THE ODA PROVIDES RESOURCES TO ENSURE DENTISTS COMPLY WITH LAWS AND REGULATIONS
The ODA staff regularly works to ensure member dentists remain in compliance with Ohio’s dental laws and regulations. In fact, we get calls on a daily basis from member dentists asking about their specific situations.
We have heard it all.
- How can I terminate a patient from my practice without abandoning him or her?
- Can my dental hygienist administer local anesthetic injections?
- Do I have to supply a copy of the patient record when a patient leaves my practice?
ODA staff members track these commonly asked questions and develop resources addressing them, including written advisories, legal briefs, and guidebooks that are available to member dentists free of charge on the ODA website.
For example, the ODA publishes the “Ohio Dentist Advisor: Your Guide to Regulatory Compliance” which is available for ODA member dentists to download on the ODA website free of charge. This regulatory compliance guide includes summaries, checklists, and fillable forms to help dental offices ensure they are compliant with applicable laws and regulations.
The regulatory compliance guidebook includes the following sections:
Delegable Duties and Supervision – Ohio dental offices provide care through a strong dental team which is led by a dentist and may include dentists, dental hygienists, expanded function dental auxiliaries, and/or dental assistants. Each member of the dental team has an important role in the dental office because of what the Dental Practice Act allows each of them to do. This team approach to dentistry is vital to ensuring that the best oral health care is provided to the citizens of Ohio. The Ohio Revised Code and Ohio State Dental Board rules authorize duties that can be performed by each member of the dental team and defines any required supervision.
The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes a “Summary of Auxiliary Duties” from the Ohio State Dental Board that gives an overview of the tasks each dental team member is allowed to perform. The guidebook also includes checklists to determine what is required for each dental team member to be able to perform certain tasks. This format makes Ohio’s laws and regulations related to supervision and delegable duties for dental team members easy to understand and follow.
Dental License Requirements and CE – The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook also includes a summary of the requirements necessary to obtain a dental license in Ohio and a summary of CE rules to ensure dentists are aware of what is required for licensure renewal each biennium.
Employment Posters – Employers are required to post certain employment posters in their offices. The ODA regulatory compliance handbook discusses these required posters and includes a link so they can be downloaded, printed and posted easily. So, if you are a dental practice owner or manager, the ODA regulatory compliance guidebook gives you easy access to all required posters, including posters on the Ohio Minimum Wage, and Equal Employment Opportunity, and the Ohio Department of Health (X-ray Machine) Notice to Employees.
Environmental Regulations/EPA – Dental offices, like all businesses in Ohio, are responsible for complying to Ohio’s environmental regulations. Dental offices are subject to certain environmental rules because they generate infectious and potentially hazardous wastes. Wastewater discharges from dental offices are also regulated. The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes a “Checklist for Environment Regulations” from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for dental offices to utilize to do a quick check on their compliance with environmental regulations. The ODA guidebook also includes a Summary of Frequently Asked Questions about the Amalgam Separator Rule (from the Ohio EPA) to assist dentists in learning about amalgam separator requirements for dental offices.
Infection Control and Hazard Communication – Failure to comply with infection control standards can be costly. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can levy substantial fines, the Ohio State Dental Board (OSDB) can take action against a dentist’s license and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) can issue fines. Additionally, OSHA requires dental offices to inform their employees about the dangers of all hazardous chemicals used by the office.
The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes a “Summary of Infection Control Regulations” for dental offices to utilize to ensure they are in compliance with infection control rules from regulatory agencies including OSHA and the Ohio State Dental Board.
This section of the guidebook includes the OSHA Exposure Control Plan sample form which is designed to ensure dental offices have appropriate procedures to protect dental team members from any bloodborne pathogens. This Exposure Control Plan is required by OSHA and should be followed by the dental office. Employees must know where the plan is stored and how to access it, and the plan must be reviewed annually and updated if necessary.
The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook also includes a Sterilizer Monitoring Log sample form dentists may use to document compliance with the OSDB requirements to test all heat sterilizing devices on a weekly basis and an Incident Report sample form that a dental office may use if an employee in the dental office experiences a needlestick or other sharps injury or is exposed to a patient’s blood or other body fluid during the course of their work.
Mandatory Reporting – Dentists are required to report certain occurrences to various state and federal agencies. State law requires dental offices to report unclaimed funds annually. State law and the “ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct” place obligations upon dentists to report abuse and neglect at certain times. The Ohio State Dental Board requires dentists to report certain “adverse occurrences” which arise as a result of dental treatment. Accordingly, the ODA Regulatory Compliance Manual includes the following sections:
- Summary of Ohio’s Unclaimed Property Law so dentists can learn how and when to report unclaimed funds.
- Summary of Reporting Abuse and Neglect so dentists can learn how and when to report suspected abuse and neglect.
- Summary of Reporting Adverse Occurrences so dentists can learn when and how to report adverse occurrences that happen as a result of dental treatment.
Patient Accommodations – Dentists are required by law to make certain accommodations to protect individuals from discrimination in health care settings on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex and to provide access to health care to disabled patients. The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes both a Summary of Americans With Disabilities Act which describes potential modifications that dentists may be required to make in their practices, policies and procedures in order to accommodate disabled patients and a Summary of Service Animals which provides information on what a service animal is and how dental offices must accommodate patients with service animals.
Patient Privacy and Record Protocols – Dental offices are required by law to protect the confidentiality and security of health care information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides federal protections for individually identifiable health information and gives patients certain rights with respect to that information. Additionally, dentists must take certain steps to provide access and maintain the confidentiality of patient records. Dental practices are required by law to maintain adequate patient records, and every dental office should consider adopting a retention policy for patient records.
The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes a Summary of HIPAA Compliance which provides information regarding the most significant HIPAA requirements that dental offices must follow. The guidebook also includes a Summary of Patient Record Protocols which provides dentists with information on various requirements surrounding the handling of patient records, including recommended record retention schedules.
X -Ray Rules – The Ohio Department of Health requires dental offices to comply with a number of X-ray machine rules. The Ohio Department of Health inspects dental X-ray machines every five years and within one year of changing X-ray machine registration.
The Ohio Department of Health also requires dental offices to have a written quality assurance (QA) program that includes safe operating procedures and instruction of personnel. The ODA regulatory compliance guidebook includes a sample X-Ray Quality Assurance Program to assist dental offices in creating a plan and to ensure the office is in compliance with all Ohio Department of Health X-ray regulations.
As you can tell from the information above, the ODA’s regulatory compliance guidebook is full of useful information and easy to use forms that assist in ensuring dental offices remain compliant with laws and regulations. I have seen regulatory compliance manuals – that are much inferior to the ODA’s guidebook – being offered by other entities for sale to dental offices for hundreds of dollars. The ODA guidebook is free for ODA members. It is literally one stop shopping for regulatory compliance. And because the ODA monitors the regulatory environment in Ohio and at the federal level, the guidebook is regularly updated so we encourage you to download updates as frequently as you wish to get the latest information. The guidebook has been downloaded nearly 2,000 times by ODA members.
But the guidebook is not the ODA’s only resource for regulatory compliance and risk management. The ODA compliance team, which includes the ODA’s Director of Legal and Legislative Services Eric Richmond and the ODA’s Director of Dental Services Chris Moore, has dozens of years of experience in advising dentists on risk management and regulatory compliance and has developed a series of legal briefs, advisories and articles on topics of interest including answering the following commonly asked questions:
- How should I handle the treatment of minors of separated, unmarried, or divorced parents?
- How should I handle problems with my employees?
- How can I avoid “abandoning” a patient when terminating a relationship?
- Am I required to hire an interpreter for hearing impaired patients?
- Do I have to make a patient’s record available to him or her?
- How long do I need to keep patient records?
- What are the legal and ethical considerations related to fees and billing?
- What do I need to know about prescribing laws and rules?
- What do I need to know about non-compete clauses in dentist employment contracts?
Answers to these and many more questions are all available on the ODA’s website. And if you ever have any legal and regulatory compliance questions and you can’t find the answer in the ODA regulatory compliance guidebook or at www.oda.org just give us a call at (800) 282-1526.
We are here for all of your regulatory compliance and risk management needs.
Dentists should always consult their own attorneys to discuss their specific circumstances and get legal advice.
