Sesame Communications™

Public Service Announcement

Released: Tuesday, March 2, 2004

Important Patient Information

Data Rights Clarified

In a February 2004 settlement, PracticeWorks® , the largest practice management software vendor in the dental industry, acknowledged that doctors may use and access patient data through third party products like Ortho Sesame.

As orthodontists and other dental professionals expand their use of databases to store, access and update their patient records and patient information, questions sometimes arise over data usage or access rights.

A doctor is free to access and use the data stored in his or her practice management software.

A doctor may choose to make patient information available to other HIPAA-compliant vendors to provide additional technology benefits to the practice.

Understanding this is critical for orthodontists and dentists to make informed technology choices. Patient information is a valuable practice asset that can and should be used to the full benefit of the practice.

Patient information includes:

• Patient personal data (phone number, address, birthdate, Social Security Number, etc.)
• Scheduling information
• Billing and insurance payment history
• Digital images and other treatment records

Users of the information include:

• The orthodontic or dental practice or doctor(s)
• The practice management software vendor whose product stores the data
• Other suppliers whose technologies utilize the data to provide additional services

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