St. Lucie, FL 34984
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DOH’S HIPAA INFORMATION PRIVACY AND SECURITY
In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). One
component of HIPAA was to streamline the process to exchange information and to make health
information more readily accessible to patients.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule went into effect it April 2003 and created a federal standard for protecting the privacy of health information. The Privacy Rule also requires DOH to comply with Florida laws that provide
greater protection to patients.
HIPAA and You
The Privacy Rule, generally prohibits the use and disclosure of health information without written
permission from the patient. The Privacy Rule also gives patient’s rights to access their medical and billing
records, request amendments to those records, and obtain an accounting of disclosure of protected health
information. The Department’s Notice of Privacy Practices further describes the use and disclosure of
patient medical information and how patients may obtain access to their information.
What does the Privacy Rule require?
The Privacy Rule prohibits the use or disclosure of protected health information or PHI, unless the patient
has signed an authorization to disclose PHI.
What is PHI?
PHI is defined as any health information created or received by a health care provider that: (1) identifies
and individual; and (2) relates to that individual’s past, present, or future physical or mental health condition
or to payment for health care.
Protected health information includes information in any form or medium, from a paper medical record to a
conversation between colleagues consulting on the care of a patient.
What is the Notice of Privacy Practices?
The Notice of Privacy Practices explains to patients the ways DOH is allowed to use a patient’s protected
health information and lists the rights patients have with respect to their health information.
What is an Authorization to Disclose?
A written document signed by the patient giving permission for a health care provider to disclose PHI to
specified individuals and/or entities.
A patient’s authorization to disclose is not required for the following purposes:
• For the treatment of a patient
• For payment of or billing for services
• For health care operations (for example, quality assurance, credentialing, audits, compliance
monitoring)
Protected health information may also be provided to patient caregivers (for example family members) but
only if the patient expressly agrees or impliedly consents.
Certain disclosure may also be made by a health care provider without patient authorization to accomplish
public health activities and other permitted uses as set forth in the Privacy Rule.