NORTHWOOD DENTAL PC
802 9TH AVENUE NORTH
NORTHWOOD, IA 50459 641–324–1364
DAVID PENFOLD, D.D.S.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 16, 2026
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. THE PRIVACY OF YOUR MEDICAL INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.
CONTACT INFORMATION: For more information about our privacy practices, to discuss questions or concerns, or to get additional copies of this notice, please contact NORTHWOOD DENTAL, PC, 802 9th Avenue North, Northwood, IA 50459. 641-324-1364.
OUR LEGAL DUTY: We are required by law to protect the privacy of your protected health information (“medical information”). We are also required to provide you with this notice about our legal duties and privacy practices that are described in this notice. Under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), all medical records and other individually identifiable health information of which we have knowledge must be kept confidential. All personal health information used by us or disclosed by us is covered by this Act regardless of whether this personal health information is in electronic, oral or paper form. This remains in effect unless we replace it. We reserve the right at any time to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law. We reserve the right to make any change in our privacy practices and the new terms of our notice applicable to all medical information we maintain, including medical information we created or received before we made the change in practices. We may amend the terms of this notice at any time. If we make a material change to our policy practices, we will provide, to you, the revised notice. Any revised notice will be effective for all health information we maintain. The effective date of a revised notice will be noted. A copy of the current notice in effect will be available in our facility and on our website. You may request a copy of the current notice at any time. We collect and maintain oral, written, and electronic information to administer our business and to provide products, services and information of importance to our patients. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in the handling and maintenance of our patients’ medical information, in accordance with state and federal standards, to protect against risks such as loss, destruction, and misuse.
YOU WILL BE ASKED TO SIGN A CONSENT FORM AUTHORIZING US TO USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION ONLY FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES, AS DEFINED UNER THE ACT:
Treatment: We may disclose your medical information, without your prior approval, to another dentist or healthcare provider working in our facility or otherwise providing you treatment for the purpose of evaluating your health, diagnosing medical conditions and providing treatment, from one healthcare provider to another. For example, your health information may be disclosed to an oral surgeon to determine whether surgical intervention is needed.
Payment: We provide dental services. Your medical information may be used to seek payment from your insurance plan or from you. For example, your insurance plan may request and receive information on dates that you received services at our facility, in order to allow your employer to verify and process your insurance claim.
Health Care Operations: We may disclose, without prior consent, use or disclose your personal health information to another dental or medical provider or to your health plan, subject to federal privacy protection laws, as long as the provider or plan has had a relationship with you and the medical information is for that provider’s or health plan’s care quality assessment and improvement activities, protocol development, case management and care coordination, auditing functions, business management and general administrative activities, including implementation of this regulation, customer service evaluation, competence and qualification evaluation and review activities, resolution of grievances, fundraising and marketing for which an authorization is not required, or fraud and abuse detection and prevention, in an emergency treatment situation, if we attempt to obtain such consent as soon as reasonable practicable after the delivery of such treatment, of we are required by law to treat you and attempts to obtain consent are unsuccessful, or if we attempt to obtain consent, but are unable, due to barriers of communication, but we determine if our professional opinion, that treatment is clearly inferred from the circumstances.
Your authorization: You (or your legal personal representative) may give us written authorization to use your medical information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose. Once you give us authorization to release your medical information, we cannot guarantee that the person to whom the information is provided will not disclose that information. We may take back or “revoke” your written authorization at any time, except if we have already acted based on our authorization. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosure permitted by your authorization while it was in effect. Unless you give us written authorization, we will not use or disclose your medical information for any purpose other than those described in this notice. We will obtain your authorization prior to using your medical information for marketing and fundraising purposes for commercial use. Once authorize, you may opt out of these communications at any time.
Family, friends and others involved in our care or payment for care: We may disclose your medical information to a family member, friend or another person you involve in your care or payment for your health care. We will disclose only the medical information that is relevant to the person’s involvement. We may use or disclose your name, location and general condition to notify, or to assist an appropriate public or private agency to locate and notify, a person responsible for your care in appropriate situations, such as a medical emergency or during disaster relief efforts. We will provide you with an opportunity to object to these disclosures, unless you are not present, or are incapacitated, or it is an emergency or disaster relief situation. In those situations, we will use our professional judgment to determine whether disclosing your medical information is in your best interest under the circumstances.
Health-related products and services: We may use your medical information to communicate with you about health-related products, benefits, services, payment for those products and services and treatment alternatives.
Reminder: We may use or disclose medical information to send you reminders about your dental care, such as appointment reminders via US Mail, email, text and telephone. By providing your email address to us, you agree that you may receive reminders and breach notifications via email as a possible alternative to US Mail. It is a policy of our office to leave a message on any voicemail or answering machine that may be attached to a number that you provide (home, cell, or work). If you prefer that we NOT leave a message to confirm treatment or your appointments, please initial this line___________.
Plan Sponsors: If your dental insurance coverage is through an employer sponsored group dental plan, we may share summary health information with the plan sponsor.
Public Health and Benefit Activities: We may use and disclose your medical information, without your permission, when required by law and when authorized by law for the following kinds of public health and public benefit activities: for public health, including to report disease and vital statistics, child abuse, adult abuse, neglect or domestic violence, to avert a serious and imminent threat to health or safety, for health care oversight, such as activities of state insurance commissioners, licensing and peer review authorities and fraud prevention agencies, for research, in response to court and administrative orders and other lawful process, to law enforcement officials with regard to crime victims and criminal activities, to coroners, medical examiners, funeral directors and organ procurement organizations, to the military, to federal officials for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and national security activities, and to correctional institutions and law enforcement regarding persons in lawful custody, and as authorized by state worker’s compensation laws.
Special protection for SUD records: Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment records have enhanced protections. They cannot be used in legal proceedings without your consent or court order.
If a use or disclosure of health information described above in this notice is prohibited or materially limited by other laws that apply to us, it is our intent to meet the requirements of the more stringent law.
Business Associates: We may disclose your medical information to our business associates that perform functions on our behalf or provide us with services if the information is necessary for such functions or services. Our business associates are required, under contract with us, to protect the privacy of your information and are not allowed to use or disclose any information other than as specified in our contract.
Data Breach Notification Purposes: We may use our contact information to provide legally required notices of unauthorized acquisition, access or disclosure of your health information.
Additional Restrictions on use and disclosure: Certain federal and state laws may require privacy protections that restrict the use and disclosure of certain health information, including highly confidential information about you. “Highly Confidential Information” may include confidential information under Federal laws governing reproductive rights, alcohol and drug abuse information and genetic information as well as state laws that often protect the following types of information. HIV/AIDS, mental health, genetic tests (in accordance with GINA 2009), alcohol and drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive health information and child or adult abuse or neglect, including sexual assault.
Your rights: you have a right to get a copy of your health records, to amend your health information, to ask to get an accounting disclosure of when and why your health information was shared for certain purposes, are entitled to receive a Notice of Privacy Practices that tells you how your health information may be used and shared, you may decide if you want to give your authorization before your health information may be used or shared for certain purposes, such as marketing. It is the policy of our office NOT to sell or disclose information to any outside firms or business partners. Your information may be used, only within our office, for the purposes of presenting certain products or services which our dentist(s) or staff feel may present a benefit for you, your oral health or happiness with your smile. If you would like to opt out of this level of service, you may do so by initialing this line________.
You have the right to receive your information in a confidential manner and restrict certain communication methods. You have a right to restrict who receives your information. You have a right to request amendments to your health records by submitting the request in writing to our office. Your request does not guarantee the amendment but does guarantee that it will be reviewed and considered. If you believe your rights are being denied or your health information is not being protected, you can: file a complaint with your provider or health insurer of file a complaint with the U.S. government. You have a right to opt out for fundraising activities. If you would like to opt out of any fundraising programs that our office may participate in, such as cancer walks, or other fundraising programs, you may do so by initialing this box _____.
If you feel your privacy rights or provisions of this notice of privacy policies have been violated, you have a right to contact our office to register either a verbal or written complaint. You may also submit a written complaint to the Office for Civil Rights of the United State Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Room 509F, Washington DC, 20201. You may contact the Office for Civil Rights hotline at 1-800-368-1019. We support your right to privacy of your medical information. We will not retaliate in any way if you choose to file a complaint with us or the US Department of Health and Human Services.