Who We Are

Our website address is: https://www.yakimahealthysmiles.com

Yakima Healthy Smiles is a dental practice located at 606 S. 48th Avenue, Yakima, WA 98908. We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with all applicable privacy laws, including HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

Information We Collect

Personal Information You Provide

When you use our website or become a patient, we may collect:

• Contact Information: Name, address, email address, phone number
• Health Information: Medical history, dental history, treatment records (protected under HIPAA)
• Insurance Information: Insurance provider, policy numbers
• Appointment Information: Appointment requests, preferences, scheduling details
• Payment Information: Billing details (processed securely through encrypted payment systems)

Information Automatically Collected

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:

• IP address and browser user agent string (for spam detection and security)
• Pages visited and time spent on our site
• Referring website
• Device type and operating system

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide dental care and treatment
• Schedule and confirm appointments
• Process insurance claims and billing
• Send appointment reminders and follow-up communications
• Respond to your questions and requests
• Improve our website and services
• Comply with legal and regulatory requirements

Website Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor's IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media & Uploaded Files

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select "Remember Me", your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who We Share Your Data With

We may share your information with:

• Insurance Companies: To process claims and verify coverage
• Healthcare Providers: For referrals or coordinated care (with your consent)
• Service Providers: Such as payment processors, appointment scheduling systems (under strict confidentiality agreements)
• Legal Authorities: When required by law or to protect our rights

We will never sell your personal information to third parties.

How Long We Retain Your Data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

Patient Records: We retain patient health records in accordance with Washington State law and HIPAA regulations. Dental records are typically retained for at least 6 years after your last visit, or longer if required by law.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us.

You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Under HIPAA, you have the right to:

• Access and obtain a copy of your health records
• Request corrections to your health records
• Request restrictions on how we use your health information
• Request confidential communications
• Receive an accounting of disclosures of your health information

How We Protect Your Data

We implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption for data transmission
• Secure storage of patient records
• Limited access to personal information (only authorized staff)
• Regular security training for our team
• HIPAA-compliant practices and procedures

Where Your Data is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected information from your child, please contact us immediately.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these websites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.