Effective Date: February 20, 2026
Kary Dental 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite C Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Phone: (301) 301-3148
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL AND DENTAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
This Notice describes the privacy practices of Kary Dental (“Practice,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). “You” and “your” refers to our patients.
If you have any questions about this Notice or our privacy practices, please contact:
Privacy Officer: Andrew L. Kary, DDS
Address: 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite C, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Phone: (301) 301-3148
Email: info@karydental.com
The privacy of your health information is important to us. We are committed to protecting it. This Notice describes how we may use and disclose your protected health information (“PHI”) to carry out treatment, payment, or health care operations, and for other purposes permitted or required by law. It also describes your rights regarding your health information. PHI is information about you, including demographic information, that may identify you and relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition, treatment, or payment for health care services.
We are required by law to:
The following describes the ways we may use or disclose your health information. These examples are illustrative, not exhaustive.
Treatment. We may use your health information to provide you with dental treatment or services, including examinations, procedures, and referrals. We may disclose your health information to dental specialists, physicians, laboratories, or other health care professionals involved in your care.
Payment. We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services, including billing your insurance company, submitting claims, and determining eligibility or coverage.
Health Care Operations. We may use and disclose your health information for operations necessary to run our practice, including quality assessment, staff training, business planning, compliance activities, audits, and professional review.
Appointment Reminders. We may use or disclose your health information to remind you of appointments. We may contact you by phone, voicemail, text message, email, or mail.
Treatment Alternatives and Health-Related Benefits. We may use and disclose your health information to tell you about treatment options, alternatives, or health-related benefits and services that may interest you.
Family Members and Others Involved in Your Care. We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend, or other person you identify as involved in your care or payment for your care, unless you object. If you are not present or able to agree or object, we may use our professional judgment to determine whether disclosure is in your best interest.
Business Associates. We may disclose your PHI to third-party service providers (“business associates”) that perform functions on our behalf, such as billing services, IT support, or practice management. All business associates are required by contract to protect your information.
As Required by Law. We may use or disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
Public Health Activities. We may disclose your health information for public health purposes, including reporting disease, injury, vital events, and child abuse or neglect; FDA-related reporting; and notifying persons exposed to communicable diseases.
Victims of Abuse, Neglect, or Domestic Violence. We may disclose health information to the appropriate government authority if we believe you are a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
Health Oversight Activities. We may disclose your health information to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings. We may disclose your health information in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process if appropriate efforts have been made to notify you or obtain a protective order.
Law Enforcement. We may disclose your health information for law enforcement purposes, such as in response to a court order, to identify or locate a suspect, or to report certain types of wounds or injuries.
Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors. We may disclose health information to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director to carry out their duties.
Organ and Tissue Donation. We may disclose your health information to organizations involved in procurement, banking, or transplantation of organs, eyes, or tissue.
Research. We may use or disclose your health information for research purposes under certain conditions approved by an Institutional Review Board or Privacy Board.
Serious Threat to Health or Safety. We may use or disclose your health information if we believe it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public.
Specialized Government Functions. We may disclose health information for military, national security, protective services, or correctional institution purposes as required by law.
Workers’ Compensation. We may disclose your health information to comply with workers’ compensation laws.
Other uses and disclosures of your PHI not described in this Notice will be made only with your written authorization. This includes uses and disclosures involving:
You may revoke your authorization at any time in writing, except to the extent we have already taken action in reliance on it.
Certain federal and state laws provide heightened privacy protections for records related to substance use disorder (“SUD”) diagnosis, treatment, or referral from federally assisted programs, protected under 42 CFR Part 2. Our practice may receive such records as part of coordinating your care with other providers.
If we receive SUD treatment records protected under Part 2:
If you have questions about how SUD records are handled, please contact our Privacy Officer.
Some information, such as HIV-related information, genetic information, and mental health records, may be entitled to special confidentiality protections under applicable federal and Maryland state law. We will abide by these special protections as they pertain to applicable cases involving these types of records. A health plan may not use or disclose genetic information for underwriting purposes.
You have the following rights regarding your PHI. To exercise any of these rights, submit a written request to our Privacy Officer.
Right to Access and Obtain Copies. You may request access to and copies of your health information. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. If your records are maintained electronically, you may request an electronic copy. We may deny your request in limited circumstances; if we do, you will receive a written explanation and may appeal.
Right to Request Amendment. If you believe your health information is incorrect or incomplete, you may request an amendment. We may deny the request in certain circumstances and will provide a written explanation.
Right to an Accounting of Disclosures. You may request an accounting of disclosures of your health information for the six years prior to your request, excluding disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other exceptions. The first accounting in any 12-month period is free; we may charge a reasonable fee for subsequent requests.
Right to Request Restrictions. You may request restrictions on how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations, or to individuals involved in your care. We are not required to agree to your request, with one exception: if you pay for a service entirely out of pocket and request that we not disclose that information to your health plan, we must honor that request.
Right to Request Confidential Communications. You may request that we communicate with you about your health information by alternative means or at an alternative location. We will accommodate reasonable requests. You must specify how or where you wish to be contacted.
Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice. You have the right to a paper copy of this Notice at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically.
Right to Be Notified of a Breach. You have the right to be notified if there is a breach of your unsecured PHI. We will notify you by first-class mail within 60 days of discovering the breach. The notification will describe what happened, the types of information involved, the steps you should take, what we are doing in response, and how to contact us.
Under Maryland law (Health-General Article, Title 4, Subtitle 3, Annotated Code of Maryland):
Where Maryland law provides greater privacy protections than HIPAA, we will follow the more protective standard.
We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice and our privacy practices at any time. Any changes will apply to health information we already have about you as well as information we receive in the future. A revised Notice will be posted in our office and on our website, and will be available upon request.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with:
Our Privacy Officer: Andrew L. Kary, DDS 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite C Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Phone: (301) 301-3148
Email: info@karydental.com
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights: 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Phone: 1-877-696-6775 Website: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints
We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
