Website Policies

Privacy Policy

NCOFP Privacy Policy

This privacy policy describes the manner in which NCOFP collects, processes and protects any information that you give NCOFP.
At NCOFP, patient confidentiality is one of our core values and every member of the team at NCOFP is firmly committed to respecting and safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of all our patients and their data. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified, then you can be assured that it will only be used in strict accordance with our privacy policy.
NCOFP reserves the right to amend this policy occasionally by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from March 2024.

1. What information do we collect?

At NCOFP we only collect data for legitimate purposes relating to the provision of our services.

This data includes:

Identity and contact data such as your name, age, email address, phone number, in addition to any further personal information which you include when using the ‘Contact Us’ section of our website.
Details of your doctor, dentist and relevant Medical Consultant(s) and healthcare providers.
Information relating to your medical, dental and treatment history.
X-rays, clinical photographs, and study models
Treatment Plans including associated costs Treatment Consent Forms, Assessments and Questionnaires relating to your treatment.
Notes of conversations or incidents that might occur for which a record must be retained.
Any correspondence with other healthcare professionals relating to you including reports and agreed referrals to other healthcare professionals.

We will regularly update your personal data, including details relating to your dental/ medical care, to keep it relevant. We ask that you please inform us of any significant changes, such as a change of address or other contact details, at your earliest convenience. It is important to know that the collection and use of this data may be crucial to our ability to safely provide you with the care you require; without your agreement to this process it may not be possible to undertake treatment. You have access to a copy of your personal data (upon written request to NCOFP) and the right to have data rectified if incorrect as well as to have your data erased (subject to certain restrictions)

2. What do we do with the information we collect?

Any information or data that is collected is for the purpose of providing you with exceptional care efficiently and safely at all times.

In the course of your care, members of the NCOFP team may access your records and process your information for the following reasons:

To create a patient chart and book/reschedule appointments.
To prepare for and carry out your treatment.
To identify and generate a prescription.
To generate a work certificate
To generate a report/referral letter to another healthcare professional (dictate/print/email)
To review correspondence or any other documents from other healthcare professionals
To generate, collate, print, scan, photocopy, email or post your records if you instruct us to forward them to another healthcare professional.
To generate, collate, print, scan, photocopy, email or post insurance or medico-legal reports.
To send reminder calls/texts/emails for your appointments with your consent.

3. How long do we keep your information?

To meet our legal and regulatory requirements we retain all your records while you are a patient at NCOFP and for a period of time after that. We do not retain records for any longer than is necessary. We retain all adult records for 8 years after the last treatment. In the case of children and young adults, the records are kept until the patient’s 25th birthday; or their 26th birthday if the young person was 17 when they finished treatment. If a patient dies before their 18th birthday, records are kept for 8 years.

4. Security

At NCOFP, we pride ourselves on our strong commitment to patient confidentiality and privacy and ensuring that all collected information is stored safely and securely.

This assurance is one of our core values and every member of the team at NCOFP is dedicated to respecting and safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of all our patients and their data. NCOFP has a number of physical, technical and organisational security measures in place to ensure that all personal data which is under our control is prevented from being lost, misused, disclosed, altered or accessed in any unauthorised manner. We have additionally implemented procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and we will notify you of a breach where we are legally required to do so. Dr. Neysan Chah is the primary Data Protection contact for NCOFP.

5. How do we control Personal Information?

At NCOFP we respect the trust that you place in us when you share your information with us. We do not ever sell patient information and will not distribute patient information to any third parties unless with the prior consent of our patients when providing information to external services. It is practice policy to send you a reminder of when your next ‘check-up’ is due. This reminder is sent to you by text message/ telephone/email. We seek your consent to use your personal data for this purpose and advise you of your right to refuse to have your data used for this purpose.

Access to your personal data is on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. This prohibits the release of your information to a spouse, partner, family member or other third party without your explicit consent. A copy of your records will only be transferred to another practice, healthcare professional, insurance provider or other third party upon your written request.

6. Your Personal Information Rights

You have access to a copy of your personal data (upon written request to NCOFP) and the right to have data rectified if incorrect. You have the right to request that data is erased, however, certain restrictions may apply in this regard which would be communicated clearly upon review of the request. You also have the right to opt out of marketing or reminder services that the practice may offer its patients from time to time (e.g. appointment reminder messages). If you contact us to ask about or make any changes to your personal information, we may ask you to identify yourself. This practice policy serves to help us protect your information.

7. Links to Other Websites

Our website may on occasion contain links to other websites of interest. On leaving the orofacialpain.ie domain, we have no control over the privacy or safety policies for any external websites. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information you may provide to these websites and these sites would not be covered by this privacy statement. Please exercise caution when providing information to third parties and if in doubt look at the privacy statement applicable to the website.

8. Updates to this Notice

NCOFP reserves the right to make changes to this notice from time to time. You can always find an updated copy of this policy on display in the practice and/or you can check this page periodically to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from March 2024.