Weybridge Dental Care is committed to complying with the 1998 Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This Policy outlines our procedures for processing personal information about our patients in a fair and lawful manner.
To provide our patients with high-quality dental care, we need to collect and hold personal data, which includes:
Personal details, such as name, age, address, phone numbers, email address, and general medical practitioner.
Past and current medical and dental condition.
Radiographs, clinical photographs, and study models.
Information about the treatment provided or proposed and its cost.
Notes of conversations or incidents that require a record.
Records of consent to treatment.
Correspondence with other healthcare professionals, such as referrals to specialists.
We need to maintain comprehensive and accurate personal data about our patients to ensure they receive safe and appropriate dental care.
We will process personal data about you as follows:
We will retain your dental records as long as you are a practice patient. If you cease to be a patient, we will continue to hold them for at least eleven years or until you reach the age of 25 if you are a child, whichever is longer.
Your personal data will be stored in the practice's computer system and/or manual filing system. Only authorized staff members have access to this information, and it is not accessible to the public. Our computer system has secure audit trails, and we back up information every working day.
To provide proper and safe dental care, we may need to disclose your personal information to:
Your general medical practitioner.
The hospital or community dental services.
Other health professionals caring for you.
Dental insurance companies and private dental schemes of which you are a member.
Disclosure will take place on a “need-to-know” basis, and only those individuals/organizations who require the information to provide care to you and for the proper administration of government will receive it. The recipient will only be given the information they need to know for these purposes.
In limited circumstances, or when required by law or court order, we may have to disclose personal data to a third party not involved in your dental care. In all other situations, disclosure not covered by this Policy will only occur when we have your specific consent. Whenever possible, we will inform you of these requests for disclosure.
You have the right to access the data we hold about you and receive a copy. Access can be obtained by making a written request, and we will charge a fee of £10 for copied records. If you request copies of x-rays, an additional fee of £40 will apply. We will provide a copy of the record within 40 days of receiving the request and fee, along with an explanation of your record if required.
If you move to another dental practice, we may (at our discretion) loan original x-rays and provide copy notes directly to the new practice, free of charge, upon receiving a written request from them.
If you do not wish for us to disclose or use personal data we hold about you in the manner described in this Policy, please discuss the matter with your dentist. Please note that if you object, it may affect our ability to provide you with dental care.
