Regulatory Compliance

The CDC recommends that individuals receive their flu vaccination in September or October. Some cities and counties in California mandate that certain health care workers, including workers in dental offices, receive the flu vaccine. 
 

Obtaining proper, legal consent for nonverbal adults is of paramount importance in the dental practice. By becoming familiar with local laws, employing effective communication strategies, involving caregivers and advocate, and maintaining documentation, dentists can provide ethical care for a vulnerable population. 

HIPAA does not prohibit the use of virtual assistants, including those who work outside of the U.S. However, as HIPAA-covered entities, dentists and the business associates they contract with are responsible for ensuring assistants are trained to safeguard patient information.

Several CDA members have contacted CDA in the last week to report receiving calls from a scammer who is posing as a Dental Board of California official for the purpose of fraudulently collecting sensitive personal information and payment.

The online orthodontics company SmileDirectClub must remove certain conditions from its refund policy for U.S. customers and release more than 17,000 customers nationwide from those provisions in the company’s nondisclosure agreements as a result of a lawsuit settled last week. 

Every quarter, CDA publishes a Practice Health Check focusing on a different topic related to the business side of dentistry. Patient financial management is the focus in the third quarter of 2023. CDA members are invited to take the Q3 Practice Health Check consisting of just three questions.

The recording of conversations between dentists and patients can pose significant risks to dental professionals, including potential HIPAA violations, loss of control over the use of the recording and legal issues related to consent. Dentists should take steps to protect patient privacy.

A new safety needle is on the market and is now the fifth safety needle, or safety sharp, available to California dentists. Dental practices that do not use safety sharps should evaluate the NopoGuard as part of the Cal/OSHA-required documentation.

CDA encourages dentists to review continuing education requirements as the dental board resumes conducting C.E. audits. Common C.E. deficiencies include failure to complete a mandatory C.E. course, the minimum required units for license renewal or a course from an approved provider.

Most practices benefit from electronic prescribing, but it’s important to make sure that the solution you use to e-prescribe has features that will streamline your workflow and protect your patients and practice from error. Find out which e-prescription software characteristics are most valued by dentists.

Dentists and other authorized prescribers across the U.S. will be required under a new federal law to complete eight hours of instruction on treating and managing patients with opioid and other substance use disorders prior to renewing or obtaining a DEA registration.

Patients, visitors and workers not performing clinical procedures are no longer be required to wear face masks in dental offices and other indoor health care settings in California as of April 3 per new guidance from the state Department of Public Health.