Data security
policy

‍This dental practice is committed to ensuring the security of personal data held by the practice. This policy is issued to all staff with access to personal data at the practice and will be given to new staff during their induction. If any member of the team has concerns about the security of personal data within the practice they should contact the practice manager.All members of the team must comply with this policy.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All employment contracts include a commitment to comply with the practice confidentiality policy.Access to personal data is on a ‘need to know’ basis only. Access to information is monitored and breaches of security will be dealt with swiftly by the practice manager.We have procedures in place to ensure that personal data is regularly reviewed, updated and, when no longer required, deleted in a confidential manner. For example, we keep patient records for at least 10 years or until the patient is aged 25 – whichever is the longer.

PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES

Personal data is only removed from the practice premises in exceptional circumstances and when authorised by the practice manager. If personal data is taken from the premises it must never be left unattended in a car or in a public place. Efforts have been made to secure the practice against theft by, for example, the use of intruder alarms, lockable windows and doors. The practice has in place a business continuity plan in case of a disaster. This includes procedures for protecting and restoring personal data.

INFORMATION HELD ON COMPUTER

Appropriate software controls are used to protect computerised records, for example the use of passwords and encryption. Passwords are only known to those who require access to the information, are changed on a regular basis and are not written down or kept near or on the computer for others to see. Daily backups of computerised data are automated and stored off-site in an encrypted format in both transit and rest.Staff using practice computers undertake computer training to avoid unintentional deletion or corruption of information. Dental computer systems have a full audit trail facility preventing the erasure or overwriting of data. The system records details of any amendments made to data, who made them and when. Precautions are taken to avoid loss of data through the introduction of computer viruses. Data stored on cloud computing facilities has in place a rigorous service level agreement with our cloud provider to ensure that all our obligations in this policy are fulfilled and that all information is secure.

LOSS OF PATIENT INFORMATION

Any loss, damage to or unauthorised disclosure of patient information must be reported immediately to the Practice Manager