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Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 10/201504 OPINION At the heart of the relationship be- tween a dentist and a patient lies trust and respect. Recent events, such as the Sony or, more currently, the Ashley Madison breach, have brought to public awareness the im- portanceofsecuringone’sdata.Data security and governance is a very tricky area. I must make it clear I am not a lawyer, but I am a highly expe- rienced information technology pro- fessionalwithagoodunderstanding ofdataprotectionandotherrelevant legislation. All interpretations pro- videdherearemyown. Even if a dental practice has not embraced the digital age and all records and correspondence are ink and paper based, the practice still has a number of responsibili- tiesregardingdatasecurity.Asden- tal practices collect patient details, they must register with the In- formation Commissioner’s Office (ICO)hereintheUK.Dentalrecords must be stored safely and securely for a number of years (up to six years for the National Health Serv- ice; NHS) and kept for a maximum of30years(DepartmentofHealth). Recordsmustalsobedisposedofin a policed manner to avoid fines. What about dental practices who have embraced digital? Data is accessed in two situations, storage and movement, the same as physi- cal records are. This also means that therearethetwosituationsinwhich data can be compromised in the digital world. Dental practices have anobligationtoensurepatientdata is backed up, recoverable (in case of disasters), secure and protected. This applies during both storage and movement. If you are using one of the popular industry patient management systems, such as EXACT (Software of Excellence), it shouldhavefeaturestosupportthis in place; liaise with your account managertoverifythis. The next area of concern then is movement of data. This can be via e-mail, online referral tools or por- tals, feedback platforms or devices, andyourwebsite.E-mailisnotase- curemedium,andcommunication with patients about their medical history or medical circumstances usingthisplatformraisespotential issues.Theserviceprovideryouuse for your e-mail could also be inad- vertently making you breach data security rules. For example, if you are using one of the popular US- based organisations for e-mail, such as AOL, Hotmail and Gmail, and liaise with your patients via this e-mail platform, you have to consider where the e-mails are be- ing stored; most likely on servers outside your own country. The UK’s Data Protection Act states that “personal data shall not be transferred to a country or ter- ritory outside the EEA (European Economic Area) unless that coun- try or territory ensures an ade- quate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data sub- jectsinrelationtotheprocessingof personaldata.”Asadentalpractice, youshouldreconsiderifyouareus- ing a commercial e-mail provider to liaise with your patients, and determine whether your website communication tools and feed- back portals are compliant and if not ensure your designated data policy controller addresses this as a priority. Here in the UK, the ICO canissuemonetarypenaltynotices, requiring organisations to pay up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the DPA occurring on or after 6April2010.ClientsatDentalFocus expect us to take care of online compliance and provide guidance onkeepinguptodateandresolving these issues. Make sure your data issecuredandprotectedbeforeitis too late. Data security: How not to become the next Ashley Madison By Naz Haque,UK Naz Haque, aka the Scientist, is OperationsMan- ager at Dental Focus. He has a background in mobile and net- work computing, and has experi- ence supporting a wide range of blue-chip brands, from Apple to Xerox. As an expert in search engine optimisation, Naz is passionate about helping clients develop strategies to enhance their brand and increase the return on investment from their dental practice websites.He can be contacted at naz@dentalfocus.com. DenTech China German Pavillion 21. 24.10.2015 Visit www.promedica.de to see all our products Dental Material GmbH 24537 Neumünster / Germany Tel. +49 43 21 / 5 41 73 Fax +49 43 21 / 5 19 08 eMail info@promedica.de Internet www.promedica.de Glass ionomer filling cement perfect packable consistency excellent durable aesthetics also available as application capsules Light-curing nano-ceram composite highly esthetic and biocompatible universal for all cavity classes comfortable handling, easy modellation also available as flowable version Temporary crown & bridge material less than 5 min. processing time strong functional load perfect long-term aesthetics excellent biocompatibility AD DTAP1015_04_Haque 14.10.15 09:09 Seite 1 Tel. +494321 / 54173 Fax +494321 / 51908 DTAP1015_04_Haque 14.10.1509:09 Seite 1