Effective Date: January 1, 2025 · Last Updated: January 1, 2025
Privacy Policy & HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice describes how medical and dental information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Marshall H. Brown, DDS & Associates is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applicable Texas law.
Overview & Scope of This Notice
This Privacy Policy and HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices applies to Marshall H. Brown, DDS & Associates, located at 1818 8th Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76110, and to all dentists, hygienists, assistants, and staff of the practice.
It covers both Protected Health Information (PHI) we maintain as a healthcare provider and personal information collected through our website. It applies to all records of your care generated by the practice, regardless of who created them. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. A paper copy of this notice is available at our front desk upon request.
What Is Protected Health Information (PHI)?
Protected Health Information is any information that identifies you and relates to your health, treatment, or payment for care. Through our website, contact forms collect only the information you voluntarily provide, such as your name, phone number, and email address; certain technical data (like IP address) is collected automatically.
Please do not submit sensitive health information through our website contact forms. For sensitive matters, call us directly at (817) 920-0882.
- Name, address, and date of birth
- Social Security number
- Dental and medical history, diagnoses, and treatment records
- X-rays and clinical images
- Medications
- Insurance details and billing records
- Website data: IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, and city-level location
How We Use Your Protected Health Information
We may use and disclose your PHI without separate authorization for Treatment, Payment, and Healthcare Operations (TPO). Treatment uses include providing and coordinating your dental care and sharing information with specialists involved in your care. Payment uses include billing you or your insurer and submitting insurance claims. Healthcare Operations include quality assessment, staff training, and administrative functions that keep our practice running.
Certain other uses and disclosures are permitted by law without your authorization, as listed below. Any use of your PHI for marketing purposes, or any use not otherwise permitted by HIPAA, requires your prior written authorization, which you may revoke at any time.
- Appointment reminders by phone, text, or mail
- Information about treatment alternatives
- Communication with family members or caregivers involved in your care
- Public health activities
- Health oversight audits and inspections
- Court orders, subpoenas, and other lawful processes
- Research conducted under approved privacy protections
- Preventing a serious threat to health or safety
- Workers' compensation claims
- Coroners and medical examiners
- Organ and tissue donation
Permitted Disclosures of Your Information
We may share your PHI with other parties only as permitted by HIPAA and only for legitimate treatment, payment, or operations purposes. Business Associates who perform services on our behalf are bound by signed Business Associate Agreements requiring them to safeguard your information. Disclosures to public health authorities and law enforcement are made only when legally required.
We do not sell your Protected Health Information, and we never share it with marketers or advertisers.
- Dental specialists and referral providers — for your treatment
- Dental laboratories — for your treatment
- Insurance companies and payers — for payment
- Business Associates under signed agreements — for practice operations
- Public health authorities — when required by law
- Law enforcement — only with court orders or warrants
- Marketers or advertisers — never
Your HIPAA Privacy Rights
Under HIPAA, you have enforceable rights regarding your health information. To exercise any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer using the information at the end of this notice.
- Right to access — inspect and receive a copy of your dental records, generally within 30 days of your request
- Right to request corrections to information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete
- Right to an accounting of certain disclosures made in the prior six years
- Right to request restrictions on how we use or disclose your PHI
- Right to request confidential communications by alternative means or at alternative locations
- Right to receive a paper copy of this notice
- Right to be notified of a breach of unsecured PHI, within 60 days of discovery
- Right to file a complaint without fear of retaliation
Website Data Collection & Digital Privacy
Our website automatically collects limited, non-personally identifiable information, including anonymized IP address, browser and operating system details, referring website, pages visited, visit timing, and general geographic region. Contact forms collect only the name, phone number, and email address you voluntarily submit.
Please do not submit diagnoses, insurance numbers, or detailed medical history through the website. Standard, unencrypted email carries inherent privacy risks — for sensitive health communications, please call us at (817) 920-0882.
Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Our website uses a limited set of cookies. We do not use marketing or advertising cookies that track you across other websites, and we do not collect PHI through cookies. You can disable non-essential cookies at any time through your browser settings.
- Essential cookies — required for the website to function
- Analytics cookies — Google Analytics with IP anonymization, used to understand site usage
- Functional cookies — remember your preferences
- Marketing cookies — not used
How We Protect Your Information
We maintain the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards required by the HIPAA Security Rule to protect your information in every form.
- Administrative safeguards: a designated Privacy Officer, regular staff privacy training, written policies and procedures, Business Associate Agreements, and sanction policies
- Physical safeguards: locked facilities, secure record storage, controlled workstation access, and certified shredding and destruction of documents
- Technical safeguards: encrypted electronic health records, unique user credentials, automatic logoff, audit logging, HTTPS/SSL-TLS website encryption, firewalls, antivirus software, and regular security assessments
Minors & Children's Privacy
Our website is not directed at children under 13, and we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If we learn we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13 online, we will promptly delete it.
For dental patients under 18, a parent or legal guardian must attend the initial consultation and provide consent for treatment. Parents and legal guardians retain rights to access a minor's health records as provided under Texas law.
Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to change this notice at any time, and to make the revised notice effective for health information we already hold as well as information we receive in the future. When we make material changes, we will post the updated notice on our website with a new effective date, make copies available at the front desk, provide the updated notice to patients at their next visit, and send notice by mail or email where required.
Filing a Privacy 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 & Human Services Office for Civil Rights. You will never face retaliation for filing a complaint.
Internal complaints: Privacy Officer, Marshall H. Brown, DDS & Associates, 1818 8th Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76110; (817) 920-0882; info@marshallhbrown.com.
External complaints: HHS Office for Civil Rights at ocrportal.hhs.gov, or by phone at 1-800-368-1019 (voice) or 1-800-537-7697 (TDD).
Contact Our Privacy Officer
For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this notice or your privacy rights, contact our designated Privacy Officer during office hours (Monday–Thursday 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Fridays by appointment only).
Marshall H. Brown, DDS & Associates, 1818 8th Avenue, Fort Worth, TX 76110. Phone: (817) 920-0882. Fax: (817) 920-0709. Email: info@marshallhbrown.com.
Questions About Your Privacy?
Our Privacy Officer is happy to help. Call (817) 920-0882 during office hours or email info@marshallhbrown.com — please do not include health information in email.