Privacy Policy

The short version

We collect only what you choose to send us — your name and contact details through the appointment form, and anything you type into the website chat. We use it to respond to you and to keep a record for the office. We do not sell your information, and we do not run advertising trackers on this site.

What we collect, and why

Appointment request form: your first and last name, email address, phone number if you choose to share it, whether you are a current patient, how you heard about us, your preferred appointment days and times, and a brief reason for your visit if you include one. This is delivered to our office by email so we can reach you about scheduling.

Website chat: the messages you type to our virtual assistant. Conversations are emailed to our office as a record so we can follow up and improve how we help visitors. Please don't share personal health details in the chat — the right place for those is a phone call or your visit.

Technical information: like nearly every website, our hosting infrastructure keeps standard server logs (such as IP addresses and pages requested), and we use IP addresses briefly to protect the site from abuse. We do not set advertising or analytics cookies.

Service providers we rely on

A few carefully chosen companies process data on our behalf to make the site work: our hosting provider serves the website and keeps standard logs; our email delivery provider transmits form submissions and chat records to the office; and chat messages are processed by Anthropic, the AI company whose model powers our virtual assistant, in order to generate replies. The embedded Google map on our contact and home pages is served by Google and is subject to Google's own privacy policy.

These providers act on our instructions to deliver their service. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for advertising.

Health information

This website is not the place for health details, and we ask you not to submit them through the form or chat. Health information we hold about you as a patient is protected health information under HIPAA regardless of how it reaches us — at the office, by phone, or through this website — and is handled as described in our Notice of Privacy Practices, included below on this page and available on paper at the office.

How long we keep it

Form submissions and chat records delivered to our office email are kept as ordinary office correspondence. See Your Choices below for correction or deletion requests.

Your choices

You can always call or text instead of using the form or chat. To ask about information you've submitted through this website, or to request that it be corrected or deleted, contact the office in writing at the email address below.

Like most websites, this site does not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals; it also does not track visitors across other websites.

Children

This website is intended for adults. We care for children as patients, but the form and chat are meant to be used by a parent or guardian, and we do not knowingly collect information from children online.

Changes to this policy

If how the website handles information changes, we will update this page and its effective date.

Who follows this notice

This notice describes the privacy practices of Amisha V. Patel, DMD — Fremont Family Dentistry, including its dentist and all staff. We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your protected health information, to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

How we may use and disclose your health information

For treatment. We use your health information to provide your dental care, and we may share it with other health professionals involved in that care — for example, sending records and X-rays to an oral surgeon or other specialist we refer you to, or consulting with your physician about a condition that affects your dental treatment.

For payment. We may use and share your information to bill and collect payment for your care — for example, submitting claims to your dental insurance plan, confirming your benefits, or responding to a plan's request for information about care you received.

For health care operations. We may use your information to run the practice — for example, quality review, training, scheduling, and general practice administration.

Appointment reminders and treatment information. We may contact you to remind you of an appointment, to follow up after treatment, or to tell you about treatment options or services relevant to your care.

Individuals involved in your care. We may share relevant information with a family member, guardian, or other person you identify as involved in your care or in paying for it, unless you object.

As required or permitted by law. We may use or disclose your information when the law requires or permits it — including public-health reporting, reporting of suspected abuse or neglect, health oversight activities, responses to lawful court orders or subpoenas, law-enforcement purposes as limited by law, workers' compensation, and to prevent a serious threat to health or safety.

Business associates. Some services are provided through contractors (for example, technology or billing vendors). When contractors need access to your information, they are required by written agreement and by law to safeguard it.

Uses requiring your written authorization. Uses and disclosures other than those described in this notice — including most uses for marketing and any sale of your health information — will be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization at any time, in writing, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Your rights regarding your health information

Right to inspect and copy. You may ask to see or receive a copy of your dental record, including an electronic copy where we maintain one. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee permitted by law.

Right to amend. If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request an amendment in writing, with a reason. We may deny the request in certain circumstances; if we do, we will tell you why in writing and how to respond.

Right to an accounting of disclosures. You may request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your information, other than for treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other categories, for up to six years before your request.

Right to request restrictions. You may request limits on how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree to every request — but if you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to disclose that service to your health plan, we must honor that restriction unless the disclosure is required by law.

Right to confidential communications. You may ask that we contact you in a specific way or at a specific location — for example, only at a particular phone number. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Right to a paper copy. You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically. Copies are available at the office.

Right to breach notification. We are required to notify you if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of your unsecured health information.

Changes to this notice

We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised notice effective for all health information we maintain, including information created or received before the change. The current notice is posted at the office and on this page, with its effective date at the bottom.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the practice using the contact information below, or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201 (1-877-696-6775, hhs.gov/ocr). You will not be penalized or retaliated against in any way for filing a complaint.