Privacy Policy

At Cloud9 Dental Hygiene, we are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information and personal health information (PHI) in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our practice, schedule appointments, or complete our medical intake forms.

Who We Are

Cloud9 Dental Hygiene is a dental hygiene practice located at 1217 Main Street East, Hamilton, Ontario, L8K 1A3. We are a health information custodian under PHIPA, responsible for protecting your PHI. For questions about this policy or our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer:

Privacy Officer: Brittany Gligoric
Email: info@cloud9dentalhygiene.ca
Phone: 289-527-1446
Address: 1217 Main Street East, Hamilton, Ontario, L8K 1A3

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information:

Personal Information

Contact Details: Name, address, phone number, email address, and emergency contact information.
Payment Information: Credit card or billing details for appointment payments (processed securely through third-party payment processors).
Appointment Details: Scheduling preferences and appointment history.

Personal Health Information (PHI)

Medical History: Information provided through our medical intake form, including health conditions (e.g., heart disease, diabetes), medications, allergies, and treatment history, as required by the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO).
Dental History: Records of dental hygiene treatments, assessments, and procedures.
Other Health Information: Information relevant to your care, such as pregnancy status or recent hospitalizations.

We collect this information directly from you when you:

Complete our medical intake form (online or in-person).
Schedule appointments by phone, email, or through our website.
Receive dental hygiene services at our practice.
Communicate with us via email, phone, or in-person.

Why We Collect Your Information

We collect your information for the following purposes:

To Provide Dental Hygiene Care: To assess your health and dental needs, develop treatment plans, and deliver safe and effective care, as required by the CDHO.
To Manage Appointments: To schedule, confirm, and remind you of appointments.
To Process Payments: To bill for services and process payments securely.
To Comply with Legal Obligations: To meet regulatory requirements under PHIPA, PIPEDA, and CDHO standards, including maintaining accurate health records.
To Communicate with You: To respond to inquiries, provide appointment updates, or discuss your care.
To Improve Our Services: To evaluate and enhance our practice operations (using de-identified or aggregated data only).

Consent

By providing your personal information and PHI, you consent to its collection, use, and disclosure as described in this policy. Under PHIPA, your consent may be:

Implied: When you provide health information for treatment purposes (e.g., completing the medical intake form).
Express: Required for sharing PHI with non-healthcare providers (e.g., insurance companies) or for non-treatment purposes, which we will request explicitly.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by contacting our Privacy Officer, subject to legal or contractual restrictions (e.g., retaining records as required by CDHO). Withdrawing consent may limit our ability to provide care.

How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We use and disclose your information only as necessary and permitted by PHIPA and PIPEDA. Examples include:

Uses

Assessing your health and dental needs to provide safe care.
Maintaining accurate health records for ongoing treatment.
Scheduling and managing appointments.
Processing payments through secure third-party processors.

Disclosures

Healthcare Providers: We may share PHI with other regulated health professionals involved in your care (e.g., dentists, physicians) with your implied consent, as permitted by PHIPA.
Third-Party Service Providers: We may use third-party providers to process payments or manage online services. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your information in compliance with PHIPA and PIPEDA.
Legal Requirements: We may disclose information to comply with laws, regulations, or court orders (e.g., reporting to public health authorities).
Insurance Companies: With your express consent, we may share PHI to process insurance claims.

We do not sell, trade, or share your information for marketing purposes.

How We Protect Your Information

We implement administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, as required by PHIPA and PIPEDA:

Administrative: Staff are trained on privacy obligations, and access to PHI is limited to authorized personnel only.
Technical: Our online systems use SSL encryption for data transmission, and electronic records are protected with passwords and access controls. PHI is stored securely with appropriate safeguards.
Physical: Paper records are securely stored and our office is secured against unauthorized access.

We regularly review our security practices to ensure ongoing compliance.

Third-Party Service Providers

We may use third-party providers to process payments or manage online services. These providers are bound by contracts to:

Protect your information with safeguards equivalent to PHIPA and PIPEDA standards.
Use your information only for the purposes we specify (e.g., payment processing).
Notify us of any data breaches immediately.

Some third-party providers may store data outside Canada (e.g., in the United States). We ensure that any cross-border data transfers meet PIPEDA’s requirements for equivalent protection and PHIPA’s safeguard standards through contractual agreements.

Your Rights

Under PHIPA and PIPEDA, you have the following rights regarding your information:

Access: Request access to your personal information or PHI held by us.
Correction: Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information.
Withdrawal of Consent: Withdraw consent for the use or disclosure of your information, subject to legal limits (e.g., record retention requirements).
Complaints: File a complaint with our Privacy Officer or the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (for PHIPA) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (for PIPEDA).

To exercise these rights, contact our Privacy Officer. We will respond within 30 days, as required by law.

Data Retention

We retain your information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law:

PHI: Retained for at least 10 years after your last visit, as required by CDHO and PHIPA.
Personal Information: Retained for the duration of our relationship or as needed for legal compliance (e.g., tax records).
Destruction: When no longer needed, paper records are securely shredded, and electronic records are deleted using secure methods.

Data Breaches

In the event of a data breach, we will:

Assess the risk of harm, as required by PIPEDA and PHIPA.
Notify you and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (for PHIPA) or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (for PIPEDA) if there is a real risk of significant harm.
Take immediate steps to contain and mitigate the breach.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The updated policy will be posted on our website and available at our practice. The effective date will be revised accordingly.

Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or to exercise your rights, please contact: