Family Dental Care Vanier — Privacy Policy

Our commitment to your privacy

Family Dental Care Vanier protects the personal and health information you trust us with, and uses it only to care for you. This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, how we keep it safe, and the choices you have.

As a dental practice in Ontario, we are a health information custodian under Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA). Our dentists also follow the record-keeping and confidentiality standards of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO). Personal information collected through our website that is not health information is handled in line with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

This policy covers all information we collect: in person at our office at 25 Montréal Road, Vanier, Ottawa, ON K1L 6E8, by phone and email, and through our website.

Effective date: [Insert date of publication]

Last updated: [Insert date]

Information we collect

We collect only the information we need to provide your dental care, bill for it, and run our practice.

From patients:

• Contact details: name, address, phone number, email address and date of birth
• Health card and insurance details: insurer, policy and member numbers, and Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) information
• Health and dental history: medical conditions, medications, allergies and past dental treatment
• Clinical records: examination notes, charts, diagnoses, treatment plans and consent forms
• Images and models: X-rays, intraoral photos, digital scans and impressions
• Payment and billing information: invoices, payments and account balances
• Emergency contact and guardian details, where applicable
• Records from other providers, such as previous dentists or specialists, with your consent

From website visitors:

• Information you choose to send us through our booking or contact form, such as your name, phone number, email address and message
• Technical information collected automatically, such as your browser and device type, pages visited, time on site, the site that referred you and access times, as described in Our website below

We collect information directly from you whenever possible. We may collect it from others, such as your physician, a previous dentist or your insurer, only with your consent or where the law allows.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Assess, diagnose and treat you, and plan your ongoing care
• Keep accurate clinical records, as required by the RCDSO
• Schedule appointments and send reminders by phone, text or email
• Process insurance and CDCP claims, and bill for services
• Respond to your questions and booking requests
• Coordinate care with specialists, laboratories and other providers involved in your treatment
• Meet our legal, regulatory and professional obligations
• Improve our services and the patient experience

We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we do not use your health information for marketing. If we ever want to use your information for a purpose not listed here, we will ask for your consent first.

Your consent

We rely on your consent to collect, use and share your information, except where the law permits or requires otherwise. Simply browsing our website does not count as consent to share your health information.

Implied consent. When you come to us for care, you give implied consent for us to collect and use your information to treat you, and to share it with others directly involved in your care, such as a specialist we refer you to or the dental lab making your crown. You can tell us at any time that you do not want specific information shared with a particular provider.

Express consent. We ask for your clear permission, verbally or in writing, before we share your information with anyone outside your circle of care, such as an employer, a lawyer, or a family member who is not your substitute decision-maker.

Children and substitute decision-makers. A parent or guardian generally gives consent for a child's dental care. A person who can understand the information and its consequences can make their own decisions, whatever their age. A substitute decision-maker may act for a patient who cannot consent.

Withdrawing consent. You may withdraw or limit your consent at any time by telling us. Withdrawal does not apply to information already shared, and it may limit the care or billing services we can provide. We will explain the effect before you decide. We cannot withdraw information we are legally required to keep or disclose.

When we share your information

We share only the minimum information needed for the purpose, and only with:

• Other health care providers involved in your care, such as specialists, your physician or a pharmacist
• Dental laboratories that make crowns, dentures, aligners and other appliances
• Your insurer, or Sun Life on behalf of the Canadian Dental Care Plan, to submit claims and confirm coverage
• Service providers who help us run the practice, such as practice-management software, secure IT support, appointment reminders and record storage. They are bound by confidentiality agreements and may use your information only to provide their service.
• Our other Family Dental Care clinics, only when you choose to be seen at another location and ask us to share your records
• Another dentist or provider you choose, when you ask us to transfer your records
• Regulators and authorities when the law requires it, for example the RCDSO, a court order, or to prevent a significant risk of serious harm

Records are never withheld from transfer because of an outstanding account balance.

Some of our service providers may store information on secure servers outside Ontario or Canada, where it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction. We choose providers that protect information to a standard comparable to ours.

Our website

Booking and contact forms. When you use a form on our website, we collect only what you enter, such as your name, phone number, email and message. We use it to respond to you and book your visit. Please don't include detailed health information in a web form or email. We'll discuss that with you by phone or in person.

Email and text. Standard email and text messages are not fully secure. If you contact us this way, or ask us to reply this way, you accept that risk. We keep clinical details in these messages to a minimum.

Security. Our website uses SSL encryption to protect information you send through it.

Cookies and analytics. Our website uses cookies, small files stored in your browser, to make the site work and to understand how visitors use it. These tools may record your browser and device type, pages viewed, time spent, the site that referred you and access times. This information is reported in aggregate. We do not link it to your personal information unless needed to enforce our site's terms or comply with the law. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the site may not work as well if you do.

Embedded maps and social links. Our site may include a Google Map and links to our social media pages. Those services may collect information under their own privacy policies when you interact with them.

Third-party websites. Links to other websites are provided for convenience. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices, and we encourage you to read their policies.

Children. Our website is not directed at children. Parents or guardians should contact us and book on a child's behalf.

How we protect your information

We use physical, technical and administrative safeguards suited to the sensitivity of your information:

• Physical: paper records and devices are kept in secure areas, with access limited to authorized staff
• Technical: password-protected systems, encryption, secure (SSL) connections for our website, and regular backups
• Administrative: every team member signs a confidentiality agreement and receives privacy training; staff access only the information they need for their role
• Secure disposal: paper records are shredded and electronic data is permanently erased when no longer needed
• Regular review of our privacy and security practices

If a breach happens. We have an incident response plan. If your health information is lost, stolen, or used or disclosed without authorization, we will notify you at the first reasonable opportunity. We will explain what happened, what information was involved, what we are doing about it, what you can do to protect yourself, and that you may complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Where PHIPA requires it, we will also report the breach to the Commissioner.

How long we keep your records

We keep your records for as long as the RCDSO requires, then destroy them securely.

Record

How long we keep it

Clinical and financial records, X-rays, specialist reports, prescriptions

At least 10 years after the last entry in your record

Records of patients under 18

At least 10 years after the patient's 18th birthday, or 10 years after the last entry if that is later

Study models

The same period as the patient record

Insurance claim forms

At least 2 years from submission

Website booking and contact requests

Only as long as needed to respond and book your visit, unless they become part of your patient record

We may keep records longer if they are the subject of an access request, complaint or legal proceeding.

Your rights

See your records. You have the right to see and get a copy of your dental record, including X-rays and photos. Send your request to our Privacy Officer. We will respond in writing within 30 days, and sooner where we can. If we need more time, we will tell you why. We may charge a fee limited to reasonable cost recovery for copies, and we will give you an estimate first. In rare cases the law allows us to refuse access, such as where it could cause serious harm. If so, we will explain why in writing.

Correct your records. If you believe information in your record is inaccurate or incomplete, you can ask us to correct it. If we agree, we will update it and, where reasonable, tell anyone we shared it with. If we disagree, you can add a statement of disagreement to your file.

Transfer your records. With your written consent, we will send copies of your records to another dentist or provider, usually within one to two weeks.

Limit or withdraw consent. See Your consent above.

Make a complaint. If you have a concern, please contact our Privacy Officer first. We take every concern seriously and will try to resolve it quickly. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to:

• Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario for health information: www.ipc.on.ca, 1-800-387-0073. Complaints are generally made within one year of you becoming aware of the issue.
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada for website and other non-health personal information: www.priv.gc.ca
• Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario for concerns about a dentist's professional conduct: www.rcdso.org

Contact our Privacy Officer

For questions about this policy, to request your records, or to raise a concern, contact:

Privacy Officer, Family Dental Care Vanier: [Name of Privacy Officer]

• Address: 25 Montréal Road, Vanier, Ottawa, ON K1L 6E8
• Phone: (613) 656-1400
• Email: [Insert clinic email]
• Office hours: Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Changes to this policy

We review this policy regularly and update it when our practices or the law change. The current version is always posted on this page, with the date it was last updated. A printed copy is available at our front desk on request.

Before publishing (remove this section)

I couldn't read the current Vanier policy: the redesign page loads its text with JavaScript, and familydentalcarevanier.ca blocks automated reading. This draft follows the structure of the Greely and Walkley redesign policies, which came from the same template, with Vanier's address, phone and hours. Compare it against the live Vanier page and carry over anything Vanier-specific.

If the Vanier page shares the template's issues, this draft already fixes them. It drops the US COPPA reference, covers office records as well as website data, and doesn't treat browsing the site as consent.

This is a plain-language draft, not legal advice. Have the clinic, and ideally a lawyer or the RCDSO Practice Advisory Service, review it before it goes live.

• Insert the effective and last-updated dates
• Name the Privacy Officer, or confirm the title-only listing is acceptable
• Add the clinic's email address
• Confirm the legal business name (other branches' footers say Dr. Sidhu Family Dental Care)
• Confirm the website domain the policy will sit on (familydentalcarevanier.ca or montrealfamilydental.ca)
• Confirm whether the clinic serves patients in French; if so, publish a French version of this policy too
• Confirm whether records are shared between the four Family Dental Care clinics; delete that bullet if not
• List the analytics and cookie tools the website actually uses, and add a cookie banner if needed
• Confirm whether the site embeds a Google Map and which social media pages it links to
• Confirm whether appointment reminders go by text, email or both
• Confirm whether any service provider stores data outside Canada; delete that paragraph if none does
• If the clinic sends a newsletter or marketing email, add an unsubscribe line (Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation applies)
• Check the IPC phone number before publishing
• Confirm whether a copy fee is charged for record requests

Sources

• Family Dental Care group site, ottawadentist.ca: Vanier address, phone and hours
• RCDSO: Information on dental recordkeeping: retention periods, record transfer, fees
• RCDSO Practice Advisory: Release and Transfer of Patient Records: transfer within one to two weeks; parts marked no longer in effect
• Ontario Bar Association: Health Information and Privacy Law in Ontario: PHIPA access timelines, breach notification, complaint deadline