Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2025
Last Updated: January 1, 2025

Weeks Orthodontics (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, use our services, or interact with our practice. This policy applies to information collected through our website, in our offices, and through any other channel where you interact with Weeks Orthodontics.

1. HIPAA Compliance

Weeks Orthodontics is a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your Protected Health Information (PHI), provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, follow the terms of the Notice of Privacy Practices currently in effect, and notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs.

Our full Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) is available at our Winter Springs and Oviedo offices and will be provided to all new patients at their first visit. You may also request a copy at any time by contacting our office.

2. Protected Health Information (PHI)

PHI includes any information that can identify you and relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition, the provision of healthcare to you, or payment for healthcare. At Weeks Orthodontics, PHI we may collect includes:

  • Your name, date of birth, address, phone number, and email address
  • Social Security number (when required for insurance processing)
  • Dental and medical history, including X-rays, digital scans, photographs, and treatment records
  • Insurance information and billing records
  • Payment information including credit card or bank account details
  • Communications between you and our doctors or staff regarding your treatment

3. How We Use Your PHI

Weeks Orthodontics may use and disclose your PHI for the following purposes without your written authorization:

  • Treatment: To provide, coordinate, and manage your orthodontic care. This includes sharing information with Dr. Travis A. Weeks, Dr. Shadiya Hasan, our clinical staff, referring dentists, oral surgeons, and other healthcare providers involved in your treatment.
  • Payment: To bill and collect payment for services, including submitting claims to your dental insurance provider, coordinating benefits, and processing payments through our third-party payment processor.
  • Healthcare Operations: To support our business activities, including quality assessment, staff training, compliance audits, and appointment scheduling.
  • Appointment Reminders: To contact you via phone, text message, or email regarding upcoming appointments, treatment updates, or practice communications.
  • As Required by Law: To comply with federal, state, or local laws, court orders, or legal proceedings.

4. Your HIPAA Rights

Under HIPAA, you have the following rights regarding your PHI:

  • Right to Access: You may request copies of your medical records, including X-rays, treatment plans, and clinical notes. We will provide these within 30 days of your request.
  • Right to Amend: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete information in your records.
  • Right to an Accounting of Disclosures: You may request a list of instances where we have shared your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or healthcare operations.
  • Right to Request Restrictions: You may ask us to limit how we use or disclose your PHI, although we are not required to agree to all requests.
  • Right to Confidential Communications: You may request that we communicate with you in a specific way or at a specific location (for example, contacting you only at your work phone number).
  • Right to a Paper Copy: You may request a paper copy of this Privacy Policy at any time.
  • Right to File a Complaint: If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with our Privacy Officer or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights.

5. Information Collected Through Our Website

When you visit our website, we may collect the following non-PHI information:

  • Automatically Collected Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, time spent on pages, and click patterns. This data is collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies.
  • Contact Form Submissions: Name, email address, phone number, and any message content you submit through our website contact forms.
  • Appointment Request Data: Name, contact information, preferred dates, and reason for visit when submitted through online scheduling tools.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Essential Cookies: Required for basic website functionality including page navigation and secure areas.
  • Analytics Cookies: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. Google Analytics collects anonymized data about page views, session duration, and user demographics. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
  • Marketing Cookies: We may use cookies from advertising platforms (such as Google Ads or Facebook) to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. These cookies do not collect PHI.

7. How We Protect Your Information

Weeks Orthodontics implements administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information and PHI, including:

  • Encrypted data transmission (SSL/TLS) on our website
  • Secure, HIPAA-compliant electronic health record (EHR) systems
  • Access controls limiting PHI access to authorized personnel only
  • Regular staff training on HIPAA compliance and data security
  • Physical security measures at both office locations including locked filing systems and restricted-access areas
  • Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with all third-party vendors who handle PHI on our behalf

8. Third-Party Service Providers

We may share your information with third-party service providers who assist us in operating our practice and website. These providers include our website hosting provider (SiteGround), payment processors, insurance clearinghouses, appointment scheduling software, and email communication platforms. All providers who handle PHI are bound by Business Associate Agreements as required by HIPAA.

9. Children’s Privacy

Weeks Orthodontics treats minor patients. We collect PHI from minors only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through our website without verifiable parental consent, in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

10. Data Retention

We retain patient records in accordance with Florida law, which requires dental records to be maintained for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of the last patient encounter, or in the case of a minor, until the patient reaches the age of 25, whichever is longer. Website analytics data is retained for a maximum of 26 months.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Material changes to how we handle PHI will be communicated to active patients through our office.

12. Contact Our Privacy Officer

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your HIPAA rights, or want to file a complaint, please contact:

Weeks Orthodontics — Privacy Officer
1350 Tuskawilla Road, Suite 200, Winter Springs, FL 32708
Phone: (407) 327-7737
Email: [email protected]

You may also file a complaint with:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201
www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint
1-877-696-6775