Orthotown March 2013 - (Page 37)

feature // practice management O ne of our most frequently asked questions involves ethically appropriate, dental-board compliant and legal delegation of duties for orthodontic assistants. There are several reasons for this continual interest including, but not limited to, a need and desire to comply with all rules and regulations of the respective jurisdiction and an overriding desire to provide optimal quality care. In considering this question, it is necessary to address the various categories of dental/orthodontic assistants, specifically EFDAs (expanded function dental assistants), licensed/certified dental/orthodontic assistants and unlicensed dental/orthodontic assistants. Included as a subset of the delegation of appropriate orthodontic duties is the need for complete and thorough assistant training, continual re-training and continuing education. Although this aspect of delegation seems obvious, in many practices this is not a priority. It needs to be done on a regular basis with objective guidelines, but it is not done at all in some orthodontic practices. Although the number of dental board actions and/or professional negligence lawsuits is not large, each case is significant to the patient, the assistant involved, the orthodontist and all others involved. Two important cases will be discussed later in this article. Care must be taken to know the rules and regulations in your jurisdiction. Periodically re-check delegation permissions and regularly provide training and educational updates. In addition, practitioners should follow the news from their dental board(s) about disciplinary/enforcement actions and be aware of the penalties that might be imposed, including fines, suspensions, supervision requirements, revocations and criminal prosecutions that may arise. One practitioner learned a severe lesson that included hefty fines, recovery of insurance proceeds, and a prison sentence of four years for exceeding the scope of permissible delegation and the consequent fraudulent billing for procedures performed by assistants that only he was permitted to do. With this in mind, visit www.orthotown.com/delegation to see a table that will assist in making regular contact with each jurisdiction’s dental board. Use this to confirm the proper extent of delegation and to whom the various regular tasks of orthodontic treatment may be delegated. When communicating with the various dental boards, precise and specific terminology must be verified since it is critical that the information received by the orthodontist reflects the exact nature of the delegable duty, as well as to whom the duty may be delegated. This cannot be overemphasized. Documentation is also critical. We suggest that continued on page 38 by Donald E. Machen, DMD, MSD, MD, JD, MBA, CFA, Hollie A. Machen, Esq and Michael Cohen orthotown.com \\ MARCH 2013 37 http://www.orthotown.com/delegation http://www.orthotown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown March 2013

Orthotown.com Highlights
Wired for Success: Big Brother is Watching
Where to Put a TAD
What’s the Right Ratio of Front/ Back Staff?
Class I Malocclusion Severe Crowding, Severe OJ, Missing LL3 CBCT Video
You Should Know: Renew Digital
You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure
A Protocol for Creating Images from CBVI for the Practicing Orthodontist, Part I
Are Your Patients Included in Your Training Plan?
Delegation of Duties in Orthodontic Practice
Ad Index

Orthotown March 2013