Data protection: what dentists should know

How do you store your patient data? It may seem silly at first glance, but in two months this subject must be taken seriously. In August 2020, the General Data Protection Act (GDPA) will come into force.

This new legislation will change how companies collect and treat customer data. This will impact all dentists who need this information for everyday life. It is considered personal data everything that is linked to the patient's health, besides telephone, address, e-mail, CPF, RG, among other information that can be linked to a person.

For dental offices, this can mean several changes that will make public data safer and ensure privacy for each patient. Keep reading to know what your office can do.

Who accesses your patient data?

What should be taken care of with the entry into force of GDPA is the prevention of data leaks. There are malicious people who buy personal data for marketing purposes, for example by getting this information from private databases.

Therefore, do not leave your patient data in any spreadsheet that can be easily accessed by others. Ideally, have this information in a dental software that can only be accessed by your team, by entering a password.

Ideally, you should not enter passwords that are too easy to access software that can easily be deduced by someone else. It is also best to reduce the number of devices that access the platform to ensure even more security, as certain viruses can steal passwords, for example.

Caution in collecting personal information

Another issue that concerns the General Data Protection Act is how data collection is done. There must be a reason to request personal information from patients when it is not necessary for treatment.

For data such as phone, email and address, patient consent is required to collect. He or she should also be aware of your use of this information and know that you can withdraw from your database at any time.

That's when common sense comes in. If the patient can ask to leave your contact list at any time, you do not want that to happen. So, improve your communication actions, making your campaigns useful and interesting for everyone to want to maintain the relationship with your office.

Source: Dentista Organizado. Available at: https://www.dentistaorganizado.com.br/noticia.html?id=283&Protecao-de-dados-o-que-os-dentistas-devem-saber.htm. Access on: 12/09/2019.