Privacy Policy

Privacy policy of Sakala Hambaravi for processing personal data

Hereby we explain what our privacy policy entails. Everything related to a person and their existence can be described as data. An individual’s personal data includes, for example, their name, address, contact information, personal identification number, as well as information about their financial status, etc. In addition, personal data includes data that is by nature more sensitive, meaning special categories of personal data (sensitive personal data), which include, among other things, data concerning a person’s health. Therefore, personal data is any data that makes it possible to identify a person, regardless of the form or format of this data.

According to Regulation No. 56 of the Minister of Social Affairs, “Conditions and procedures for documenting the provision of health care services and for retaining these documents”, a dental record must be drawn up for each patient and kept for 110 years from the date of birth of the patient. A number of special categories of personal data are entered in the dental record with the obligation to fill in the data arising from various legal acts. The dental record includes data obtained from the patient and during the general examination. It also includes data related to treatments. Submission of data to the dental clinic is mandatory, as it is the basis for providing the service. Failure to submit the data will give the dental clinic the right not to provide the service.

Processing of personal data is any operation performed with personal data. Sakala Hambaravi processes personal data, including health data, with the aim of providing specialized medical care, i.e. dental care services. Sakala Hambaravi also fulfils other tasks assigned by various legislative acts, which accompany the provision of the service.

We process your personal data when

• you register for an appointment with us – we process your personal data, including the name, personal identification number, address, phone and e-mail address and the reason why you want to have an appointment with us;
• you come to us for a dentist’s appointment – we process your personal data, including the data relating to your medical condition, for the diagnosis and treatment of a (dental) disease or injury, to alleviate your suffering, to prevent deterioration or exacerbation of your health condition and to restore your health;
• you register your child or a person under your guardianship for an appointment with us – we process your personal data in order to verify your relationship with the patient;
• your child or a person under your guardianship has come for a dentist’s appointment – we process your personal data in order to verify your relationship with the patient. We will transfer to you, as the patient's parent or guardian, information reflecting the patient's medical condition. This will only be done if the patient or the investigating authority (e.g. the police) has not prohibited the transfer of the data;
• the patient has indicated you as their contact person – we will process your personal data in order to provide you with information relating to the patient;
• you wish to have your own medical records issued – we will use your personal data, or the personal data of the person who has requested the records with your consent, to issue the requested records;
• you send to us a request for clarification, a formal notice, a request for information or a complaint – we will use your personal data to establish the circumstances cited in the complaint and to respond to the letter. If you have sent us a letter that can only be answered by another authority, we will forward the letter to that authority and inform you accordingly;

• you send us a suggestion or a letter of gratitude – with your consent, we will reveal your personal data (name) on our clinic website and internal website;
• you apply for a job with us – we will base our decision on the information you provide and on information collected from public sources. We expect to be able to communicate with the persons named as the applicant’s referees. Each applicant has the right to know what kind of information we have collected about them and they have the right to access, explain or object to the information we have collected. The data of other applicants will not be disclosed.

Correspondence and respective privacy policy

All correspondence sent to us will be recorded in the dental clinic’s document management system / stored in the dental clinic’s email system. Correspondence with private individuals is subject to a general access restriction as the correspondence contains personal data. This means that anyone wishing to access a private person’s correspondence or document must submit a request for information to the dental clinic. When we receive a request for information, we will check whether the requested documents can be disclosed or only partially disclosed. In the case of a partial disclosure, we will cover your personal data that the applicant is not entitled to process, in order to avoid excessive release of data.

Notwithstanding the access restriction, we will disclose documents relating to you to authorities or persons who are legally entitled to request them (e.g. the police, the Health Insurance Fund, the Health Board, an insurer in the event of an insured event, etc.).

We send documents containing special categories of personal data to the addressees by registered mail or encrypted e-mail. If possible, we deliver documents to institutions via a secure document exchange centre.

We generally retain the correspondence with private individuals for five years, after which the documents are destroyed.

Transfer of documents regarding you and privacy policy

We provide your personal data to the following entities by law or under service contracts:

• Health Information System or eHealth: dental record, transmitted after the visit (law).
• Estonian Health Insurance Fund: dental record, transmitted if a contract for the provision of the corresponding service has been concluded with the Health Insurance Fund (law, contract).
• Dental insurance: dental record, to be transmitted after the insured event (contract).
• HAMMAS, the provider of the dental care programme service: dental record (contract).

The transmission of the data is carried out using state-of-the-art security measures to ensure proper and secure protection of the data.
Access to your own personal data: you have the right to access the data we have collected about you. To do so, please submit a request signed by hand or digitally.

We will refuse to comply with your request for access if it may:

• adversely affect the rights and freedoms of another person;
• hinder the prevention of a crime or the capture of a criminal;
• make it difficult to find out the truth in criminal proceedings. You have the right to request the correction of incorrect personal data. If we no longer have a lawful basis for using your personal data, you may request that we cease using or delete it. We will comply with your request to correct, stop using or delete your data, where justified. If you have doubts about a decision made by a dentist at our dental clinic, you may seek a second opinion from another dental specialist to assess:

• the accuracy of the diagnosis made;
• the necessity for the medicine or health care service prescribed to the patient;
• the alternatives explained and the expected effects; and
• the risks associated with the provision of the health care service.

Protection of rights and contact details

If you have any questions about the processing of personal data, you can contact Aare Maalder, Data Protection Specialist at our dental clinic, by e-mail at aare@mammograaf.ee.

If you feel that we have violated your rights while processing your personal data, you can lodge a complaint with either the Data Protection Specialist of the dental clinic or with the Data Protection Inspectorate (Väike-Ameerika 19, Tallinn 10129, e-mail address info@aki.ee).

Sakala Hambaravi will do its utmost to protect all your personal data and to comply with data protection and privacy legislation.

Read more about our services here.
Read more about oral health here.