Support

Pearl Dental Software is flexible, robust and reliable. But computers are complicated systems, and sometimes users of even the best software need a little bit of extra help. This page explains how to contact our brilliant support analysts.

Remote Support

When you call, our analyst may ask you to run our ‘Remote Support Function’. This is a piece of software that creates a secure and private link between your computer and the analyst. It allows the analyst to view your computer screen so that he/she can understand the problem exactly as you see it.

Call Us

Our support desk and all our analysts are based in Leicester, and we're open throughout typical practice opening hours (08:00-17:30, Monday-Friday). All our support analysts also take part in our software development process, so they truly know Pearl Dental Software inside-out.

Email Us

You can also email us via info@bhasoftware.com, or use the contact form on our Contact Us page. We will usually respond within an hour of receiving the message, or next morning if you send it ‘out of hours’

Cyber Security

We have completed the DSP Toolkit & Cyber Essentials certification. Please click on the links below to access our entry on the DSP Toolkit website or to download a copy of our Cyber Essentials Certificate for your records.

UKGDPR Compliance

Dealing with data protection complaints correctly is essential for your UKGDPR compliance. Ignoring the complaint or providing the wrong information may lead to an investigation or other enquiry from the ICO.

Check out this perfectly explained video by Adrian Dray on how to handle GDPR related complaints.

Here’s an example of a complaint recently received by a practice:
“To who it may concern,
I am distressed that you have shared data with Pearl dental without my consent. I would expect a dental practice to respect my privacy and not sell my data to another company.
I want you to stop sharing my data with Pearl and explain why this happened in the first place. I will be seeking legal advice and notifying the ICO.
Yours sincerely
Mr Jones”
We can see by the content and the tone of the email that the patient is not happy. Does he have a genuine concern, or is he just trying to make trouble – it’s often hard to tell. So how can we assist the patient with a complete and accurate explanation?
Let’s take a look at an example response.
Dear Mr Jones
Thank you for taking the time email your concerns to us. 
The purpose of this email is to clarify our relationship with Pearl Dental and hopefully alleviate any concerns you may have.
Pearl Dental is the cloud-based practice management software we use to create, update, and store dental records. We also use the platform to send communications to our patients, whether that be appointment reminders, promotional messages or other important information relating to the practice. Whilst Pearl Dental are a separate company, they act as a supplier of ours, also known as a data processor, which means they only use your personal data as instructed by us. 
In line with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office for small healthcare organisations we have decided not to use ‘consent’ as the lawful basis of processing when it comes to processing dental records. The primary reason for this decision is because under the UKGDPR consent can be withdrawn, meaning we would need to remove your data right away. In a dental practice, we need to retain records for treatment purposes and defend any potential legal claims. Consequently, and in line with the ICO’s guidance, we rely on alternative lawful bases of processing. These bases are defined under UKGDPR as; ‘necessary for the performance of a contact’ (for private treatments), ‘necessary for a public task’ (for NHS treatments) and in our ‘legitimate interest’ (for the defence of legal claims and to communicate with you). 
I trust our explanation helps clarify how our relationship with Pearl. The practice will continue to share data with Pearl dental lawfully and securely for the purposes outlined above. 
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in contacting me. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can direct your complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Conclusion

 

I hope this proves helpful not only when responding to a similar complaint but also increase your understanding of how data is processed in a dental environment.

It’s important to note that the example response relies on your privacy notice (typically found on the practice website) being up-to-date and inline with ICO guidance.

If you require assistance with your privacy notice and think you would benefit from Adrian’s services as your stand-by data protection consultant then please do not hesitate in contacting him at adrian@consulthere.co.uk