Tim Howard DDS
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
We understand that your health information is personal and we are committed to protecting it. This notice explains your rights regarding your protected health information and describes how we may use and share your health information in our dental practice.
Effective Date: January 1, 2025
Last Updated: September 12, 2025
This notice applies to all employees, staff, and other personnel of Tim Howard DDS who may have access to your protected health information.
We typically use or share your health information for the following purposes:
We use your health information to provide you with dental treatment and services. We may share your information with other healthcare providers involved in your care, such as specialists, laboratories, or other dental professionals. For example, we may send your X-rays to a specialist for consultation about your treatment.
We use and share your health information to receive payment for the treatment and services we provide to you. This may include sharing information with your health insurance plan to verify coverage, determine benefits, and process claims. For example, we may need to give your health plan information about the dental work you received so your health plan will pay us or reimburse you.
We may use and share your health information for our healthcare operations, which include activities that are necessary to run our practice and ensure that all our patients receive quality care. For example, we may use your information to review our treatment and services, evaluate the performance of our staff, or for business planning and development.
We may contact you to remind you of appointments or to provide information about treatment alternatives or other health-related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
We may also use or share your health information in the following situations without your written permission:
We will share information about you when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
We may share your health information for public health activities, including reporting diseases, injuries, vital events, and public health surveillance, investigations, and interventions.
We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, inspections, licensure, and similar activities.
We may disclose your health information in response to a court order, administrative order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, but only if efforts have been made to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.
We may release your health information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official in certain situations, such as reporting certain injuries or physical harm.
We may use or disclose your health information when necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public. We will only make disclosures to a person or organization able to help prevent the threat.
We may disclose your health information to the extent authorized by and to the extent necessary to comply with laws relating to workers' compensation or other similar programs.
We may release your health information to a coroner or medical examiner when authorized by law. This may be necessary, for example, to identify a deceased person or determine the cause of death.
Under certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your health information for research purposes, but only when the research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of your information.
If you are a member of the armed forces, we may release your health information as required by military command authorities. We may also release your health information for national security purposes or to correctional institutions or law enforcement officials if you are in their lawful custody.
We may share your health information with third parties that perform various activities for our practice. For example, we may use a company to handle our billing. All of our business associates are obligated to protect your health information and are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than as specified in our contract.
Unless you object, we may disclose your health information to a family member, other relative, close personal friend, or other person you identify who is involved in your medical care or helps pay for your care.
In emergency situations, we may disclose health information if doing so is in your best interests and we are unable to obtain your agreement.
If applicable, we may include your information in a facility directory while you are a patient at our office.
Except as described in this Notice of Privacy Practices, we will not use or disclose your health information without your written authorization. If you give us authorization to use or disclose your health information, you may revoke that authorization in writing at any time. If you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your health information for the reasons covered by your written authorization, but we cannot take back any uses or disclosures already made with your authorization.
We must obtain your authorization before we use or disclose psychotherapy notes about you for any purpose, except for very limited circumstances.
We must obtain your authorization before we use or disclose your health information for marketing purposes with limited exceptions, such as face-to-face marketing communications or promotional gifts of nominal value.
We must obtain your authorization before we disclose your health information in exchange for remuneration (payment), with limited exceptions.
If we create or maintain records subject to the federal substance use disorder confidentiality regulations (42 CFR Part 2), we will not disclose those records for legal proceedings without your written consent or unless specifically permitted by federal law. This includes heightened protections for information related to substance use disorder diagnosis, treatment, or referral.
You have the following rights regarding the health information we maintain about you:
You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the health information we use or disclose about you for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You also have the right to request a limit on the health information we disclose about you to someone who is involved in your care or the payment for your care, such as a family member or friend.
We are not required to agree to your request except in one situation: if you pay out of pocket in full for a service, you can ask us not to share information about that service with your health insurance plan, and we must agree unless sharing the information is required by law.
To request restrictions, you must make your request in writing. In your request, you must tell us what information you want to limit, whether you want to limit our use or disclosure or both, and to whom you want the limits to apply.
You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or at a certain location. For example, you can ask that we contact you only at work or by mail. We will accommodate all reasonable requests. Your request must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
You have the right to inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. Usually, this includes medical and billing records.
To inspect and copy health information that may be used to make decisions about you, you must submit your request in writing. We may charge a reasonable fee for the costs of copying, mailing, or other supplies associated with your request. We may deny your request to inspect and copy in certain limited circumstances. If you are denied access to health information, you may request that the denial be reviewed.
If you feel that health information we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information. You have the right to request an amendment for as long as the information is kept by or for our practice.
To request an amendment, your request must be made in writing and submitted to our Privacy Officer. In addition, you must provide a reason that supports your request. We may deny your request for an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. We may also deny your request if the information was not created by us, if the information is not part of the health information kept by or for our practice, if the information is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect and copy, or if the information is accurate and complete.
You have the right to request an "accounting of disclosures." This is a list of disclosures we made of health information about you other than those made for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, or those made with your authorization.
To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must submit your request in writing. Your request must state a time period, which may not be longer than six years. Your request should indicate in what form you want the list (such as on paper or electronically). The first list you request within a 12-month period will be free. For additional lists within the same 12-month period, we may charge you for the costs of providing the list.
You have the right to a paper copy of this notice. You may ask us to give you a copy of this notice at any time. Even if you have agreed to receive this notice electronically, you are still entitled to a paper copy of this notice.
We reserve the right to change this notice. We reserve the right to make the revised or changed notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as any information we receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in our office. The notice will contain the effective date in the upper right-hand corner of the first page.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our practice or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.
To file a complaint with our practice:
Privacy Officer: Tim Howard, DDS
Address: 1324 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: 954-998-3527
Email: info@timhowarddds.com
To file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
You may file online at: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints/index.html
Or send a written complaint to:
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.
Privacy Officer: Tim Howard, DDS
Address: 1324 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Phone: 954-998-3527
Email: info@timhowarddds.com
If you have questions about this notice or need more information about our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer using the information listed above.