Working in a dental clinic comes with many risks, including exposure to bloodborne diseases and encounters with hazardous waste. You can reduce those hazards in many ways, like staying OSHA compliant and implementing health and safety protocols. Making sure your dental office remains a healthy and safe space for your employees and patients leads to a more successful business with better income, productivity, and performance.

Some dangers continue to linger, even after enforcing personal protective equipment, implementing updated technology, and establishing different health and safety practices. One of the biggest safety threats lurks beyond the workplace itself. Risks of fraud, embezzlement, and impersonation are results of poorly secured and monitored PHI, or protected health information. It puts your patients in danger and affects the future of your business, from customer loyalty to legal commitments. What does protected health information in dentistry include, and why does it matter?

What Is Protected Health Information (PHI)?

Protected health information, most commonly referred to as PHI, is patients’ personal information and data used for health care purposes. The details allow covered entities—health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and healthcare providers—to identify and build patient records. They help you and other entities provide your clients with the best care and services.

What Counts as PHI in Dentistry?

PHI generally relates to any information about a patient. Whether you run a dental clinic or a physical therapy center, PHI remains the same across the board. The only differences are the data relating to your business’s online portal, who provides care, and any new information your services add. PHI includes the following points:

Personal Identifiers

Personal identifiers are proof of identification. They allow you to generate a patient profile, provide authorization, and do background checks on your patients to determine if they pose a threat to your clinic. Personal identifiers include the following:

  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Headshots
  • Height
  • Weight
  • Ethnicity
  • Notable physical features:Copies of driver’s license
    • Eye color
    • Hair color
    • Skin color
  • Copies of other ID forms
  • Address
  • License plates
  • Social security number

Contact Information

Contact information plays a prominent part in communication. It affects how your dental clinic reaches out to your patients and discloses information. Contact information includes any of the following:

  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses
  • Home addresses
  • Fax numbers
  • Portal accounts

Financial Information

One of the most at-risk pieces of data in a patient’s PHI is their financial information. This includes any form of payment, from insurance plans and other financial assistance to bank accounts and credit card numbers. Most scammers want to access a person’s PHI to claim their financial details and embezzle money from bank accounts.

Account Details

Whether you use a portal or a simple digital filing system, setting up accounts for your patients allows you to organize all their data easily. It builds their portfolio with your clinic. Account details are the keys to the rest of your client’s PHI. They often come in the form of specialized numbers or codes.

Past Health Records

Past health records are important to the staff at your dental clinic. They affect future treatments and prescriptions and include the following information:

  • Vaccination records
  • Allergies
  • Old prescriptions
  • Past surgeries
  • Past treatments

Current Active Treatments

Records of current active treatments are other important pieces of information for medical professionals. They track what treatments are in action, what procedures worked and didn’t, and possible side effects. Current active treatment records monitor progressions and declining health statuses. Common listed treatments and health issues mentioned in dental PHI include the following:

  • Fillings
  • Cavities
  • Braces
  • Cleanings
  • Dentures
  • Implants
  • Cosmetic treatments

Family History and Contacts

Family history and contacts give dentists and nurses insight into possible genetic concerns, from anodontia to gum disease and cancer. This information also provides the dental clinic with emergency contacts in case a procedure goes wrong or the patient themself can’t be reached.

Biometric Data

Biometrics are physiological and behavioral identifiers. They are pertinent pieces of information for secured authentication and verification. Like financial information, a person’s biometrics are among the most sensitive records in PHI. Biometric data includes the following points:

  • Blood type
  • DNA matching
  • Voice and facial recognition
  • Signatures
  • Fingerprints
  • Eye recognition

Care Providers

Some dental patients like to be treated by whoever is available, while others prefer to stick to the dentist or hygienist they are familiar with. Records of who provided past dental care reveal who had access to a patient’s PHI and who takes legal responsibilities in certain circumstances. Here are some things included in care provider information:

  • Clinic address
  • Contact number
  • Email and fax information
  • Name
  • Company’s name
  • Education and certification details

Why Is PHI Important to Your Dental Business?

Patient PHI affects your dental business in many ways. It influences your patients’ care, financial standing, relationship and loyalty to your clinic, safety, and rights. PHI also provides legal security, giving you pertinent information and records to build a case. It allows you to collaborate with entities like financial offices and other dental care providers. PHI protects you, your patients, your staff, and your company’s reputation.

PHI further comes to use if anything takes a turn for the worse. Dental and other medical treatments come with risks. PHI helps you determine possible causes of death and fulfills other legal duties like compliance with the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA).

How To Enhance Your Clinic’s PHI Security

Protected health information in dentistry includes multiple sources of data that influence your patients’ well-being and your dental business. Enhancing your clinic’s PHI security protects your patients and business from fraud, scammers, and embezzling criminals. It is your basic duty as a covered entity to protect your clients’ personal health records.

You can enhance your clinic’s PHI security in many ways, like using the latest security and two-factor authentication systems and upgrading technology and record-keeping programs. Gamma Compliance Solutions’ HIPAA compliance manual equips your dentistry clinic with all you need to know about HIPAA, PHI security, handling and transferring PHI, and other best practices to improve your clinic’s security.

The more you understand HIPAA and PHI, the more likely you are to maintain compliance and ensure the safety of your business and patients. Order a HIPAA compliance training guide from Gamma Compliance and keep important information safe and accessible for the right reasons.

What Does Protected Health Information in Dentistry Include?