Privacy Policy
INTRODUCTION
Mullen Family Orthodontics (“we” or “us” or “our”) respects the privacy of our users (“user” or “you”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website www.mullenfamilyortho.com, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”). Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.
Privacy Notice – SMS Communication Compliance
Data Collection and Use
Mullen Family Orthodontics may collect personal information, including your name, email address, and phone number, when you provide it to us through our website, in-office forms, or other communication channels. If you provide your mobile number, you consent to receive SMS messages from us regarding appointment reminders, treatment updates, promotions, and other relevant notifications.
Consent and Opt-In for SMS Messaging
By providing your mobile number, you expressly consent to receive text messages from Mullen Family Orthodontics. These messages may include appointment confirmations, follow-ups, practice updates, and promotional offers. Message frequency may vary. Standard message and data rates may apply.
You can opt in to receive SMS messages through (1) completing an online or in-office registration form, (2) checking an opt-in box on our website or patient portal, and/or (3) confirming via a double opt-in SMS verification message (if applicable).
How We Use Your Information
We use your phone number solely for the purpose of providing important updates related to your orthodontic care, appointment scheduling, and occasional promotional content. Your phone number will not be shared, sold, or rented to third parties for marketing purposes. However, we may share your number with trusted third-party service providers who assist in delivering SMS communications on our behalf. These providers are contractually required to protect your information and comply with all privacy regulations.
Opt-Out Policy
You can opt out of receiving SMS messages at any time by (1) replying “STOP” to any text message you receive from us, (2) contacting our office at (805) 496-9778 or info@mullenfamilyortho.com, and/or (3) updating your communication preferences in our patient portal (if applicable).
After opting out, you will no longer receive SMS messages from Mullen Family Orthodontics, except for responses confirming your opt-out request.
Data Security
We take the security of your personal information seriously. We implement administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect your phone number and other data from unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse. Our SMS communications are conducted through compliant platforms that adhere to industry standards for data protection.
Data Retention and Deletion
We retain your contact information for as long as necessary to provide services to you. If you wish to have your mobile number removed from our database, please contact us at (805) 496-9778. We will process deletion requests in accordance with applicable regulations.
Changes to This Policy
Mullen Family Orthodontics reserves the right to modify this Privacy Notice at any time. Updates will be posted on our website, and we encourage you to review this policy periodically.
If you have any questions about our SMS communication policy, please contact us at the numbers or address listed below.
We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last Updated” date of this Privacy Policy. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the update. We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last Updated” date of this Privacy Policy. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the updated Privacy Policy on the Site, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification dated Privacy Policy on the Site, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification.
You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, will be subject to, and will be deemed to have accepted the changes in any revised Privacy Policy by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Privacy Policy is posted.
COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the Site includes the following:
Personal Data
Personally identifiable information, such as your name, shipping address, email address, and telephone number, and demographic information, such as your age, gender, hometown, and interests, that you voluntarily give to us when you choose to participate in various activities related to the Site, such as online chat and message boards. You are under no obligation to provide us with personal information of any kind, however your refusal to do so may prevent you from using certain features of the Site.
Derivative Data
Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Site, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Site.
Mobile Device Data
Device information, such as your mobile device ID, model, and manufacturer, and information about the location of your device, if you access the Site from a mobile device.
Third-Party Data
Information from third parties, such as personal information or network friends, if you connect your account to the third party and grant the Site permission to access this information.
USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Site to do any of the following: (1) Administer sweepstakes, promotions, and contests, (2) Assist law enforcement and respond to subpoena, (3) Compile anonymous statistical data and analysis for use internally or with third parties, (4) Deliver targeted advertising, coupons, newsletters, and other information regarding promotions and the Site to you, (5) Email you regarding your account or order, (6) Enable user-to-user communications, (7) Generate a personal profile about you to make future visits to the Site more personalized, (8) Increase the efficiency and operation of the Site, (9) Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the Site, (10) Offer new products, services, and/or recommendations to you, (11) Perform other business activities as needed, (12) Resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems, (13) Respond to product and customer service requests, (14) Send you a newsletter.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:
By Law or to Protect Rights
If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation. This includes exchanging information with other entities for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
Third-Party Service Providers
We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance.
Marketing Communications
With your consent, or with an opportunity for you to withdraw consent, we may share your information with third parties for marketing purposes, as permitted by law.
Online Postings
When you post comments, contributions or other content to the Site, your posts may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside the Site in perpetuity.
Third-Party Advertisers
We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit the Site. These companies may use information about your visits to the Site and other websites that are contained in web cookies in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Cookies and Web Beacons
We may use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies on the Site to help customize the Site and improve your experience. When you access the Site, your personal information is not collected through the use of tracking technology. Most browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can remove or reject cookies, but be aware that such action could affect the availability and functionality of the Site. You may not decline web beacons. However, they can be rendered ineffective by declining all cookies or by modifying your web browser’s settings to notify you each time a cookie is tendered, permitting you to accept or decline cookies on an individual basis.
Internet-Based Advertising
Additionally, we may use third-party software to serve ads on the Site, implement email marketing campaigns, and manage other interactive marketing initiatives. This third-party software may use cookies or similar tracking technology to help manage and optimize your online experience with us. For more information about opting-out of interest-based ads, visit the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool or Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool.
Website Analytics
We may also partner with selected third-party vendors, to allow tracking technologies and remarketing services on the Site through the use of first party cookies and third-party cookies, to, among other things, analyze and track users’ use of the Site, determine the popularity of certain content and better understand online activity. By accessing the Site, you consent to the collection and use of your information by these third-party vendors. You are encouraged to review their privacy policy and contact them directly for responses to your questions. We do not transfer personal information to these third-party vendors. However, if you do not want any information to be collected and used by tracking technologies, you can visit the third-party vendor or the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool or Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool. (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or http://www.adobe.com/privacy/opt-out.html)
You should be aware that getting a new computer, installing a new browser, upgrading an existing browser, or erasing or otherwise altering your browser’s cookies files may also clear certain opt-out cookies, plug-ins, or settings.
Online Postings
When you post comments, contributions or other content to the Site, your posts may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside the Site in perpetuity.
THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
The Site may contain links to third-party websites and applications of interest, including advertisements and external services, that are not affiliated with us. Once you have used these links to leave the Site, any information you provide to these third parties is not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of your information. Before visiting and providing any information to any third-party websites, you should inform yourself of the privacy policies and practices (if any) of the third party responsible for that website, and should take those steps necessary to, in your discretion, protect the privacy of your information. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other sites, services or applications that may be linked to or from the Site.
SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION
We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorized parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.
OPTIONS REGARDING YOUR INFORMATION
Emails and Communications
If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails, or other communications from us, you may opt-out by contacting us using the contact information provided below. If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails, or other communications from third parties, you are responsible for contacting the third party directly.
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES: THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL or DENTAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY
We respect our legal obligation to keep health information that identifies you private. We are obligated by law to give you notice of our privacy practices. This Notice describes how we protect your health information and what rights you have regarding it.
TREATMENT, PAYMENT AND HEALTH CARE OPERATIONS
The most common reason why we use or disclose your health information is for treatment, payment or health care operations. Examples of how we use or disclose information for treatment purposes are: setting up an appointment for you; examining your teeth, mouth, and oral health; prescribing medications and faxing them to be filled; prescribing dental appliances and dental prostheses; showing you treatment options; referring you to another dentist for specialty care; or getting copies of your health information from another professional that you may have seen before us. Examples of how we use or disclose your health information for payment purposes are: asking you about your dental or medical care plans, or other sources of payment; preparing and sending bills or claims; and collecting unpaid amounts (either ourselves or through a collection agency or attorney). “Health care operations” mean those administrative and managerial functions that we have to do in order to run our office. Examples of how we use or disclose your health information for health care operations are: financial or billing audits; internal quality assurance; personal decisions; participation in managed care plans; defense of legal matters; business planning; and outside storage of our records.
We routinely use your health information inside our office for these purposes without any special permission. If we need to disclose your health information outside of our office for these reasons, (we will) (we usually will not) ask you for special permission.
We will ask for special written permission in the following situations: anything related to HIV/AIDS status, any sale of information, any use of information for marketing or fundraising purposes.
USES AND DISCLOSURES FOR OTHER REASONS WITHOUT PERMISSION
In some limited situations, the law allows or requires us to use or disclose your health information without your permission. Not all of these situations will apply to us; some may never come up at our office at all. Such uses or disclosures are:
We may use and disclose your health information for different purposes, including treatment, payment, and health care operations. For each of these categories, we have provided a description and an example. Some information, such as HIV-related information, genetic information, alcohol and/or substance abuse records, and mental health records may be entitled to special confidentiality protections under applicable state or federal law. We will abide by these special protections as they pertain to applicable cases involving these types of records.
SUD Treatment Information. If we receive or maintain any information about you from a substance use disorder treatment program that is covered by 42 CFR Part 2 (a “Part 2 Program”) through a general consent you provide to the Part 2 Program to use and disclose the Part 2 Program record for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations, we may use and disclose your Part 2 Program record for treatment, payment and health care operations purposes as described in this Notice. If we receive or maintain your Part 2 Program record through specific consent you provide to us or another third party, we will use and disclose your Part 2 Program record only as expressly permitted by you in your consent as provided to us.
In no event will we use or disclose your Part 2 Program record, or testimony that describes the information contained in your Part 2 Program record, in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings by any Federal, State, or local authority, against you, unless authorized by your consent or the order of a court after it provides you notice of the court order.
when a state or federal law mandates that certain health information be reported for a specific purpose;
for public health purposes, such as contagious disease reporting, investigation or surveillance; and notices to and from federal Food and Drug Administration regarding drugs or medical devices;
disclosures to governmental authorities about victims of suspected abuse, neglect or domestic violence;
uses and disclosures for health oversight activities, such as for the licensing of doctors; for audits by Medicare or Medicaid; or for investigation of possible violations of health care laws;
disclosures for judicial and administrative proceedings, such as in response to subpoenas or orders of courts or administrative agencies;
disclosures for law enforcement purposes, such as to provide information about someone who is or is suspected to be a victim of a crime; to provide information about a crime at our office; or to report a crime that happened somewhere else;
disclosure to a medical examiner to identify a dead person or to determine the cause of death; or to funeral directors to aid in burial; or to organizations that handle organ or tissue donations;
uses or disclosures for health related research;
uses and disclosures to prevent a serious threat to health or safety
uses or disclosures for specialized government functions, such as for the protection of the president or high ranking government officials; for lawful national intelligence activities; for military purposes; or for the evaluation and health of members of the foreign service;
discloses of de-identified information;
disclosures relating to worker’s compensation programs;
disclosures of a “limited data set” for research, public health, or health care operations;
incidental disclosures that are unavoidable by-product of permitted uses or disclosures;
disclosures to “business associates” who perform health care operations for us and who commit to respect the privacy of your health information.
APPOINTMENT REMINDERS
We may call or write or text to remind you of scheduled appointments, or that it is time to make a routine appointment. We may also call or write to notify you of other treatments or services available at out office that might help you. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will mail you an appointment reminder on a postcard, and/or leave you a reminder message on your home answering machine or with someone who answers your phone if you are not home.
OTHER USES AND DISCLOSURES
We will not make any other uses or disclosures of your health information unless you sign a written “authorization form.” The content of an “authorization form” is determined by federal law. Sometimes, we may initiate the authorization process if the use or disclosure is our idea. Sometimes, you may initiate the process it it’s your idea for us to send your information to someone else. Typically, in this situation you will give us a properly completed authorization form, or you can use one of ours.
If we initiate the process and ask you to sign an authorization form, you do not have to sign it. If you do not sign the authorization, we cannot make the use or disclosure. If you do sign one, you may revoke it at any time unless we have already acted in reliance upon it. Revocations must be in writing. Send them to the office contact person named at the beginning of this Notice.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION
The law gives you many rights regarding your health information. You can:
Ask us to restrict our uses and disclosures for purposes of treatment (except emergency treatment), payment or health care operations. We do not have to agree to do this, but if we agree, we must honor the restrictions that you want. We must honor a restriction not to send information to a health care plan regarding any service for which you have already made full payment. To ask for a restriction, send a written request to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
Ask us to communicate with you in a confidential way, such as by phoning you at work rather than at home, by mailing health information to a different address, or by using Email to your personal Email address. We will accommodate these requests if they are reasonable, and if you pay us for any extra cost. If you want to ask for confidential communications, send a written request to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
Ask to see or get photocopies of your health information. By law, there are a few limited situations in which we can refuse to permit access or copying. For the most part, however, you will be able to review or have a copy of your health information within 10 days of asking us. You may have to pay for photocopies in advance. If we deny your request, we will send you a written explanation, and instructions about how to get an impartial review of our denial if one is legally available. If you want to review or get photocopies of your health information, send a written request to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
Ask us to amend your health information if you think that it is incorrect or incomplete. If we agree, we will amend the information within 60 days from when you ask us. We will send the corrected information to persons who we know got the wrong information, and others that you specify. If we do not agree, you can write a statement of your position, and we will include it with your health information along with any rebuttal statement that we may write. Once your statement of position and/or our rebuttal is included in your health information, we will send it along whenever we make a permitted disclosure of your health information. By law, we can have one 30-day extension of time to consider a request for amendment if we notify you in writing of the extension. If you want to ask us to amend your health information, send a written request, including your reasons for the amendment, to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
Get a list of the disclosures that we have made of your health information within the past six years (or shorter period if you want). By law, the list will not include: disclosures for purposes of treatment, payment or health care operations; disclosures with your authorization; incidental disclosures; disclosures required by law; and some other limited disclosures. You are entitled to one such list per year without charge. If you want more frequent lists, you will have to pay for them in advance. We will usually respond to your request within 60 days of receiving it, but by law we can have one 30-day extension of time if we notify you of the extension in writing. If you want a list, send a written request to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
Get additional paper copies of this Notice of Privacy Practices upon request. It does not matter whether you got one electronically or in paper form already. If you want additional paper copies, send a written request to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice.
You will be notified by us in a timely manner of any breach of the prvacy and confidentiality of your unsecured protected health information, which we will provide to you in accordance with law and take all appropriate measures to address.
Fundraising. We may contact you to provide you with information about our sponsored activities, including fundraising programs, as permitted by applicable law. If you do not wish to receive such information from us, you may opt out of receiving the communications.
OUR NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
By law, we must abide by the terms of this Notice of Privacy Practices until we choose to change it. We reserve the right to change this notice at any time as allowed by law. If we change this Notice, the new privacy practices will apply to your health information that we already have as well as to such information that we may generate in the future. If we change our Notice of Privacy Practices, we will post the new notice in our office, have copies available in our office, and post it on our website.
COMPLAINTS
If you think we have not properly respected the privacy of your health information, you are free to complain to us of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you if you make a complaint. If you want to complain to us, send a written complaint to the office contact person at the address, fax or Email shown at the beginning of this Notice. If you prefer, you can discuss your complaint in person or by phone.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Phone: (805) 496-9778
Email: info@mullenfamilyortho.com
Address: 1240 S Westlake Blvd, Ste 235, Westlake Village, CA 91361